Jon Arnold asked:


Alcohol abuse and drug abuse are reaching all time highs in this nation. Many people do not even realize or acknowledge that they are an addict. The term “addict” conjures up images of someone who has reached the bottom of the barrel and is not a pleasant picture, yet many of the alcohol abusers and drug abusers are at that place, or if their affliction is left untreated, will soon find themselves in that place. Many of these people take the position that “that could not happen to me” but it can and it will if they do not seek help before the situation gets totally out of control.

Drug abuse is rampant and at the same time, it is probably the more difficult of the two addictions to convince someone of or make them aware of. Drug abuse is not limited to the illegal drugs like ***** or heroin or cocaine. While these can indeed be considered addictive drugs that can represent a drug abuse problem, drug addiction can also occur accidentally via legally prescribed pharmacy drugs. These are drugs that have been prescribed by a real doctor to treat a condition or a pain, but the user keeps on taking them long after the original cause has gone away, because they have become addictive. There is really very little difference between these two types of drug addicts, since an addiction is an addiction.

The most difficult task in getting someone into a drug rehab program is to convince them that they are indeed a drug addict. Most people, especially if the addiction is due to legal prescription medication, are unwilling to accept the label of “drug addict”, and many have even convinced themselves that they can quit any time they want to, they just have not had an occasion to “want to” yet. This is a potentially dangerous situation, and can only get worse over time.
Almost all drug rehab programs have the detox phase. In this phase, the addict’s body is detoxified, or in other words, the drug is no longer given and the person may even go through withdrawal symptoms. Depending on the particular drug that the person was addicted to, this is determined to either be cold turkey, or it can be with gradually reduced doses to avoid severe withdrawal symptoms. The important point is that the person’s body is given less and less of the drug to where they begin to live normally and realize that they can live without the drug.

Withdrawal symptoms are real and should not be minimized. When the body has become used to a particular chemical substance being in the body and that substance is suddenly or even gradually taken away, the body reacts, sometimes severely. Some people think that withdrawal symptoms are all in the mind, but you need to know that withdrawal symptoms are indeed real and can be very painful for the person going through it.

If someone you love is addicted to drugs or alcohol, the best thing you can do for them is to get them into an alcohol rehab program or drug rehab program. The programs are very good and are usually at minimal or even no cost. At least have that person agree to talk with a counselor about it. This is certainly a preferable option to watching them destroy their lives bit by bit over time.



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