Trying to overcome a difficult situation like addiction to an illegal substance or alcohol is incredibly hard. It’s also admirable to have the courage to start the process. Family life can be significantly impacted and impaired by substance misuse disorders. Hence the need to recover via a rehab center.
Perhaps in an area like Castle Rock, this is most important. Colorado has seen a trend of higher addiction rates for many years now. If you’re curious about some of these statistics, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health put out a study regarding substance use and mental disorders in the Colorado area that you can check out here: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUHMetroBriefReports/NSDUHMetroBriefReports/NSDUH-Metro-Denver.pdf.
Clearly, this is a significant problem in this region. It is unfortunate but part of the reality of living in a state with legalized cannabis. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but sometimes there are unfortunate side effects such as a higher rate of addiction in the state.
What is Addiction?
To understand how to overcome addiction, I think it’s really important to understand what it actually is. There are a few things that constitute being addicted to a substance. These are as follows: displaying a lack of self-control, lacking an emotional response when confronted, having an increased want for the substance or the behavior (the behavior may be something like gambling), and dismissing how their behavior might be causing issues for the people around for them, and being unable to stop using the substance or performing the behavior.
Types of Addiction
Many of us think of addiction as alcohol or drug addiction. There are a few others, though. You can become dependent on nicotine, in many forms: be it cigarettes or chewing tobacco, or another variant. You can get addicted to substances such as THC which can be found in cannabis but also other things.
There are also dependencies on opioids. Some of these are prescribed by doctors – for a while, the pharmaceutical community assured people that they were not highly addictive. Unfortunately, as we have found out, they are in fact incredibly easy to get hooked on. Thus, opioids have become one of the worst causes of substance misuse disorders in the United States.
The other main type of addiction is a behavioral addiction. This can fall under many different possibilities. The most known type is gambling addiction. However, even drinking coffee, eating, having intercourse, or video gaming can cause the brain to form addiction patterns.
Problems From Addiction
Obviously, being dependent on something will eventually start to cause problems. Thankfully, there are many rehab facilities in Castle Rock that are available to help with treatment. Of course, if you’re looking to get help, you will probably want to know what to look for as far as signs you need to go somewhere.
Long-term Consequences
I often don’t think about this when I consider addiction and substance misuse. However, unfortunately, dependence on a drug can cause some serious health issues as you get older. Mental disorders are one of them. You can develop the major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, or even schizophrenia or psychosis in serious cases.
Now, there are also plenty of physical ramifications. One of these is cardiovascular disease. For more information about cardiovascular diseases, you can check out this page from the World Health Organization. Usually, this manifests as something such as a heart attack or heart disease. Obviously, neither are pleasant. You can also potentially have a stroke, heart failure, heart valve problems, and arrhythmia.
Another significant long-term risk from addiction is cancer. Tobacco is the main culprit here, causing many cases of lung cancer or mouth cancer each year. This can manifest in the lips, the throat, the larynx, or the inside of the mouth.
It can also result in something like kidney cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, cervix cancer, leukemia, or even bladder cancer. You might not think that picking up a cigarette could have such a serious impact on your future, but unfortunately, it can.
The final long-term consequence I will detail here is the increased risk for HIV/AIDS. Now, many of us have heard about this in movies and television. To get infected with the HIV virus, you must come into contact with the bodily fluids of someone else who is infected. This means that any shared needles could result in contraction.
Additionally, the use of substances can often worsen the symptoms you are experiencing. A lot of us are nervous to visit a doctor while we are addicted. Unfortunately, if HIV is untreated, it can develop into AIDS. This is what happens with many people who suffer from addictions, and is deeply tragic.
Short-Term Impacts
These are also quite varied in nature. This is probably obvious, given the variety of different things you can get addicted to. However, I will start with risks associated with pregnancy, as these impact not only the addict but their child as well.
When a mother is addicted to a substance and is breastfeeding, it can negatively impact their child. It can actually cause something called “neonatal abstinence syndrome.” Effectively, the baby is actually addicted to the drug that is carried through the breast milk. Obviously, this is hardly fair to them.
NAS can cause horrible things such as seizures, tremors, and trouble sleeping. No child deserves to suffer in this way. The other short-term effect I will discuss is a general sense of recklessness.
Often, people under the influence of a substance will do things such as drive in a reckless manner. This can obviously lead to accidents. Many of them are fatal and involve an innocent party.
Checking into Rehab is a Great Option
Overall, to prevent these consequences, it is really important to seek treatment as soon as you can if you are suffering from a substance misuse disorder. Don’t wait until it is too late! You want to protect both yourself and your loved ones.
Getting into a rehabilitation center is a great option for this. Getting to detox and separate from your life outside to take the necessary steps to become clean is vital in the process.
