What is the Definition of a Drug User?

Many people assume that those who use drugs are just that, users. What they fail to understand is that it can be so much more than being a user. Our brains have tricky ways to turn on us, creating a dependency instead of just abuse. The underlying problem of the poor perception happens because there are no physical manifestations of a dependency, so it is much easier to write someone off. This is the biggest mistake many people can make when it comes to writing someone off as a lost cause to drugs.

There are two distinct definitions that differentiate between use and dependence. It is not possible for someone to be both a user and dependent at the same time, as they are both completely different diagnosis’s. Understanding how each works can help with dealing with the user. It also helps with deciding what steps to take to convince them that they need to get clean for their own sake and others. Knowing how deep the problem runs is key.

A user is defined by someone who takes reckless actions with a complete and total disregard for the safety of others. They do not care that they have a problem and have no desire to get clean. A user is absolutely aware of their problem, but continues to persist in poor behaviors such as fighting, abusing loved ones, and getting into trouble with the law. And that is the crux of the problem. They know they are addicted, know the toll that drug use is taking on them and others, and they just don’t care. Someone like this needs a full blown intervention. They need to be sat down, have the impact that they have created demonstrated to them with full emotions, with the goal being one of changing the user’s mind about their problem and getting help.

This is the dark side of addiction. Users are self absorbed and don’t feel a need to get sober. It is night and day to someone who is a dependent and wants to get clean, but can’t.

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Physical Manifestations of Methanphetamine Addictions

Addictions don’t only take their toll on the mind, they also take it out on the body of the user. Some do it over time such as alcohol abuse, and some do it quickly a la crystal meth. What cannot be denied however, is the fact that substance abuse of any kind will affect the body, and not in a good way.

Crystal meth is the worst of any drug when it comes to how it affects the body. The most obvious is what is known as “meth mouth.” Teeth literally rot out of the head after about a year of abuse. There is no getting away from tooth damage with heavy use. Meth creates what is known as a dry mouth syndrome, meaning there is no more saliva to protect the teeth. Add into the mix that users will gravitate towards highly caffeinated and carbonated drinks when not high, and the teeth are toast. There is simply no protection from acids for the teeth. It is not uncommon for a meth user to have to resort to dentures at an early age, or look 30 years older than they really are with sunken cheeks.

Meth addiction is simply not pretty. Sores are a common problem from those who shoot up and those who don’t. Shooters run the risk of infected sites from a lack of hygiene. Non-shooters will scratch themselves into sores, thinking they have bugs on their skin. Truly this is a drug with the most powerful addiction rate, even above cocaine. And the physical destruction that it causes is permanent.

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It May be Time for an Intervention

A drug user affects more than just themselves, they also affect their family and friends. The abuser lies, treats everyone poorly, steals from them if they can, all for getting the next hit. They make everyone around them miserable, sad, upset, and angry. Who wants to sit back and watch while their loved one goes on self-destructing binges? There comes a point that those who care will either take action or walk away, and the user has to learn about this in no uncertain terms.

Coming to the point of needing an intervention is a slow process. It is rare that a full blown drug addict is created overnight. Habits take time to form and can be hidden from others for a very long time. What happens is that the problem goes under the radar until something happens to reveal the issue. Until the time that the problem is in the open, there will be little hiccups here and there, but nothing obvious. Objects will disappear, money gets “lost,” or the occasional “hey, I need a few bucks to hold me over” gets asked.

Problems start escalating when the user starts needing more and more of their drug of choice. After a while, it takes more and more of the drug to get high from as the brain becomes immune to lower doses. Addiction drives the user to desperate measures, ones they wouldn’t have tried if they were sober. A pattern of self-destruction emerges, one where the addict starts getting into trouble. It could be with family and friends, the law, losing a residence, anything that disrupts the basic needs of life.

Everyone involved in the addict’s life need to make up their mind to either come together and form an intervention, or to walk away. Ideally all would chose to do an intervention as it is a big slap in the face to the addict, usually with positive results. All who are involved need to realize that they have a job ahead of them as well, supporting the addict to become a successful ex-user.

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Life After Rehabilitation

One of the most important things for you to consider when you decide to go into rehabilitation for a drug or alcohol addiction is that there is life after rehabilitation. Once you leave the rehabilitation facility where you overcame your addiction, your life is going to be in your hands once more, and you will be charged with taking the necessary steps to getting your life in order once and for all.

There are numerous steps involved in really getting a handle on your life once again following life with a drug or alcohol addiction and the subsequent rehabilitation. You will need to find a place to live and get a job that will allow you to support yourself. If you have not already gone to school, then now is an excellent time to consider getting a degree and finding a real career path. Individuals that have responsibilities are best suited for focusing and bettering themselves.

If you are working on bettering your life after spending some time in a rehabilitation facility, then you might want to consider an online university. An online course load will allow you to work for a living while supporting yourself. You can use services like EarnMyDegree.com to help you find the right course of action for your education and career future. An online school will allow you to get your life back on track because you will be able to attend classes on your own schedule and to work at your own pace until you are able to earn your desired degree. This is going to be the right type of learning for anyone that is focusing on a multi-faceted approach to overcoming a life of addiction or substance abuse.

You can pick up the pieces of your life and move on with the right education and the right attitude. Online courses will make it easier for you to get the help you need in starting over.

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What is an Intervention?

If you have a loved one that you fear is addicted to drugs or alcohol and don’t know how to get them help before it’s too late-you may need to perform an intervention. The purpose of an intervention is to get the addicted person to to seek treatment. Intervention is defined as “getting involved in a situation as a way to stop an action or activity.” In terms of substance abuse, this means attempting to get the addict to stop using their drug(s) of choice. Interventions are usually held for those that have life-threatening addictions.

An intervention is usually called by a member of the addict’s family, and the family may ask the assistance of a substance abuse counselor to sit in and help. The addict doesn’t know that the intervention is going to take place, and the addict just believes that they are being invited to lunch or a family get-together. If the addict knew that the intervention was going to take place, they probably wouldn’t attend.

When the addict does show up to the intervention, they are usually very angry at being tricked and forced into treatment. The counselor (or person in charge of the intervention) attempts to assit the family members in telling the addict how important they are them, how much they love them and how much the addict’s drug addiction is hurting them.

During the intervention the addict may stay and listen to their loved ones read letters about how much their behaviors and actions have hurt them. These letters also serve as the final ultimatums from the family and friends. Such as not giving them any money any more, not putting them up in their home and no longer being in contact with them. After the letters are read they addict may choose or not choose to go to treatment. If they choose to go, treatment is already set up, and if not they leave the intervention alone.

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Finding Help for Substance Abuse

Substance abuse does not just affect the abuser. It also affects his friends, family, and coworkers. If you have a problem with substance abuse, there is help available to you to overcome your addiction, and get back to your life.

The first step to receiving treatment is to determine what type you need. Do you need to join a support group and attend meetings? Do you need the help of a professional counselor? Do you need in-patient treatment? To help you answer some of these questions, you should talk to your primary care physician, or a counselor. Tell him about your problem, and how far into it you are. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to your doctor about it, call a help line and talk to one of the counselors over the phone. They’re there to listen and give you advice on treatment options may be available to you.

Once you’ve determined the best course of treatment and help for you, set up a plan with your sponsor, counselor, or doctor. Stick to this plan, and ask for help and advice when you need it. You should also get your family and friends involved in your treatment. Let them know what’s going on, and how they can help. By keeping them in the loop, you’ll ensure they’ll be supporting you throughout your treatment, and be aware of what to expect throughout the process.

Once you have gone through your treatment, you need to be aware that you will still be on the road to recovery, and need to continue seeking help with your addiction. Keep going to meetings on occasion. Talk to someone you trust when things are starting to get shaky in your life. Reach out when you need help with something. Keep your family and close friends in the loop. You can even start to sponsor others with substance abuse problems.

By seeking treatment, you’re taking the first step toward your recovery.

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Substance Abuse Help on the Internet

When you think of substance abuse treatment, you’re probably thinking about rehab facilities, NA or AA meetings, counseling, and other treatment facilities. The last place you may think to look for help for substance abuse for yourself or a loved one is the Internet. Surprisingly, the Internet can be a valuable asset in locating help for substance abuse.

The Internet is a great place to start looking up information about substance abuse when you or a loved one is having a problem. All of the information you could drive around to look for, such as finding research materials, locating treatment centers, finding a counselor, or locating local meetings, can be found on the Internet. You’ll be able to sit in the privacy of your own home, click away, and look at various information, and even finding contact numbers of professionals you can talk to for more help.

The Internet will also provide you with multiple locations of treatment centers, counselors, and meetings, so you can find one in the area of your choice. If you live in one area, but work in another, and would prefer to go to a meeting after work, you can easily find a location near work without needing to drive around. If you need a location that offers odd hours, such as late nights or on weekends, you can also search for them on the Internet instead of calling dozens of places and asking what their business hours are.

The Internet may even provide you with help you haven’t considered: an online support group. There are so many different support groups on the Internet these days, and substance abuse support groups are among them. You can check a few out and see how you like the, share as much or as little information as you’d like, and see if they help you at all.

The Internet can provide you with multiple amounts of information on finding help for substance abuse.

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Thinking Ahead

When developing a talent, such as learning how to play the piano or learn particular sports skills, it is natural to have a set plan and to practice. It is determined ahead of time what the desired goal will be (i.e. to play a particular piece or advance to the varsity sports team). No one would make a goal and then leave it up to chance. The decision and desired goals are set ahead of time. It is the same with health. Desired goals and decisions must be made ahead of time. Just as you wouldn’t allow yourself to wing an important music recital, you can not afford to wing important health situations.

Drinking alcohol is often a result of peer pressure. it is rare that a person’s first drink is alone oris sought after on one’s own. More common, is the social scenario, where friends offer to buy a drink and encourage or pressure the consumption of alcohol.

Do not wait until rehabilitation or detox is necessary to decide what your drinking habits will be. Here are some tips to considering your decision:
1. Educate yourself about the effects of alcohol. Some say ignorance is bliss, but this is not the case with drinking. It does have consequences, so learn and understand what those consequences are.

2. Decide ahead of time if you will drink at a social function. Do not leave your decision up to the moment. Determine ahead of time, before a social event, what you will do if offered a drink. You may even want to go as far as role-playing in your mind, what you will say if others try to pressure or persuade you, when you have determined not to drink.

3. If certain locations like a club or a bar prove to be too much of a temptation, seek out other social situations where you can live your health standard and not feel pressured to give up your personal goals.

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Denial and Distraction

Taking steps to overcome one’s alcohol problem or drug addiction can take courage and know-how. There are many support groups available to assist one in this process as well as medical help. There also are counselors and psychologists to lend their support and expertise.

All of these organizations and individuals have the goal of helping people overcome their addictions and achieve full-recovery.

One of the main focal points is to overcome denial and distraction. One must be determined to have a addiction-free life free from dependency on harmful drugs or alcohol. With this aim firmly set in one’s mind it will be easier to go through the recovery process. One will be less distracted by activities and persons that can or may persuade him or her from the desired recovery.
It is essential for this determination to come about and this goal to be made, that a person recognizes the need for such a goal. Denial seems to be the first hurdle facing all those with a drug or alcohol problem. They may feel that others are over-stating their habits. They do not view their behavior as one that is truly causing problems for themselves and others. There is a tendency to blame others or circumstances for the troubles that are actually a result of the person’s addiction.

This is why many recovery support groups, such as the AA and its 12-step program, focus on overcoming denial. In fact the first step in the AA’s 12 steps to recovery is to admit that the addiction is overpowering one’s life. It is essential to realize that whatever the addiction whether it be drugs or alcohol or over-eating, that one realizes that it is consuming his or her life to the point that life is becoming unmanageable. Admitting one’s problem and that such a lifestyle has adverse affects is the key to overcoming the addiction.

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The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

In 1939 Alcoholics Anonymous published the original version of what would become the famous 12-setp program to assist those in truly overcoming their alcoholism. This program was not merely meant to give a little assistance, but to completely cure one from his or her addiction.

In the early 1950s, the fame and success-rate of this program was well known. Other groups and organizations started adopting and adapting these 12 steps over the following decades to meet other overwhelming challenges and dependencies such as those with drug addictions or over-eating problems.

The original 12 steps for Alcoholics Anonymous are as follows:
1. Recognition that there existed a powerlessness against alcohol and that there is an inability to handle one’s life.
2. Recognition that there is a Higher Power that can cure one’s addiction.
3. Make the choice to turn one’s life and will over to God.
4. Did a thorough review of one’s moral status in our lives.
5. Made known one’s wrong-doings to God, oneself, and another person.
6. Made one ready to have God remove the addiction.
7. Asked Him to take away the addiction.
8. Listed all persons harmed by our alcoholism and decide to make amends promptly.
9. Directly made things right between oneself and those affected by the addiction, unless it would cause them harm.
10. Reviewed our moral state on a regular basis and be quick to apologize for mistakes made.
11. Use pondering and prayer to strengthen our relationship with God to know His will for our lives.
12. Made efforts to share the Alcoholics Anonymous’ program with other victims of alcoholism. Use our new-found faith in all aspects of one’s life.

Note: In other adapted versions of these 12 steps the phrasing of particular words was altered to meet the specific needs of the group or organization. The main steps that were changed were the first and the last.
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