Over 23 million Americans currently need treatment for a substance use disorder, yet only ten percent suffering receive the rehab they need. When a drug addiction is left untreated, the consequences become severe. According to the Center for Disease Control, there were 43,982 deaths due to drug poisoning in 2013. Every day, approximately 78 people in the United States die from an opioid overdose.
If you or a loved one is in need of substance abuse rehab, do not wait. It is never too early to get the help you need. You do not need to have a physical addiction to require drug rehab; you do not need to have gone to jail to check into a treatment program. If substance abuse is causing any negative effects in your life, it’s time to make a change. Here are ten signs that you need substance abuse rehab:
1. You have gone to rehab prior, but have since relapsed.
Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease. While some people can enter substance abuse rehab only once and learn to live sober, most require several stints of rehab before finding the treatment program that best fits their needs. If you have tried an outpatient rehab program before and have since relapsed, you may need to reevaluate your treatment approach. What worked, and what didn’t? This time around, you may consider an inpatient drug rehab program, where you will be provided with a safe, drug-free environment, 24/7 watchful care, a sober network of peers, and several different drug treatment approaches to help you through the recovery process.
2. You have built a tolerance to the drug.
When you started using, you likely only tried a small amount at first – one pain pill, one tab, one joint shared among your friends. You were not accustomed to the effects of the drug back then, and that little bit was just enough to get high. Over time, however, your body grew used to the side effects. You started increasing your dosages to achieve the same outcome. Or, you started using drugs more frequently in order to maintain your high.
This is called tolerance, and it is one of the most indicative signs of drug addiction. Tolerance means that your body is physically dependent on drugs and that it no longer responds to a substance in the same way it used to. It now requires more of that drug, more frequent drug use, or an even more powerful drug to feel the same effects.
Tolerance is extremely dangerous as it can inevitably lead a user to overdose. For example, if you develop a heroin addiction and increasingly take larger amounts of the drug (an opiate depressant) thinking you can handle it, you put yourself at risk of respiratory depression, coma, and death. For this reason, substance abuse rehab is vital.
3. Your physical health is suffering.
Drugs are foreign chemicals that affect how your body functions. Over an extended period, the physical effects of substance abuse can severely damage the different systems in your body – your nervous system, your respiratory system, your cardiovascular makeup. In time, substance abuse can also become fatal. Today, approximately 1 in 4 deaths is attributable to alcohol and illicit drug use.
The physical consequences of drug use depend on your drug of choice. For example, opiate abuse can lead to respiratory depression and permanent brain damage or a coma, due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. Cocaine abuse restricts blood flow and can cause a heart attack or stroke.
If your drug abuse is triggering tangible effects on your health, your body may be telling you it is time to stop. Find a substance abuse rehab center before it’s too late. Look for signs such as headaches and migraines, shortness of breath, changes in appetite or sleep patterns, body aches, shakes or seizures, and increased heart rate to protect yourself from irreversible physical side effects and overdose.
A structured, clinical, inpatient substance abuse rehab program is beneficial in that it will provide you with 24/7 mental and physical health monitoring, so that you can focus on your recovery while we keep you safe.
4. You experience withdrawal symptoms when you are not high.
The more you use drugs, the more difficult it is to stop. This is largely because of the intense withdrawal symptoms that your body experiences after stopping substance abuse for a period of time – Whether a few hours or a couple of days, post-acute withdrawal syndrome can take effect immediately and last for months at a time.
Withdrawal symptoms can manifest themselves physically in the form of headaches, nausea, insomnia, physical pain, and fatigue. They can also be emotionally or psychologically detrimental and exhibited as anger, hostility, irritability, depression, traumatic flashbacks, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm. If you experience any of these symptoms or feel pain or ill when sober, there is a great chance you need professional addiction treatment.
5. You are neglecting other responsibilities, like school, work, and even personal appearance.
Are you finding that your past priorities no longer matter? Are you putting your drug use, drug dealing, or drug seeking before your education and career? Have you lost your job or been kicked out of class due to drug-related issues? Have your former interests and hobbies, even your personal hygiene and appearance, taken the backseat to your drug use? If so, take these as signs it is time to find a substance abuse rehab program.
6. You are losing valuable relationships.
As you became more involved with drugs, and therefore more involved with people who use drugs, you may have dropped some good friends along the way. You may have lost interest in your long-time childhood friends or grown isolated from family members. Perhaps your loved ones are also hurt by your drug use and have started distancing themselves from you. If you have lost meaningful relationships due to drugs, there is help for you. The right substance abuse rehab program can help you get to the root of your drug addiction, make a change, and regain meaning in life once again. It can also help you to rebuild bridges and make supportive, sober connections.
7. You are lying to friends and family about your drug use.
No matter how much control you think you have over your drug use, if you are lying about it, there is a great chance that those drugs actually have control over you. Lying about your substance use is a tell-tale sign you need drug rehab. It means that you are hiding something, building walls around something that you do not want your loved ones to know about you. Checking into a rehab center will not only help break down these walls, but it will also show your loved ones that you are ready to make a change, that you are ready to accept (not deny) the issue and free yourself from the addiction cycle.
8. Your drug use has gotten you in trouble or incites risky behaviors.
Have you been arrested for possession? Have you gotten behind the wheel while intoxicated? Have you harmed a classmate, a friend, a significant other while under the influence of drugs? Have you invoked harm upon yourself?
When you are high or drunk, you may feel invincible. You may feel like no one can stop you, and therefore take risks you wouldn’t normally take when sober. This because drugs alter the chemical makeup of your brain, and impair your ability to make rational decisions. But it does not only put you in danger, or at risk of being put behind bars, it also puts others in jeopardy, as well. If you have threatened anyone’s safety while intoxicated, you must seek out professional young adult drug treatment.
9. You do not feel mentally stable.
Mental illness affects approximately 44 million people in the United States; 9 million of which also have a co-occurring substance abuse disorder. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that self-medication of a mental disorder is one of the primary contributors to substance abuse and addiction. If you use drugs to escape psychological problems such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, trauma, or stress, or if you have a history of mental illness, you may need integrated dual diagnosis treatment.
10. You know drugs are harming you, but you just can’t stop.
You know that your drug abuse has become an issue. You are well aware that it is disrupting your life, your health, and your relationships. Despite the toll that the drugs have taken on your life, you still cannot quit the habit. You keep thinking about when you will get the chance to use again, to drink again, to get high again.
Trying to quit, but not being able to, is exactly what constitutes drug addiction. It is a tell-tale sign that it is time to bring in professional drug treatment. Despite being a chronic brain disorder, addiction is in fact treatable. There is substance abuse rehab equipped to help you combat drug abuse and get sober once again.
Learn about Turnbridge substance abuse rehab for young men and women in Connecticut. Call 877-581-1793 to get started on your recovery journey today.