Addicted to drugs

People usually start off using drugs as a way to escape the problems of daily life, drugs make them feel better, happier, remove worries for a short time and generally make the person feel on top of the world. Using drugs however has serious consequences on a person’s health and more and more of them have to be taken to achieve the same results the longer they are used.

A person using cannabis or heroin can very quickly become addicted until giving up the drug is almost impossible to do and they no longer take them to give them a buzz but simply just to be able to survive day to day life.

What are the symptoms of drug abuse?

Describing drug use and problems associated with addiction is hard as each drug is different and can cause different problems, there is however some basics which relate to overall drug use and abuse. Each drug will produce different patterns of:

• Use
• Intoxication.
• Hangover.
• Overdose.

Substance abuse or addiction covers many different levels including:

• Using large amounts of the drug without seeming to be intoxicated.
• Using large amounts of the drug for experimentation.
• Using large amounts of the drug to get intoxicated.

The addict may use drugs for more than just one of the above reasons and many will turn to different drugs to get different effects. Trying to understand why people take and become addicted to drugs isn’t easy, but almost all of the people who take drugs did so in the beginning for the enjoyment and good feelings it brought them.

Drug addiction treatment

Listed below are several different programmes to help people to recover from drug addiction, each programme is designed to tackle certain issues of addiction and the problems it can bring the person. The programmes are treatments which are designed to work alongside any existing treatment programmes the addict may be in and to enhance them.

The Matrix Programme

This programme was designed to help those addicted to stimulants quit their addiction, during the programme addicts will learn about the critical issues this addiction brings and aids in the prevention of relapse. While in the programme addicts will receive help and support from trained therapists and will be continually monitored for use of drugs while attending the programme.

Treating drug addiction

Treatments for drug addiction vary greatly on factors such as the type of drug the person is addicted to and the type of person they are, successful treatments for addicts will usually be a combination of therapy and other services. Problems caused by a person’s addiction can also vary; a person can suffer mental health, health, occupational or social problems which make their addiction more difficult to treat.

What types of treatment are there?

Drug addiction treatments can include behavioural therapy such as counselling, cognitive therapy and psychotherapy, medication and more often than not a combination of both. Behavioural therapy is an excellent way of helping people deal with the cravings associated with withdrawal, it also teaches the person how to avoid addiction in the future and can help with relapses.