Helping yourself is the best step you can take after realizing that you are becoming addicted to substances. You can be suffering from psychological, physical, or behavioral aspects of addiction. Addiction is the mental and physical helplessness in substances or behavior where a person lacks control whether they are using drinks or drugs.
Physical Addiction
Physical addiction is when you become addicted physically, and your body becomes weak and depends on a specific substance. Here, you build a tolerance to the substance, and you often require a larger dose than before to have the same effects. You will experience withdrawal symptoms when you stop using the substances like alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. The symptoms include shaking, diarrhea, or even an awful feeling.
The following are the physical signs you experience as a result of addiction:
- Small or enlarged pupils
- Changes in your sleeping habits
- Loss or gain of weight resulting from changes in the eating habits
- Feeling sick or shaky when you decide to stop
- Looking unclean or unkempt and unpleasant body odors.
Psychological addiction
When you suffer from psychological dependence, you will not recognize or even realize the following changes.
- Being inattentive
- Low or no motivation
- Changing your attitude or personality
- Having unpredictable mood swings
- Staying away from people who don’t do drugs and hang with only those who use
- Using alcohol or drugs as a way to relax and forget your problems
- Sudden loss of interest in important activities
- Selling or stealing things to buy drugs
- Depression, anger, and anxiety
How to get help
When you feel that you are addicted to drinks and drugs or know someone who lacks control of substances, the first step is recognizing. You may think that it is easier to stop on your own, but it rarely works. Find and talk to a person that you trust. Also, you can find a person who understands and is supportive. Many people cannot speak to their guardians or parents, but you can always talk to a teacher, favorites, a counselor, or a religious leader. It is good to know that it is not easy to overcome addiction.
Quitting from drinking or substances has been the hardest thing you can do, but you can look for help from a professional or be taken to drug and alcohol rehab programs to help you quit.
After you join the program for your treatment, Below are tips to help you recover and make your recovery road easier.
- Talk to your pals and tell them your decisions about quitting drugs. True pals will understand, respect, and support your decision. But you might need to look for new friends who will always help you fully. You may find that you will not hang with your friends who are using substances again unless they all decide to kick and change at once.
- Ask your members of the family or even your friends to be there for you when need be. Sometimes, you might feel you want to call or talk to someone during the night. If you face challenges and go through a hard time, be free to speak to your friends or family and ask for their help and don’t handle or keep secrets on your own.
- Accept and attend invitations that have no drugs or drinks involvement. Look for events such as movies that won’t tempt you to use drugs again. Avoid night-outs and parties until you get used to your decision of quitting substances and feel more secure.
- Always plan on what to do if you land in a place full of alcohol and drugs. The temptation will be there, but you need to know how to handle it to be okay. Plan together with your siblings, supportive friends, or even parents so that they will understand that you need to get out of there as fast as possible if you happen to call.
- Always keep reminding yourself that you are not bad or weak having an addiction. Sometimes you might find yourself back into the substances a bit but talk to your friends and family as soon as possible to get assistance from them and ensure that your hard work for recovering is not lost.
Recovering from addiction is a lifetime process and does not end with few weeks of program treatment. You can help others as you help yourself since you have experience in the recovery process and understand how difficult it can be. After you recognize your addiction, get help immediately to help you keep your hard work in place. Participate in discussions in real life and help others know themselves better.