Drinking Benders and Loss of Control Strong Symptoms of Addiction

Casual drinking and even some drug use is often seen as acceptable.  However, there are ways to tell if someone you care about (or even you) are succumbing to a drug or alcohol addiction.  Addiction is not easily treated by going cold turkey.  It really is best if drug treatment professionals are involved.  Don’t know if drug rehab is necessary?  Take a look at the next two symptoms and see if they fit.

Going On Drinking Benders Delaying Withdrawal Symptoms

In an earlier post I described various physical withdrawal symptoms.  These are essentially the body’s physical responses to the drug leaving the body.  These symptoms can be very uncomfortable such as a bad headache, shakiness, upset stomach, and other strong aches and pains. 

A person who knows they react like this often may start doing “benders”.  This is essentially using more drugs or alcohol to treat their hangover or keep it from coming on.  This may include morning drinks or small breaks from drinking despite still feeling drunk.  It ends up creating a long drinking binge that may span more than one day. 

Of course this would also apply to drug use such as prescription drugs, heroin, and methamphetamine.  The person having morning drinks or drug hits may very well know they are using way too much.  However, their denial and self-medication may seem too important to them to stop.  If they stopped, they may not know how to cope as a sober person.

Loss of Control Using Larger Amount and Longer Period Than Intended

Loss of control is a definite sign of addiction.  They may claim they can control how much they drink, when they can stop, often claiming they could quit anytime.  They don’t need to quit because they know what they are doing and what they can handle. 

However, you may also hear them describe how a few drinks often turns into getting wasted and staying for hours.  They were going to hang out with a friend for an hour and they ended up smoking weed and losing all track of time.  Again, this may be minimized by the person using, but you can often hear the twist of how one intention turned into something much bigger. 

Many people delude themselves that they haven’t really had that much alcohol or drugs and they are OK to drive.  Nearly every community has a sad story about someone seriously injured or killed by a drunk driver.  Loss of control is not only harmful to the drug addict or alcoholic, it is often harmful for others.

Loss of Control Means Drug Rehab Is Necessary

When you hear stories about someone who can’t remember how many they drank or how a drug user lost track of how long they were using, you have a person who needs drug and alcohol rehab.  The same is true for someone who goes on extended drug and alcohol benders, often using for many days in a row.  No matter what they say, this kind of use is not social drinking or safe controlled use. 

People who use drugs and alcohol like this are ticking time bombs, putting themselves and others in danger.  If you see these trends in yourself or someone you care about, don’t hesitate to talk about drug and alcohol rehab.