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It’s not easy to get out of an addicting habit, especially when that habit proves to be harmful to you. To battle this addiction, the individual needs to double up on their knowledge of substance abuse and how and in what ways they could heal and recover.
Here’s an alarming fact: Data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration showed 37.309 million illegal drug users among Americans aged 12 years and older. Now, this is not discounting the fact that there are 28.320 million Americans who have an alcohol use disorder.
What causes this urgent and intense craving that could literally take hold and possibly destroy an individual’s overall well-being?
Margaret Moschak’s book My Alcoholic, My Love: My Love and Loss of an Alcoholic Husband talks about the destruction brought by an alcoholic family member. The book reflects on the author’s experience dealing being in love with an alcoholic husband and how she struggled to break free from the devastating impact her husband’s addiction brought upon her family.
The Impact of Substance Abuse
Substance abuse is the repeated and abusive use of harmful substances, such as drugs and alcohol.
How did it become abuse? When any recommendation does not support the intake of these drugs or alcohol, or when the consumer is taking more than the recommended dosage.
Drug abuse could also be in the form of legally prescribed or banned drugs. Either way, incorrect overconsumption produces a harmful effect that stretches beyond the physical consequences but could also harmfully affect the mental and emotional well-being of the individual.
The state of dependence on substance abuse is marked by a pattern of compulsive behavior that could prove challenging to ignore if left untreated. An individual who was caught hold within the grasp of addiction tends to experience the following symptoms:
Intense Craving and Urges
When addiction occurs, the urges become too strong to ignore even though the user knows the harm these substances could cause. Such and such that the cravings cannot be easily satiated by one intake – the consumption could occur several times a day.
Mental Health Changes
Abusive use of drugs and alcohol could significantly affect the central nervous system. These substances are typically classified as depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens. These substances produce a relaxing and less inhabited state of mind, even in small quantities. Taking large amounts could affect the individual’s concentration, coordination, and reactions and distort their sense of reality.
What happens, then? The person becomes paranoid and over-anxious, showing signs of frequent and extreme mood swings. They could also register opposite symptoms such as becoming withdrawn, lack of appetite and sleeplessness, and worse, physical symptoms such as gastric and cardio illnesses.
Road to Recovery
Treatment for substance abuse is not a one-size fits all recovery process. After all, each individual is unique with their different background stories. And if you’re a substance user and want to break free from addiction’s grasp, here are some steps that could help you prepare for that road of recovery.
Commit Yourself to Treatment
It all begins with your choice to heal and recover. Surround yourself with motivation, your “reasons” for wanting to change. These motivations should be strong enough to be your lifeline, less you fall and falter along the way to recovery. These reasons for committing yourself to treatment could be that you wanted to change because of your family or that your health has drastically declined.
To help you out, remove, hide, or throw away anything that would remind you of your addiction until you’re out of the woods from craving. If you’re obsessed with alcohol, throw away any liquor around the house, or even avoid going into shops that sell alcoholic drinks. If you’re addicted to drugs, steer clear of people who are also drug users.
Be Prepared for Triggers
Since substance abuse recovery is not an overnight miracle process, you need to be ready to deal with the stressors that could pull you right back and default to addiction.
Here’s what you need to get ready for when you finally decide to cut off addiction: the triggers caused by withdrawal symptoms. One triggering symptom could easily discourage a person and spiral back to the old habits. Some withdrawal symptoms to watch out for include extreme headaches, sudden sweating breakouts, insomnia, anxiety, nausea, heart palpitations, hypothermia, hallucinations, delirium, or even seizures.
Here’s what you can do to try to stem these triggers. Look for activities that could distract and take your mind off of these symptoms. Try yoga or any meditation or mindfulness exercises. Stay out under the sun and get as much fresh air as possible. Pamper yourself to help you shake off these stressful triggers, such as going for a massage or soaking in a luxurious hot bath.
Seek Professional Help
If you don’t know where and how to begin, it’s best to get support and help from the professionals, such as licensed therapists or counseling and rehabilitation groups. Community groups like Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous are among the many rehabilitation group programs designed to help individuals with their substance abuse addiction.
Author Margaret Moschak talked in her book about the Al-Anon organization, which has proven to be instrumental in helping people with alcoholism problems. Substance abuse disorder goes far beyond physical dependence; it goes right to the core of an individual’s psychological being that groups or professional therapists are needed to provide the right pathways for an effective recovery.
Remember the Fight
Always remember the reason why you’re seeking treatment. It’s all about the fight, the cause, and the reasons to live anew.
Like Margaret Moschak, her reason motivation was her children, the lifeline that helped pull her out of addiction’s destructiveness. Ready to get inspired? Grab a copy of My Alcoholic, My Love: My Love and Loss of an Alcoholic Husband on Amazon, or visit the author’s website at www.myalcoholicmylove.com.
