Drug Abuse Or Drug Addiction - The Physical Signs

Drug abuse or drug addiction produces significant and identifiable physical signs. Recognition of these is often the first step towards helping this person towards recovery.

The sooner these signs are recognized, brought to the forefront and addressed, the more likely catastrophic consequences can be avoided. It is not a realistic option to ignore a drug problem and simply hope it goes away. Drug abuse and drug addiction is progressive it will always get worse.

The following is a list of the physical symptoms for the most commonly abused substances:

Marijuana

Marijuana works on the parts of the brain affecting emotion regulation and memory. Symptoms will include being spaced out, glazed eyes, sleepiness. Often there is loud talking or inappropriate silliness and laughter. There may be fatigue, reduced concentration and coordination. Not uncommon is a loss if interest in formerly pleasurable hobbies or activities. There may be a general loss of motivation along with weight gain or loss, and altered perceptions.

Central nervous system depressants (includes barbiturates and tranquilizers):

Symptoms often include a slowed down breathing rate, slow response time to conversation or activities, and difficulty concentrating along with confusion. There may be clumsiness and lack of coordination, sleepiness, memory loss, and depression.

Central nervous system stimulants

Symptoms will include euphoria and increased activity, 'going hyper or manic'. With prolonged use, it is very common for paranoia to develop. There is usually a decreased desire for food and a loss of appetite with significant weight loss. There are sleep disruptions either not feeling the need for sleep or going for longer periods of time without sleep, Convulsions, an increased heartbeat, rapid heart rate and depression, usually as the stimulation of the drug wears off, the highs are higher, but the lows are lower. Details on two common stimulants, cocaine and Meth are next.

Cocaine

Those who have been abusing or are addicted to cocaine for a relatively short term will experience the immediate physical effects of increased blood pressure, increased energy, talking a lot, decreased appetite and need for sleep. Other physical symptoms may include: hyper-alertness, rapid heart rate, and increased temperature.

People who have been abusing the substance for a long time will experience many of the above as, greater increase in mood swings, and greater impairment of mental judgment and capacity. The cumulative physical effects of these symptoms include heart attacks, respiratory failure, strokes, seizures, convulsions, nausea, and coma.

Methamphetamines

Those who abuse this substance will have similar, if not some of the exact same symptoms as those listed above but also hallucinations, twitching and jerking movements, and rotting teeth. Few drugs produce more physical damage than methamphetamines.

Opioids

Symptoms of opiate abuse will include numbness to pain, lethargy, confusion, decreased breathing rate, anxiety, vomiting, constipation, and needle marks; after prolonged excessive use such symptoms such as infections of the heart lining, skin sores/abscesses, and respiratory problems may also develop.

A Final Tip: People who abuse or are addicted to drugs become masters of the cover up. They may provide plausible excuses for their behavior and physical state. The giveaway is that over time, the physical symptoms will get worse, it is important to stay alert to changes over time when trying to identify signs of drug abuse and drug addiction.

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Signs and Symptoms of Substance Abuse

There are many signs and symptoms through which you can understand that your loved one is addicted to drug abuse or not. The signs and symptoms of substance abuse vary from person to person and his level of addiction and to the type of the substance he is addicted to. If you suspect that your loved is into drug abuse, the following signs and symptoms will let you confirm if he is addicted or not.

Change in behavior
Stays aloof from family members
Stays away from normal friends and mingles more with addicts.
Loss or change of appetite
Change in sleeping patterns i.e. stays awake at night and sleeps throughout the day.
Poor hygiene and lack of interest in personal grooming
Easily becomes victim to illness
Experiences tiredness and weakness.
Loss of balance causing the addict to fall frequently and meet accidents
No interest in hobbies and favorite activities
Hallucination
Contracts skin infections easily.

If you find your loved one experiencing the above mentioned signs and symptoms, your duty is to advise him to get control of his addiction and stop it so that he does not face life-threatening consequences.

Even though the addict claims to have a limited dose of substance and maintain that he is completely in control of it, he can get addicted to it when he experiences physical, mental or emotional problems in life. He will start consuming more amount of substance in order to get the same kind of pleasurable effects.

Once addicted to substance, the addict can suffer from withdrawal symptoms if he tries to stop his addiction and start consuming more drugs than before. Signs and symptoms of substance abuse are meant to alert you that your loved is in need of help. The best way to provide him help is advising him to join a rehab center to win over his addiction.

Treatment for alcohol and other drug addictions is possible. If you are looking for addiction treatment centers, we can help you. We specialize in helping people find successful drug rehab centers throughout the country that can help end addiction forever.

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Opiate Addiction Symptoms and Signs

Opiate addiction is an insidious problem that has plagued society for centuries, but perhaps never more so than today. A two-edged sword, opiates can heal or destroy.

An opiate is any drug derived from the opium poppy plant. The main opiates are morphine, heroin, and codeine.

Thebaine and papaverine are also opiates. More commonly we see opiates in their synthetic forms: oxycodone (OxyContin, Percodan), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid). Darvon, Demerol, and Methadone are other synthetic opiates. The majority of these drugs are used medically for pain management.

Opiates are particularly effective in suppressing pain and reducing anxiety. In sufficiently high doses, they can produce a euphoric state. For this reason, they are often used as recreational drugs. Psychological and physical dependence leading to addiction is common in frequent opiate users. The body quickly adjusts to the use of opiates such that increasingly larger doses are needed to produce the same euphoric effect. Overdosing, sometimes resulting in fatal respiratory failure, occurs when addicts take more than their body can handle.

Most opiates can be swallowed, snorted, smoked, or injected. Intravenous injection is the preferred method of longtime addicts as this method produces the quickest, most intense high. It is also a method accompanied by increased risk of infectious disease.

Physically, the effects of opiates include dry mouth; muscle spasticity; slow, shallow or labored breathing; pupil dilation; stomach and intestinal spasms; constipation; low blood pressure; and diminished mental capacity, drowsiness, and disorientation. A common behavior of the opiate addict is the nodding in and out of consciousness.

Opiate addicts are emotionally detached. Thus, dependents of addicts are often neglected and sometimes abused.

Addicts have a difficult time reporting regularly to jobs and even keeping them. Since they cannot function without the drug, looking for it, paying for it, using it, and enjoying its effects become first and foremost in their priority.

Other needs are a poor second. Since funds are usually not commensurate to the need and desire, stealing and other criminal behavior are often parts of the addict's lifestyle.

Withdrawal from addiction to opiates can include hot and cold flashes, goose bumps, extreme restlessness, anxiety, muscle spasms, tremors, muscle and bone ache, insomnia, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Fortunately, there are many opiate dependency treatment programs available. Before anything else, detoxification is needed. In the opiate addiction detox center, a longtime user can begin the process of eliminating the toxins from one's body in a regulated environment where medical practitioners are available to monitor any adverse effects of withdrawal.

Some opiate addiction rehab centers administer medications such as methadone or buprenorphine to ease the pain of withdrawal. After the physical cleansing, the tough work of self-transformation begins. Opiate addiction rehabs offer counseling and behavior modification strategies and techniques to enable the recovering patient to sustain a drug-free lifestyle long after he's left the opiate addiction rehab center.

Through counseling sessions, the patient discovers the emotional and environmental factors that trigger his cravings, and he learns how to avoid these or control them. Realizing that the treatment for opiate dependency is far from over, even when the rehabilitated opiate addict returns to society, opiate addiction treatment centers connect him to support groups and family outreach programs to assist him and his family in rebuilding their lives.

Finding the best opiate addiction detox center is a necessity in today's world. Realizing the fact the author of this article has analyzed the addiction to opiates. He knows how to find the best rehab centers. He has helped many people to find the best programs available out there.

Signs of Drug Addiction

Addiction occurs when there is a cross over from using, or abusing, a substance, to the need to take it and a resulting loss of normal self control.

A drug user normally has a reason for starting the use of a certain substance. Although some uses are of illegal drugs such as marijuana or cocaine, used to relax or boost energy in some situations, other drugs that are addictive can be sleeping pills or painkillers used to self medicate for pain or other problems. Repeated use of prescription or over the counter medicines needs to be monitors as it is still possible to cross the line to addiction, where the drug is required and cravings or withdrawal symptoms occur when the substance is not available.

Drug addiction signs are varied, but they are the same whatever the substance that is abused. Once the craving begins to control your life, then you have started along the road to addiction. Addiction itself is recognised as a disease, and it is treatable. One of the hardest parts of treating an addiction is to recognise that there is a problem and it needs addressing, particularly as one sign of addiction is being secretive about the abuse and hidign it from those who are close to you.

Tolerance is a common sign of addiction, where the amount of the drug that is needed to have the same effect goes up, this is an early warning sign to the user themselves. If you are experiencing any kind of withdrawal symptoms when you don't take the drug, again this is a sign that you shouldn't ignore. Symptoms of withdrawal include nausea, insomnia, sweats, shaking, restlessness or anxiety.

Abandoning hobbies or activities that you used to take part in, and changing your life and habits so they revolve around drug use is another frequent sign of an increasing problem. When you have lost control such that you take the drug more often than you want to or you take it even though it is causing you negative effects then the situation is getting more serious and you should consider getting help if you haven't already.

People around you may notice changes in the way that you act, such as depression, mood swings or fits of anger. Neglect of your responsibilities, such as your job or your children is frequently a symptom of drug abuse or addiction. This leads to pressures on your life such as questions about your abilities from your boss, loss of friends and arguments with your family or partner. Once you have crossed the line into illegal activities with your drug use, you are more likely to have it highlighted that you need to start resolving the problem, whether it is stealing from family to get money to buy more or getting arrested for anti-social behaviour or driving whilst under the influence.

Physically, drug addiction symptoms include changes in appetite or sleep disruption. Weight can be put on or dropped off depending on the drug's other effects. You might experience blackouts, mood swings or irritability.

Because many drugs are expensive to obtain, it is common for financial problems to be caused, for the user to sell off belongings to fund a habit, miss payments or steal.

It is important that you realise that all of these symptoms may be experienced by all addicts and that the addiction itself is treatable. Seeking help and rehabilitation in whatever form is most appropriate for your problem is a very important step and one that you don't have to take on your own, you just need to take the first step to let someone know that you have a problem that needs treatment.

Sara P. Robertson is a freelance writer specialising in writing about addiction. She is currently writing for Drug Rehab Johannesburg and Durban.

Pot Addiction Signs You Shouldn't Ignore

Whether you're a weed user yourself or a friend or family member of someone who is, there are early pot addiction symptoms that you can detect. While most first time users don't feel anything, they are most likely to try pot again when the opportunity comes up. Sometimes called a "gateway" drug, weed is not something that can be taken lightly as most people think. Once you get into it for the long term, it will take more hits to get that "satisfying" high. And when you don't have it, it's much worse. Here are some signs potheads need to be aware of, before it's too late.

1. You're Behaving more Irrationally Without It

One major pot addiction sign you can't ignore is the psychological factor. Once you become more irritated, angrier or more depressed when you don't get high, you're in big trouble. No longer a social user, you've already crossed the line way past your old, normal life. You might find that friends and family are getting more concerned about you, or worse avoiding you altogether. And it doesn't even seem to bother you one bit.

2. Your Friends are ALL Weed Smokers

You know you have a serious pot addiction if you begin to hang out with the wrong crowd all the time. You begin to feel that they're the only people worth talking to. Like they're the only ones who can "understand" you. These people start to have a bigger influence in your life as you begin to shut out other more positive social contacts. You begin to miss out on family events, skip out on classes more or take days off work more often.

3. You Plan Everything Around Smoking Weed

Another pot addiction symptom is when you begin to schedule your activities around getting high. Either you take a hit after a meal or before going to bed, or you have regular pot sessions with other people. It's the first thing you do when you wake up or before sleeping at night. You feel that you're not up for anything or want to do anything unless you get a puff first.

4. You Start Having a Weekly Budget for Pot

When pot addiction hits, the first thing that gets trashed is your wallet. If you used to get joints casually from friends, you notice its getting harder for anyone to give you a free one. And this causes you to beg, borrow or steal just to have enough for your regular highs. You'll even start looking for small change when you feel the urge to smoke. What's scary about this is you begin to get wracked with guilt when you start using up money meant for more important things like rent, tuition or food.

If you notice any of these pot addiction signs, seek professional help immediately. While some people claim they have walked away from weed without any consequences, you can never be too sure if you'll be just as lucky. Stay safe.

Read On and Find Out More About the Signs and Symptoms of Pot Addiction.

Video Game Addiction Symptoms - Ten Psychological Signs

Although video game addiction is not yet an official psychiatric diagnosis, it is still reasonable to conclude that some players spend far too much time engaged with online computer games and that this can have serious consequences for their lives in the "real world."

In an attempt to define the symptoms of video game addiction, researchers initially examined the diagnostic criteria for other more well-known obsessive behaviors.

For example, in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Pathological Gambling is classified as an impulse-control disorder and includes symptoms such as a preoccupation with gambling, the need to spend more and more time gambling, irritability when one must cut down or stop gambling, involvement in illegal activity to finance the habit, and reliance on others to provide money to get out of desperate financial situations.

It was a good start to clarify the signs of excessive play by using mostly objective criteria. However, adapting existing symptoms of one disorder to fit another condition has significant drawbacks. For example, a video game addict is unlikely to be involved in illegal activities to finance his or her habit, and it is not clear that the concept of a "high" that comes from larger bets while gambling can be adapted to fit video game addiction.

As such, researchers and mental health professionals have started to propose different ways to classify video game addiction symptoms that rely less on adapting the criteria for other disorders.

One such system proposes that the symptoms of video game addiction can be broken down into four categories - psychological symptoms, physical symptoms, behavioral symptoms, and relational symptoms.

With this classification system in mind, below is a list of ten psychological symptoms of video game addiction. Again, because video game addiction is not an official psychiatric condition, keep in mind that is not an official list of diagnostic symptoms. However it is based on current research on this issue and clinical work with individuals who have sought help for excessive gaming.

1. Feelings of guilt, regret, and that one has wasted his or her time after playing for much longer than originally intended

2. Feelings of irritability, depression, frustration, or lethargy when unable to play for more than a few days

3. Strong feelings of guilt when one does not join their online team for a prearranged mission or quest

4. Frequently experiencing a distorted sense of time, such as the perception that only an hour has passed while in fact the person has been playing for three or four hours

5. Frequent justification of use that would be considered excessive by most others ("I just use it to relax, what is the problem with this?")

6. A significant loss of interest in activities or hobbies that the gamer once enjoyed

7. Experiencing a sense of contentment, peace, and calmness when one is gaming that does not exist otherwise

8. Often thinking about one's next gaming session when involved in other activities or people (for example, at school, with friends, while working, etc.)

9. Frequently downplaying the negative effects of excessive gaming ("At least I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol")

10. Significantly decreased interest in academic and / or work-related success.

Dr. Brent Conrad is a clinical psychologist and author who specializes in treating internet, computer and video game addiction. He is committed to providing honest, helpful, and straight-forward advice on how to overcome online addictions. Much more on video game addiction symptoms is available at his professional website.

Heroin Addiction Symptoms and Signs

An opiate that belongs to the morphine-codeine family, heroin goes by the chemical name of diacetylmorphine. This vastly illegal drug is derived from the opium poppy.

Heroin is among the easiest of drugs to become addicted to. Many heroin addicts need no more than just one attempt at the drug to become addicted, even if mildly at first. Like many other drugs, heroin is used intravenously, or through smoking or snorting through the nostrils. Of these, the method most abusers prefer is injection, because the effect that is got from this method is considered the highest. This makes it the most popular method of use of heroin.

Effects of heroin: Heroin has its own way of working on the system. It primarily acts on the central nervous system initially. It starts acting within seven seconds of ingestion, when taken intravenously. In the few seconds of its being absorbed into the system, heroin can cause euphoria.

Immediately after being taken in, heroin enters the area that is the barrier between the brain and blood. This causes heroin to get converted into morphine. Once the euphoria settles down, it leads to dry mouth, skin flushing, and a feeling of heaviness. This in turn can lead to vomiting, nausea and itching. Following this, the heroin addict normally becomes sedate and sleepy for many hours. Many of the vital cognitive functions slow down and get impaired momentarily. These include the ability to reason. Heart beat and breathing slow down considerably.

The most important long term effect of heroin is its ability to be an addictive drug. Drugs are in themselves addictive, but heroin addiction is found to be the fastest to get into, and the most abusive of all addictions. This addiction has its own detrimental effects on the brain, mind and body.

Physically, long term heroin addiction leads to damage to the arteries, lungs, liver, kidneys and veins, and several infections, abscesses and bone diseases such as arthritis.

Emotionally, heroin addiction can very soon reach a point where seeking the drug becomes the sole objective of life for the addict. This has various serious ramifications, such as social isolation, family dislocation and professional under performance.

Heroin withdrawal symptoms, which start within hours of the last ingestion, include pain in the muscle and bone, restlessness, diarrhea, insomnia, cold flashes with goose bumps, or what are called "cold turkey", strong body movements, convulsions and vomiting. Sometimes, these symptoms can last months. These however, are seldom fatal, and a heroin detox center can take care of these symptoms.

Treatment for heroin dependency: For heroin dependency, a combination of methods has to be tried to bring the heroin addict out of the "zone". The first step is detoxification, wherein the effects of abuse are purged; this is followed by systematic lessening of craving tendencies. Drugs that help in this are buprenorphine and methadone. Finally, behavior therapies are introduced; typically at a heroin rehab center. These may include cognitive behavioral interventional therapies which are aimed at redesigning the outlook the addict has towards life, and help him deal with stressful situations without recourse to the drug. A method that combines the two approaches "medical and behavioral" is considered the best.

The author of this article knows all about heroin addiction. He has written many articles on cocaine rehabs. He has wide knowledge about the heroin rehab centers. He uses his knowledge for helping people to find the best heroin detox center.