Addiction
Addiction has many faces.
The
alcoholic who can’t refuse that first drink; the teenager who finds himself craving methamphetamine to keep going after trying in on a dare; the single mom finding herself using more and more anti-depressants to deal with getting through the day; or the workman now using way to many painkillers to get through the physical stress of the workday.
Most
addiction involves more than one substance as addicts seek solutions to the original drugs adverse affects by mistakenly using other substances in an attempt to escape the harsh realities of
addiction or an attempt to simply get back to normal. Each addiction can have its own symptoms and side effects.
Cravings, quilt, and depression however are almost universally common denominators to addiction, any lasting recovery from addiction must confront and relieve or resolve these three key factors.
Drug Rehab Information By State
As an opiate, regular use of methadone causes physical dependency - if you've been using it regularly (prescribed or not) once you stop you will experience a withdrawal. The physical changes due to the drug are similar to other opiates (like heroin). If you are a woman using methadone you may not have regular periods - but you are still able to conceive. Methadone is a long-acting opioid; it has an effect for up to 36 hours (if you are using methadone you will not withdraw for this period) A Personal story of methadone withdrawal:
“I've been on both ends of withdrawals, heroin and methadone, every patient of methadone will always tell you the same, as I do; I can kick heroin anytime, but methadone that is something else. In 15 yrs of heroin addiction, I've kicked 3 times, 'cold-turkey'. In 10 years on methadone I've never kicked methadone.”
MDMA or "ecstasy" is a Schedule I synthetic, psychoactive drug possessing stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. MDMA possesses chemical variations of the stimulant amphetamine or methamphetamine and a hallucinogen, most often mescaline. MDMA can cause adverse effects including nausea, hallucinations, chills, sweating, increases in body temperature, tremors, involuntary teeth clenching, muscle cramping, and blurred vision. MDMA users also report after-effects of anxiety, paranoia, and depression. An MDMA overdose is characterized by high blood pressure, faintness, panic attacks, and, in more severe cases, loss of consciousness, seizures, and a drastic rise in body temperature. MDMA overdoses can be fatal, as they may result in heart failure or extreme heat stroke.
What is the connection and where is the line between substance
abuse and addiction?
Drug use begins as an attempt to relieve some sort of pain, whether emotion or physical pain or a combination of the two.
The drugs do not solve or remedy the source of mental or physical pain but rather mask or remove symptoms only. As one uses more and more of the drugs in attempt to escape the stresses of life rather than solve them
abuse sets in, often accompanied by abuse of additional substances.
When the individual finds himself unable and/or unwilling to cease use on his own and life revolves around obtaining and using more and more drugs despite attempts to stop
addiction has set in.
Narconon Arrowhead handles all the factors involved in
substance abuse or
addiction and give back to the individual a drug free and productive life.
Addiction withdrawal is the term applied to the process of terminating or ceasing the use of the drug or alcohol causing the addiction.
Withdrawal symptoms are those physical, mental, and emotional discomforts occurring as a result of this process.
Some procedures attempt to ease withdrawal with the use of additional drugs or chemicals. This can and does complicate the process as now there are new substances that are creating dependencies along with the intense cravings for the original drug of addiction. In most cases withdrawal can be accomplished with adequate medical monitoring and proper nutrition.
Drugs severely deplete vitamin and nutritional stores in the body and when properly addressed will reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms without the dangers of using additional drugs.
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