Advice Help and Action against Addiction

It is challenging to convince a drug user to stop using it if they are in the only “pleasure” phase, that is to say, if they have not yet become aware of the harmful effects of their use or his drug addiction and sees only the pleasure he gets from drugs.

Regarding drug addiction, many drug users are not aware of their addiction and think they can stop when they want to… and it is often when they try to stop that they discover this dependence.

For example, we have heard cannabis users say to us several times: “I manage my consumption, I have already stopped several times (sic) without difficulty …”.

These users did not understand that the THC accumulated and stored in their body acts for several days and thus masks the craving effect. They have, in fact, never been able to stop permanently and are addicted without realizing it.

It is only when the user has become aware of a problem, either on his own or that his parents or those around him have succeeded in making him aware of the present or future difficulties, that he can then feel the motivation to stop.

Distinguish in advance the use comfortable and controlled drugs, whether harmful or not, preferably linked to a casual, festive use or recurrent (a glass of whiskey with friends, for example), but that is up to the abuse, and drug addiction which is a compulsive use which is not controlled or poorly controlled and which is generally induced by underlying problems of which the user is not necessarily aware.

The desire to stop consumption only appears when one feels adverse effects on one’s health or social life, that is to say when one has at least reached the stage of abuse.

To stop an abusive use but without real dependence, although the border between these two states is not always visible, requires above all will and perseverance.

The only problem is that many drug users believe they are in control when it is not. The fact that they have neither the will nor the sufficient perseverance, even though they have become aware of their problem, testifies to uncontrolled consumption and therefore to dependence.

Getting out of drug addiction is more difficult because it is much more than stopping drug use. It is also to stop and mourn the pleasure or the relief brought by drugs as well as habits, reflexes, gestures and a lifestyle linked to its consumption and often solidly anchored in the personality.

It will take time. If a physical withdrawal is generally rapid, from ten days to two months depending on the drug and the doses absorbed, the time necessary for psychic removal and abandoning habits will be counted in years, with relapses which are healthy and should not to be seen as a failure but as part of the “healing” process. It will be all the longer that the consumer started young and consumed a long time. Getting out of drug addiction is a long-term operation that must be considered overtime.

When the use of drugs is due to an underlying psychological, family or social problem, it is also necessary to understand why the user started taking drugs and why he uses them today, this to treat the causes of this consumption and not just the effects.

Trying to stop consumption without this prior analysis and being content to treat the effects without addressing the causes is in this case often doomed to a remission which will only be temporary or even to failure.

Nevertheless, medically treating the effects allows the addict to find the strength necessary to face his other problems and progress towards recovery.

It is very exceptional, even impossible, to stop alone as soon as one has reached the beginning of dependence, conscious or not. Indeed, the drug profoundly changes the personality and destroys the will and persistence necessary.

It is imperative to be helped and followed by a specialist (s).

The specialist will help you find and analyze the causes of consumption, and he can prescribe the appropriate approach and carry out the necessary follow-up. If he is a doctor, he will be able to prescribe drugs that will ease the difficulties of withdrawal.

He will also help you and above all not to give up, to use a fashionable term he will be your “coach”.

Getting out of drug addiction is akin to high-level sports training, it requires significant effort, time, willpower and a great deal of perseverance, all things which are not natural in human beings and particularly in drug addicts. As with athletes, he, therefore, needs a “coach” capable of maintaining his morale and motivating him to make the necessary efforts; this is one of the essential roles of the specialist.

Sometimes people get admitted into rehab or halfway house to recover from drug addiction. A study proved that a good halfway house like halfway house delray beach can help addicted people recovering from dangerous drug addiction.

You should also not think that you can help someone on your own if you do not have the necessary knowledge and skills yourself.

Frequently young girls or young women who fall in love with a drug user first think they can help him out without outside help, by the mere fact of their love …. then they consult us then distraught. They largely underestimate the difficulty of living alongside an addict, with his lies, his unspoken stories and his lack of willpower. The addict has his own life with his drug, an experience he does not share.

Many parents also underestimate the difficulties and delay seeking help. It’s so much time wasted.