Drug Addiction FAQ

What is Drug Addiction?

Drug addiction occurs when you begin to take one or more physically addictive drugs to the exclusion of all else, choosing your drug of choice above any other priority including family, career, and the health and safety of yourself and others.

Another aspect of drug addiction is the physical addiction. Physical addiction occurs with an addictive drug when it is taken repeatedly and regularly. Tolerance builds up and soon, you need more and more of the substance in order to achieve the original euphoric effects or high. This continues until your addiction is unwieldy and you find yourself taking inordinately high amounts of your drug of choice every day, no longer getting high but just trying to keep from going into detox and experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

Are All Drugs Addictive?

Pretty much anything can be mentally addictive. It depends more upon the constitution and genetic predisposition of the person more than thing or activity in question. However, there are a few different classes of drugs that are physically addictive after just a few uses.

For example, opiate based drugs like prescription painkillers and heroin are addictive within the first week of use in most cases. Other drugs like marijuana, speed or crystal meth, alcohol and others take a little bit longer but their grip once physical addiction sets in is just as severe.

What are the Physical Effects of Drug Addiction?

The physical effects of drug addiction begin almost immediately. The risk of overdose is present every time you get high and, depending on the drug, you risk seizures and convulsions, heart attacks or heart failure culminating in coma and even death.

Each drug has a different set of short-term effects that happen when you take it. Crystal meth is a stimulant and keeps the user awake for days at a time. Heroin and opiate based prescription pain killers are sedatives that, depending upon the method of ingestion, produce a euphoric or ultra calm state for 20 minutes to an hour or more. In general, those who are addicted to drugs tend to lose track of the details of their lives from the most mundane like physical appearance to those of the highest priority like family relationships and work commitments.

What are the Social Effects of Drug Addiction?

Socially, drug addiction affects everyone. Every close friend and family member will feel it when a loved one becomes addicted to drugs. Those who are closest to the addict will experience it first and most dramatically. Often, friends and family members need treatment or therapy and support when a loved one turns to drugs just as much as the addict herself.

Drug Addiction Treatment at Orchid Recovery Center

At Orchid Recovery Center, we provide a drug addiction rehab that covers a spectrum of drugs of addiction including cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, heroin, prescription painkillers, crystal meth, club drugs and every combination thereof. We also specialize in treating women who struggling with co-occurring mental or psychological disorders and are in need of dual diagnosis treatment. If you have any questions about our drug addiction treatment, contact us.

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