Individuals who struggle with drug addiction did not set out to destroy themselves,
everyone and everything in their path; rather, these disastrous consequences
are the effect of the vicious cycle of drug addiction. For many, drugs seem
to be a means of averting emotional and/or physical pain by providing the user
with a temporary and illusionary escape from or way to cope with life's realities.
Example, an individual tries drugs or alcohol. The drugs APPEAR to solve his
problem. He feels better. Because he now SEEMS better able to deal with life,
the drugs become valuable to him. The person looks on drugs or alcohol as a
cure for unwanted feelings. The painkilling effects of drugs or alcohol become
a solution to their discomfort. Inadvertently the drug or alcohol now becomes
valuable because it helped them feel better. This release is the main reason
a person uses drugs or drinks a second or third time. It is just a matter of
time before he becomes fully addicted and loses the ability to control his drug
use. Drug addiction, then, results from excessive or continued use of physiologically
habit-forming drugs in an attempt to resolve the underlying symptoms of discomfort
or unhappiness.
Essentially, drugs are a pain killer. They may seem to avert emotional and
physical pain by providing the user with a temporary and illusionary escape
from or way to cope with life's realities. In fact, more problems--serious ones--are
created by using and abusing drugs.
Over time, a person's ability to choose not to take drugs can become compromised--soon
enough the person rationalizes the need to use consistently and will do anything
to get high. They are now caught in the vicious cycle of using to alleviate
pain and creating more pain by using...They now display the physiological symptoms
of drug addiction. They become difficult to communicate with, are withdrawn,
and begin to exhibit other strange behaviors associated with drug addiction.
In addition to the mental stress created by their unethical behavior, the addict's
body has also adapted to the presence of the drugs. They will experience an
overwhelming obsession with getting and using drugs, and will do anything to
avoid the pain of withdrawing from them. This is when the newly-created addict
begins to experience drug cravings.
They now seek drugs both for the reward of the "pleasure" they give
him, and also to avoid the mental and physical horrors of withdrawal. Ironically,
the addict's ability to get "high" from the alcohol or drug gradually
decreases as his body adapts to the presence of foreign chemicals. They must
take more and more drugs or alcohol, not just to get an effect but often just
to function at all.
At this point, the addict is stuck in the vicious dwindling spiral of drug
addiction. The drugs the addict abuses have changed them both physically and
mentally. They have crossed an invisible and intangible line. They now have
a drug addiction or are an alcoholic.
The compulsion to use drugs can take over the individual's life. Drug addiction
often involves not only compulsive drug taking but also a wide range of dysfunctional
behaviors that can interfere with normal functioning in the family, the workplace,
and the broader community. Drug addiction also can place people at increased
risk for a wide variety of other illnesses. These illnesses can be brought on
by behaviors, such as poor living and health habits, that often accompany life
as a drug addict, or because of toxic effects of the drugs themselves.
Results of the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse and Addiction revealed
that, while millions of Americans habitually smoke pot, drink alcohol, snort
cocaine and swallow prescription drugs, too many drug users who meet the criteria
for needing treatment do not recognize that they have a drug addiction problem.
The figure of those "in denial" of their drug addiction is estimated
at more than 4.6 million--a significantly higher number of individuals in need
of professional help than had been previously thought.
