Addiction is basically the compulsory behavior of an individual to repeat a certain activity and finds it very hard to give up. It is commonly used when the individual is abusing a substance that provides a sense of satisfaction for the individual’s psychological needs. Today the word is linked with other activities as well, but in this case the addiction is with regard to substance.
For years we as a society have assumed that people have become addicts because there are weak and looking for fun or just to channel their moral depravities. But there are a few that have become addicts during their treatment for physical pain. When people get severe or chronic pain they are prescribed painkillers and later develop a physical dependence on it. And in order to satisfy their addiction to it and prevent the agony of the symptoms of withdrawal take the drugs. As the patient is going through this ordeal, the people around assume it to be a sly and manipulative way of behavior. One such addiction is that of opiate, and is now been characterized as a brain disease. In this case, after a certain period the victim develops a resistance to the dose and increases the dosage. The effects of the opiate addiction are so dramatic that non-drug users find it very surprising.
The opiate addict experiences feelings of euphoria, cycles of highs and lows, and other effects on the character of a person like lying, manipulative behavior, not punctual for appointments, work and even is aloof of relationships with family members. Continuous use of the drug has a bigger impact since the drug users low is actually normal when they do not use the opiate, and using the opiate gives them a high. But over a period of time, the effect of the opiate is short-term leading to increased dosage and when not taking the drug they feel less than normal. So in other words taking the stipulated amount makes them feel only normal, but an increased dosage gives them a feeling of euphoria.
Slowly this effect wears off and the once physical dependent individual is now a full fledge opiate addict. And that is not all, now the individual suffers from depressions, as the drug is not potent enough. The addict takes the drug only to reduce the state of depression, and probably also to not feel the withdrawal symptoms or lower them as well. Basically such individuals try a number of extremes to quit. The feelings that they experience fall short in words and even while trying to quit they have to deal with their depression, cravings and the intense withdrawal symptoms.
The success rate of curing an opiate addict is only two percent, the remaining are mostly on a treatment to cure their addiction. For example, the FDA has approved of Buprenorphine>> another opiate drug that has lower side effects and blocks the withdrawal symptoms of the individual, helping him/her to quit the addiction. The programs work on a tapering method, which means lowering the dosage with time and curing the root problem of drug addiction. The problems can range from treatment for persistent pain, peer pressure, self medication for psychiatric disorder or post traumatic stress disorder that has been diagnosed such as incest, poor judgment and obliviousness to the loss of someone very important such as a child, parent or spouse. The rehab is successful only when complimented by the physical and mental presence of near and dear ones and consistent monitoring of all the patient’s activities. The rehab is designed to enable the addict to get that very valuable second chance.
For additional information on addiction treatment or the drug
Suboxone,
Call now 1-888-Suboxone or 1-888-782-6966
E-mail: Support@SoftLandingRecovery.com>
Content provided by the Editorial Board.
This article is written by a freelance writer. It might not reflect the views and opinions of Soft Landing ltd. or its staff but has been placed here
so that our visitors may get an idea of how others think of the topic.
Information on this page last updated on 11/23/2007