Getting Over an Addiction is Tough, But not Impossible with the Right Help

What makes overcoming drug addiction so hard to beat?

Giving up drugs requires more than just the desire to quit. The more drugs are abused, the more the body adjusts to having them. There is a reason it’s called "chemical dependency" after all. If someone quits using drugs, their body can react by becoming very sick and painful. This alone can make relapsing appear to be a very good option. The brain also becomes used to the chemical alterations that drugs produce. Removing the drugs can cause the brain to react negatively as well. While these are both issues that regularly cause relapses the bigger issues can be an emotional dependency. Most times people begin using drugs as a way to cope with problems or challenges. Through their addiction, they use drugs to deal with emotional issues that arise. Drugs quickly turn into a crutch for people and that emotional attachment can be the toughest part to break when overcoming addiction. Having an understanding of the challenges addicts face can help people to be better able to help them.

Does drug addiction change personality traits?

Absolutely, drugs will have a huge impact on the personality of the user. Obviously, when teens are using drugs, they will have their personality altered. Many drugs will take personality traits and make them more pronounced. For example, if someone has a hard time controlling their temper they could have severe anger issues while on drugs. Other types of drugs are hallucinogens which make people see and feel things that aren’t actually happening. These hallucinations can result in wild and uncontrollable behavior. As people stop using drugs, they will go into withdrawals which will also cause some severe personality changes. Severe sadness, anger, and frustration are all very common. The strong emotions will combine with the bodies adjustment to having drugs removed to cause emotions like depression and anger. It is often helpful for these children to enroll in a program for teens with drug addiction, such as those offered at West Ridge Academy.

How do I avoid blaming my teen struggling with drug addiction?

Unfortunately, we live in a society that wants to place the blame for a problem directly on someone. People commonly want to point the finger for what is happening rather than trying to figure out a way to solve the issue. When a teenager is using drugs one common way parents react is to blame either the teen or themselves. This behavior is both unproductive and detrimental to getting the teen help for drug addiction. Are the parents to blame? Possibly. Is the teen to blame for making poor decisions? Probably. But none of that matters. The key is to getting help as quickly as possible. One thing that is for sure is that parents are certainly one of the main keys to helping a child overcome drug addiction. With their support and positive actions, parents can provide more help for a child than anyone else.