There is a significant difference between a drug addiction and a drug dependency. Addiction is a mental and physical dependency on a substance while dependency is the body’s natural response to having a medication introduced for a period of time, which creates the body’s belief that it needs the substance to function normally.
Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to spot a drug addiction is someone in the earliest and most treatable stages. The signs and symptoms of drug addiction include but are certainly not limited to mood swings, withdrawal, weight loss (sometimes weight gain when marijuana is the drug of choice) lying, unexplained absence from work or school, drastic behavioral changes, and discoloration of skin. However, crystal methamphetamine user will show severe physical changes in very short periods of time including sudden and extreme tooth decay, severe weight loss, and sores all over their skin and face where they have picked or cut themselves believing they had to remove something from under their skin.
Anyone can have an addiction to drugs, whether it is street drugs or prescription medication. There are people who are more susceptible, but no one is immune from the possibility of drug addiction. Some scientists believe that drug addiction has biological influences, such as the excessive release of dopamine and endorphins in drug users. There is speculation that social rewards are a motivating factor in drug use, but these theories have yet to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Risk factors for drug addiction are both typical and atypical. Teens with addictive personalities who are experiencing severe stress are more likely to try and become addicted to drugs. Often unsupervised teens are likely to try drugs, and may or may not end up addicted to them. Depression is the most common cause of drug addiction. Drug use can alter the reality long enough to provide temporary relief from a problem or unhappy life. Other people such as home makers, professionals, and doctors are at risk due to boredom, depression, or extreme pressure to stay awake and perform on command. People who are introduced to drugs by their friends are likely to continue in their company and eventually begin drug use alone.
Drug use can be detected when behaviors are suspicious and a blood or urine test can be used to determine whether the behaviors are drug related. Most drugs stay in the system anywhere from three days to three months, depending on the drug. Often addicts can be confronted in a hospital setting and will simply admit to drug use and provide a list of drugs which they have used within the last six months to a year.
Untreated drug addiction can lead to serious complications including loss of employment or dropping out of school, crime, jail time, severe illness, homelessness, and death. Not all drug addictions end up with such serious consequences, which can make it harder to convince a drug addict to quit. Some drug addicts have been able to negotiate the world while maintaining their drug addiction.
Drug addiction treatment varies, but most people with a drug addiction do need to spend at least thirty days in a rehabilitation facility. There are medications that can help to interrupt the addiction process by alleviating the pleasure associated with drug use. Many drug users are prescribed a daily dose of methadone, a prescription drug which is also addictive. The theory is that is the symptoms of withdrawal from street drugs or painkillers can be alleviated, the source of the drug addiction can be treated and then the dose of methadone can gradually be reduced. Methadone allows the drug addict to function normally while receiving treatment. Therapy and counseling are an intimate part of recovery. Without adequate treatment, drug users are likely to relapse. Therapy and rehabilitation facilities are part of the treatment plan.
The addict needs to have a desire to quit the drug use he or she has become so dependant upon. Without a desire, the addict is likely to relapse at the first available opportunity. Many drug addicts have to find themselves in nearly intolerable pain before deciding to deal with their drug addiction.
Coping with drug use requires counseling for the addict as well as the family members and those affected by the chronic drug use. In therapy, friends and family members will learn to lovingly set limits in dealing with an addict’s drug use.
Addiction videos
Sex Internet Porn Addiction
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Face of addiction - The effects of crystal meth
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End The Cycle of Addiction Part B
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The Use of Drug Courts in Dealing with Addiction
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What The Bleep Do We Know--Addiction Clip
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R5. Taste Addiction, Food and Emotions
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Physiology of Addiction
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Grown Man Cries Over Not Having His Blackberry
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Find out more by viewing the Human Anatomy page:
Autonomic nervous system
Central nervous system
Endocrine system
Peripheral nervous system
Medication commonly used for these disease:
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Campral, also known by the generic name of acamprosate, is a medicine used to treat alcohol dependence. It is believed to stabilize the chemical imbalance in the brain caused by frequent alcohol intake or alcoholism, most probably by activating gamma-amin more...
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Diazepam, more popularly known under the brand name Valium, is a versatile drug possessing various effects which make it quite valuable it has been used as anticonvulsant, sedative, hypnotic, skeletal muscle relaxant and many other roles. Diazepam is usua more...
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Mental disorders are common for people aged 65 and above. As years are added to your age, your brain becomes all worked up that is basically the reason it sometimes malfunctions. Clearly enough, mental disturbances are the bitter realities that comes alon more...
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People finally have a way of slowing down brain and cognitive deterioration with the use of Nootropil. The medication is truly advantageous since it presents zero toxicity and very minimal side effect risk. Nootropil is the generic name of the nootropic more...
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Tranxilium is a brand name for the generic drug clorazepate. It is used to treat anxiety, seizures, and the symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol. It can also be prescribed for irritable bowel syndrome and as a muscle relaxant. It is part of a class of m more...
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Tetrazepam is a generic name for the brand name medication Clinoxan, Epsipam, Myolastan, Musaril, Relaxam, Spasmorelax. It is prescribed for the management of anxiety disorders, and for the short-term relief of anxiety or panic attacks. It can al more...
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Atarax, which is generically prescribed as hydroxyzine, is commonly used to treat anxiety disorders, provide relief from intense short term stress, and can be used to treat allergies, especially those which affect the skin. more...
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Wellbutrin, which is generically prescribed as bupropion, is used to treat the symptoms of depression and seasonal affective disorder. It is also used as a smoking cessation tool by reducing the cravings and withdrawal symptoms of cigarette smokers more...
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The generic equivalent to Catapres is clonidine, both of which are commonly used to treat hypertension. Despite the fact that the American Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve Catapres for the use of relieving withdrawal symptoms related to alc more...
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Acamprosate is a prescribed drug distributed under the brand name Campral that is given to patients who are being treated for alcoholism. Excessive intake of alcohol causes side effects to the functions of the brain. Acamprosate helps the brain to regains more...
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