For someone that’s never struggled with drug or alcohol addiction, understanding addiction can be difficult. The circumstances behind why someone becomes addicted are unique to the individual. We will discuss understanding drug addiction from a general sense in the article below.
Feeling Different and Alone Understanding Drug Addiction
Some people are born feeling different than from family or their peers. Others may have experienced a past trauma that makes them feel isolated and alone. It is a feeling of being a loner and that no one else understands how they feel or where they are coming from. During teenage years, individuals may begin to separate themselves and withdraw from social activities because they feel more comfortable being alone rather than being with a group. Sometimes the thoughts and emotions constantly going through your head make you feel like you aren’t normal or similar to other people in your surroundings. These thoughts could be signs of an underlying mental health disorder. Things and activities that bring others joy are just unsatisfying to you.
Initial Use of Drugs or Alcohol
You decide to try drinking alcohol or experiment with drugs, and finally, you feel “normal.” You feel comfortable in your skin, with others, and with your surroundings. It feels like this was the element that was missing the entire time. Drugs or alcohol boost your mood and give you the confidence to socialize with others and enjoy yourself. If you find people to use drugs and alcohol with you, receive that sense of belonging within a group of people that have the same goals as you to get drunk or high and let the stress of the outside world fade away. However, this confidence booster comes with a price and can become extremely costly. For example, suppose someone becomes addicted to heroin. In that case, the cost to maintain their addiction can include financial strains, extreme risks such as trouble with the law, damage to health, and potentially death. But once the individual tries heroin for the first time and feels that euphoric feeling and sense of normalcy and belonging, they are willing to risk everything to continue to achieve that feeling. Any individuals struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol should reach out to an addiction treatment center immediately to receive the help and support they need.
For information on addiction treatment NJ facilities in your area, see the State of New Jersey Addiction Services Treatment Directory.
Consequences of Addiction
The drugs and alcohol consume you. With each day of use, the old you that family and friends knew and loved slipped away. You begin to hide from the fact that you are not being your true self, surround yourself with other people struggling with addiction, and understand why you need to continue using drugs and alcohol to feel alive. Other addicts never question why you are using or when you’re going to stop because they feel the same pain as you and understand your desire to continue to use. Addiction is costly and not just in a financial sense, you do lose money, but you also lose careers, relationships, homes, friends, family, and even your life. But day after day, you continue to risk your life for that short-term feeling of feeling really good about yourself and your life. The more people question you or push you to get help, the more you want to hide in the comfort you receive from your addiction. Your drug and alcohol use becomes your coping mechanism and your security blanket, and you begin to rely on it as means to escape whatever is causing you stress. Some days, you think about quitting but feel like the things that make other people happy or successful are too far out of reach for you.
Stuck in Addiction but Longing to Recover
Initially, most people that struggle with addiction to drugs or alcohol lead a double life. They try to keep up appearances at work and amongst family and friends, but their addiction becomes evident over time. At first, they don’t consider themselves a typical addict because they have a job, home, family, savings account, etc. But in time, their addiction takes hold of them. They begin calling out of work or missing deadlines, draining their bank account of any available funds, fighting with their spouse or family members due to mood changes, and slowly losing everything they previously had. The best way to recover from a substance use disorder is to seek treatment. Our addiction recovery center provides many resources and treatment programs to help you get on the road to recovery.
Get the Help You Need Now
Avatar Residential Detox Center, located in northern New Jersey, provides a multidisciplinary approach to treatment. We provide many levels of care such as drug and alcohol detox, alcohol rehab, inpatient residential, short-term and long-term treatment options, and treatment for co-occurring disorders. We also offer cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectal behavioral therapy, individual and group therapy, and many holistic therapy options. Get the addiction help and support you need today by calling us at (973)-774-7222.
