Incidence Of Opioid Addiction In The Us
The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic. The most recently available data suggest that roughly 1.6 million people in the United States live with an opioid use disorder. More than 10 million people in the United States misuse prescription opioids.
White people and males have the highest rates of opioid misuse and deaths from overdose. But there are disparities in access to treatment for minority populations, people of low income, and females.
Deaths from overdose are rising faster for non-Hispanic Black people and American Indians than other demographic groups. Pregnant people may be denied treatment or be afraid of legal consequences of seeking care.
Signs Of Cocaine Abuse
Cocaine is best known in its white powder form. Most often, this drug is snorted, smoked, or injected. As cocaine is a stimulant, one of its hallmarks is that its main effects wear off around 30 minutes to 2 hours after the last use. In addition to the general signs of drug abuse discussed above, cocaine has some specific side effects, including:
- Increased energy
- Fast white lady
- Yao
As Medical News Today discusses, cocaine is highly addictive and the strongest natural occurring stimulant in existence. Cocaine addiction is associated with dramatic personal losses there are reports of professionals spending $20,000 to $50,000 on cocaine binges, parents selling their children, and people becoming unemployed, having to file bankruptcy, and ending up homeless. It is clear that cocaine use can spiral out of control. For this reason, the earlier the abuse is intercepted, the better.
Get Past Your Addiction Problem
The points above will help you recognize your addiction problem. From there youll be better able to nip it in the bud. Whether its alcohol, cocaine, heroin, or any other drug, people struggling with substances experience similar patterns.
Use these points to make sure you get the help that you need. Check back for more information on health, fitness, and life as a whole.
Read Also:
Also Check: Is Drug Addiction An Illness
Signs Of Alcohol Abuse
Unfortunately, public perception of alcohol may be that since it is legal, it is not a drug, but it is, and a lethal one at that. The history of alcohol and the Prohibition lay bare that this drug is legal mainly because of its popularity and commercial profitability, not because of its widespread acceptance. Even today, some Americans would support the efforts made in this time period, especially those who have firsthand experience with this illness.
Alcohol abuse and alcoholism are associated with physical symptoms such as weight loss, redness of the cheeks and nose, and gastritis . This illness also gives rise to many of the behavioral changes discussed earlier. However, there are additional negative experiences associated with alcohol abuse, including:
Understanding The Signs Of Addiction
A drug addiction or alcohol use disorder can be difficult to identify without understanding the signs of addiction. Substance use disorders can change the way people look, how they act and how they feel, and the symptoms of drug abuse can be physical, behavioral and psychological in nature.
Not everyone who uses drugs or alcohol has a substance abuse problem. However, about 10% of Americans struggle with substance abuse. Understanding the signs and symptoms of drug addiction is the first step towards getting help.
Fortunately for concerned family members and friends, many characteristics of addiction are easy to identify, and many types of drug addictions share similar signs and symptoms. If someone can recognize the symptoms of addiction, they may be able to help a friend or family member who struggles with this disease.
Don’t Miss: Why Am I Addicted To Sugar
Making Excuses For Uncharacteristic Behaviors
People who use drugs and alcohol are always going to make excuses for their behavior. Behavior that leads to a refusal to step up and accept responsibility, rather than always coming up with an excuse or putting the fault on someone or something else could be a sign that there is an underlying issue.
Getting Help For Alcoholism
If you suspect that you or someone you care about has an AUD, it may be time to seek professional help. Alcohol.org is a subsidiary of American Addiction Centers , a nationwide provider of addiction treatment facilities.
As a leading provider of addiction treatment services, we offer a combination of proven therapies and services to meet your individual needs. Our admissions navigators are available 24/7 to discuss your treatment options today and tell you more about what to expect. Call our hotline at , all calls are 100% confidential.
Helpful resources:
Also Check: How Can Addiction Be Prevented
Is Addiction A Disease
The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as a chronic disease. According to ASAM, it involves a complex interaction between genetics, the environment, brain circuits, and life experiences. While serious, addiction is also treatable.
The current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines addictions to alcohol and drugs as psychiatric disorders, which are patterns of symptoms that result from substance use. These patterns persist despite negative consequences.
The DSM recognizes substance use disorder caused by ten classes of drugs, including alcohol, cannabis, hallucinogens, sedatives, and stimulants.
How Drug Use Starts
For some individuals, substance abuse begins when they start socially experimenting with various substances. This can be the case with drugs such as amphetamines, alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs.
Opioid abuse can begin differently. People who become addicted to opioids are often prescribed prescription drugs, such as painkillers, often following something like an accident or surgery. They can then start taking higher doses of those prescription drugs, which can lead to abuse. They may also seek cheaper forms of opioids, such as heroin. Overall, 75% of heroin users report that the first opioid they took was a prescription drug.
When someone begins using drugs of any kind, they may start feeling as if they need larger and more frequent doses to get the same effects, even with something that started as social experimentation. This is called tolerance.
Drug use can start at any age. However, starting during childhood or adolescence is linked to an increased risk of dependence on the substance, where they feel like they need the drug to function normally.
Recommended Reading: What Is Obsessive Love Addiction
When Should I See My Healthcare Provider About Addiction
Addiction is a serious disease. If you or someone you care about has a problem with addiction, talk to your provider right away. Treatments and support groups can help.
A note from Cleveland Clinic If you or someone you know is living with addiction, you may feel overwhelmed and out of control. But there is hope. Addictions are treatable. Through hard work and commitment, millions of people have overcome substance use disorders to live happy, healthy lives. Talk to your provider about a treatment plan that works for you. Dont get discouraged if you have setbacks along the way. It is possible to overcome this, and you are not alone.
Are There Early Warning Signs Of Addiction
While the best-known signs of addiction may be physical changes in a personweight loss to the point of emaciation, the red face of problem drinkersthose occur late in the course of substance use. The early signs of addictive problems are behavioral. Experts identify at least five early warning signs of addiction.
rationalization: justifying use because of a real need the substance is serving, whether it is aiding social experience or fostering sleep.
personality changes: unpredictable displays of hostility, suspicion, or irritability, or rapid mood swings
relationship shifts: wearing out longstanding relationships, rapidly turning to new sets of friends
deteriorating work performance: increasing difficulties concentrating on work showing up in simple mistakes and, often, new difficulties with coworkers
emergence of a shadow self: violating deep values as drug use affects the prefrontal cortex of the brain.
You May Like: Why Do People Get Addicted To Drugs
How To Spot Drug Use In Adolescents
While overall moodiness can simply be part of adolescence and the teen years, drug use is generally signified by more drastic changes in mood or behaviors in this age group. Per the National Institute on Drug Abuse , signs of drug use in adolescentsinclude acting withdrawn, tired, depressed, or hostile.
Parents should take note when a child starts associating with a different group of peers, as changes in peer groups may be linked with substance use. An adolescent using drugs might also miss classes, skip school, or change their eating or sleeping habits. Parents can also listen for their kids using slang terms for certain drugs of abuse.
If drug use is suspected, prompt intervention is vital. Parents can get help from guidance counselors, primary care physicians, and drug abuse treatment providers.
Environmental Signs Of A Drug Problem
Unusual Smells. Some drugs, like alcohol, marijuana, crack, or meth, have distinct smells that individuals may try to cover up. Repeated and constant use will be hard to disguise. You may notice those smells on their clothes, in their car or bedroom, or on their breath or skin.
Finding Drug Paraphernalia. If you find smoking devices, needles, oil vaporizers, or stashes of different devices needed for drug use, you may want to discuss with your loved one what those items are and why they have them.
Deodorizers or Incense to Cover Up Smells. Some drugs have very strong smells. You may notice this person spraying areas such as their room or car, wearing very strong cologne or perfume, or even burning candles and incense to cover it. This is concerning especially if this is a new behavior.
Don’t Miss: What Chemical Makes Alcohol Addictive
Physical Signs Of Drug Addiction
If someone misuses drugs or alcohol, they may exhibit numerous physical signs of drug abuse. Some of these signs may be readily apparent, while others are easily hidden or occur as gradual changes.
Signs of benzodiazepine abuse may include:
- Similar symptoms as alcohol intoxication, without the smell of alcohol on the breath
- Missing prescription pills
Your Usage Has Increased
Has your substance use increased over time? Did you start with a small glass of alcohol at night but now you need an entire bottle to feel the same effects? With regular use, your brain adapts to the presence of the drug or alcohol over time. Eventually, you need to use more and more of a substance to get the same high or feeling it gave you at first. This effect is called tolerance.
Recommended Reading: Is Marijuana An Addictive Drug
The Physical Signs Are Showing Up And Youre Isolating Yourself
There are always physical signs of addiction once the problem progresses. Youll stop taking care of your hygiene and will have discolored skin, damaged teeth, and poor overall health.
People that are addicted to drugs also begin isolating themselves and showing anti-social behavior.
Without question, overcoming addiction is one of the most difficult things that youll ever do. Recognizing the signs first and foremost will give you a fighting chance.
You Feel Compelled To Hide Your Drug Use
Maybe you tell yourself you dont want friends and family to worry or judge you, so you use in secret or cover up the signs. You might avoid or lie to your loved ones in an attempt to hide that you are using or how much. You may feel that you are controlling the situation this way, but youre also lying to yourself.
Read Also: How To Deal With Addicted Family Member
What Is Wet Brain
Wet brain is the colloquial term for the nutritional brain bomb of severe thiamine deficiency that occurs with chronic abuse of alcohol. It is medically known as Wernickes Encephalopathy or Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome. It arises when people get a large proportion of their calories from alcohol, because the substance interferes with the intestinal absorption of thiamine, also known as vitamin B1. Thiamine is critical for energy production and serves as a cofactor in many enzymatic reactions regulating glucose utilization by mitochondria, the power factories inside all cells.
Because the brain uses a disproportionate amount of energy to power its many high-level functions, thiamine deficiency can lead to damage to the mitochondria of nerve cells. The clinical manifestation of wet brain syndrome are memory loss and confusion, difficulties in muscle coordination when standing or walkingsufferers have a distinctive shuffling gate known as ataxiaand abnormal eye movements and visual changes such as double vision resulting from paralysis of eye muscles. These signs, similar to those of intoxication, exist in the absence of drinking.
How Do You Know If Youre Addicted
You look forward to getting high. You devote increasing amounts of time planning to get drugs or worrying about where your next dose is coming from. You find yourself rummaging through other peoples medicine cabinets in search of drugs.
Your involvement with drugs begins to have negative consequences. It interferes with your functioningyou start missing obligations and events. You make excuses for yourselfto yourself and to others, about why you need the substance, about not showing up, about making mistakes at work, about how tomorrow will be different. You break promises to yourself that you will stop usinga source of self-contempt that has a way of perpetuating addiction by needing relief in the high of substance use. You drift away from longtime friends. You get secretive about your activities. You get defensive or belligerent with loved ones or colleagues who want to know whats going on they notice peculiarities about your behavior or appearance that you are not likely to recognize. You maintain a belief that you can stop any time you wantdespite evidence to the contrary.
Read Also: What Do Drug Addicts Use Batteries For
Signs & Symptoms Of Addiction
There are a number of different signs and symptoms of addiction. Symptoms are experienced by the person with the addiction, whereas signs are observed by other people.
You can never know what someone else is experiencing unless they tell you, so if you are concerned that someone else may have an addiction, look for signs as well as symptoms.
You might see some of these signs and symptoms but not others in someone who is experiencing addiction. They can still be addicted even if they do not have all of these.
Common signs of addiction include:
- Changes in social groups, new and unusual friends, odd phone conversations
- Drug paraphernalia such as unusual pipes, cigarette papers, small weighing scales, etc.
- Financial problems
- Stashes of drugs, often in small plastic, paper, or foil packages
Common symptoms of addiction include:
Most of the signs of addiction can have other explanations. People can have changes in their mood, behavior, and energy levels for other reasons, including health-related ones.
Be cautious about jumping to conclusions. It is difficult to discern if someone may have an addiction, even if some obvious signs are observed. If you discover drugs or drug paraphernalia, talk with a healthcare provider or an addiction counselor or specialist for guidance on appropriate ways to handle this difficult situation.
Signs Of Internet Addiction
Reading Time: 3minutes
For years on end, excessive alcohol use was considered acceptable behavior, particularly for males. Once it became impossible to ignore the repercussions from excessive drinking, alcohol addiction came to the forefront. Likewise, the Internet has become a part of everyday life making it a completely acceptable behavior. As a result, it can be difficult to spot the signs of internet addiction, and maybe even more so difficult since the Internet has become a part of daily life.
According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, the behaviors that make up internet addiction match the behaviors that define compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorders. In other words, internet addiction functions as a process-based disorder as opposed to substance-based disorders like alcoholism and drug addiction.
An internet addiction can be difficult to catch if it becomes a part of your daily life.
If you suspect you or someone you know may be addicted to the Internet, here are the top 10 signs of internet addiction to watch out for:
Related Articles
Read Also: How To Help Someone With Drug Addiction And Depression
Physical Symptoms Of Alcohol Addiction
When alcoholism is severe, an individual may develop a physical dependence on the drug.
Symptoms of dependence include becoming tolerant to some ofalcohols effects and experiencing withdrawal symptoms when alcohol is not consumed. A person who is physically dependent on alcohol may also experience cravings an intense need or desire to drink.
Dr. Kevin Wandler of Advanced Recovery Systems describes how tolerance and withdrawal symptoms are indicators of alcohol dependence.
Tolerance symptoms include a need to drink more than you once did to achieve the desired level of intoxication. People experiencing this phenomenon might even switch up their drink of choice moving from beer or wine to hard liquor, for example, to accommodate their need for more alcohol.
Not everyone with an alcohol use disorder develops a physical dependence to alcohol, but people may exhibit other physical symptoms. Because long-term heavy alcohol use can damage almost every organ in the body, a person with an alcohol use disorder can develop an array ofalcohol-related diseases and disorders that cause many symptoms.
Common physical symptoms of an alcohol use disorder:
- Experiencing repeated blackouts
- Mood swings, depression, anxiety or panic attacks
- Sleeping problems or insomnia
- Difficulty concentrating
- Memory loss
Behavioral Signs Of Drug Addiction
When substance use takes hold of someones life, new priorities and feelings will control how they behave.
This results in rapid or noticeable changes from what was previously considered normal for this person. Daily routines and activities get rearranged or abandoned, and relationships with friends and loved ones come under stress. If you or someone you know is turning into someone unrecognizable, it could be a consequence of drug abuse.
Some changes to watch for are:
1. Struggling with Limits:
This can manifest as urges to take a prescription drug at a higher dose than prescribed or continuing after the health problem it treats has ended. Addiction makes it hard to follow even self-prescribed rules. If you have set yourself a self-imposed use limit but cannot stop yourself, this is a concerning sign.
2. Loss of Interest:
Substance dependency takes over the minds reward system. Take note if someone is becoming complacent in realms they used to take great pride in or apathetic towards the people or hobbies they usually cherish.
It may mean they are funneling their energy toward feeding the impulse of using drugs. Frequent failure to show up or follow through on plans, lack of enthusiasm, or dulling of talents can all indicate an underlying struggle.
3. Mood Swings:
4. Reclusive and Private Behavior:
5. Defensiveness:
6. Erratic Behavior:
7. Changes in Sleep Habits:
You May Like: What Does The Bible Say About Drug Addiction
