The Hard Truths About Drug Addiction
Those who struggle with drug
addiction don't set out to destroy themselves
and everyone and everything in their path--rather,
these disastrous consequences are the effect
of the vicious cycle of addiction. For many,
drugs seem to be a means of averting emotional
and/or physical pain by providing the user
with a temporary and illusionary escape from
or way to cope with life's realities. In
fact, more problems--often life-shattering
ones--are created by using drugs. Over time,
a person's ability to choose not to take
drugs can become compromised. Soon enough,
the person rationalizes the need to use consistently
and will do anything to get high...
Drug addiction is complex. It's characterized by compulsive--at times uncontrollable--drug
craving, seeking, and use that persists even in the face of extremely negative
consequences. For many people, drug addiction becomes chronic, with relapses
possible even after long periods of abstinence.
Essentially, drugs are a pain killer. They may seem to avert emotional
and physical pain by providing the user with a temporary and illusionary escape
from or way to cope with life's realities. In fact, more problems--serious ones--are
created by using and abusing drugs.
Over time, a person's ability to choose not to take drugs can become compromised--soon
enough the person rationalizes the need to use consistently and will do anything to
get high. They are now caught in the vicious cycle of using to alleviate pain
and creating more pain by using...They now display the physiological symptoms
of addiction. They become difficult to communicate with, are withdrawn, and begin
to exhibit other strange behaviorisms associated with addiction.
The compulsion to use drugs can take over the individual's life. Addiction often
involves not only compulsive drug taking but also a wide range of dysfunctional
behaviors that can interfere with normal functioning in the family, the workplace,
and the broader community. Addiction also can place people at increased risk
for a wide variety of other illnesses. These illnesses can be brought on by behaviors,
such as poor living and health habits, that often accompany life as an addict,
or because of toxic effects of the drugs themselves.
Because addiction has so many dimensions and disrupts so many aspects of an individual's
life, treatment for this illness is never simple. Drug treatment must help the
individual stop using drugs and maintain a drug-free lifestyle, while achieving
productive functioning in the family, at work, and in society. Effective drug
abuse and addiction treatment programs typically incorporate many components,
each directed to a particular aspect of the illness and its consequences.
Three decades of scientific research and clinical practice have yielded a variety
of effective approaches to drug addiction treatment. Extensive data document
that drug addiction treatment is as effective as are treatments for most other
similarly chronic medical conditions. In spite of scientific evidence that establishes
the effectiveness of drug abuse treatment, many people believe that treatment
is ineffective. In part, this is because of unrealistic expectations. Many people
equate addiction with simply using drugs and therefore expect that addiction
should be cured quickly, and if it is not, treatment is a failure. In reality,
because addiction is a chronic disorder, the ultimate goal of long-term abstinence
often requires sustained and repeated treatment.
Source: www.4therapy.com |
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