Drug addiction has its reasons for existing, and they are as different as the people who suffer from the disease. A person could start down the road to addiction because of a traumatic experience such as the death of a loved one, or they could become hooked on prescription pain medication that was prescribed for a serious injury.

A person suffering from drug addiction isn’t necessarily “bad” or “weak”, they are just someone who has a bit of a problem coping with the stress that everyday life throws at all of us from time to time. The addict may see their situation as hopeless, and they may think that turning to drugs is the only way out.

Every one of us has had to endure a traumatic experience at least once in our lives, but a person with a drug addiction just handles the situation differently. They turn to drugs in order to reduce their pain, and at first look, it may seem to work because the drugs can make the person feel better. The problem begins when the addict needs more and more of the drug to achieve the same effect.

As this progresses, the person moves into full-scale drug addiction. They become trapped by their “need” for the drugs, and they often forget what made them turn to drugs in the first place. As the addiction worsens, the person will start to hide their drug use from those who care about them, and they’ll pull away from friends and family. This will overwhelm them with guilt, and they’ll again turn to drugs to relieve it- continuing the vicious cycle of drug addiction.

An addict will give up almost everything in order to get their next “fix”- they will steal, lie, and cheat to get it. Many addicts end up broke, homeless, and cut off from those who love them.

The cycle of drug addiction has serious physical effects, too. The person’s body becomes accustomed to the presence of the drugs- and if they try to stop without medical help, they will go through painful and debilitating withdrawal symptoms. The person will continue to use drugs in order to ward off these symptoms, further continuing the drug addiction cycle.

Drugs can fundamentally change the personality, causing a person to harbor resentment and hostility that seems to bubble just below the surface. A person suffering from drug addiction may be unreliable, suffer from mood swings, and be extremely dishonest with those that are close to them.

There are many treatments for those that are addicted to drugs. Most conventional treatments concentrate on “talk therapy”, while failing to address the physiological causes of drug addiction. More effective therapies aim to correct chemical and neurological imbalances brought about by addiction. These problems, if left untreated, usually lead to relapse. This new and far more effective approach to drug addiction treatment, along with counseling and even some nutritional supplementation, is highly successful in breaking the cycle of addiction.

Drug Enforcement Agnecy (DEA) – http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/index.htm
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) – http://www.samhsa.gov/
National Institue of Health (NIH) – http://www.nih.gov/