Managing Addiction: Signs, Symptoms, and Successful Recovery

How do I know if I have an addiction to drugs or alcohol? How can I tell if my loved one has a substance abuse problem? 

Some people are able to use alcohol, recreational or prescription drugs without ever experiencing negative consequences or addiction. For many others, substance use can cause problems at work, home, school, and in relationships, leaving you feeling isolated, helpless, or ashamed.

If you’re worried about your own or a friend or family member’s drug use (including alcohol- after all, alcohol is a drug too!) it’s important to know that help is available. Learning about the nature of drug and alcohol abuse and addiction—how it develops, what it looks like, and why it can have such a powerful hold—will give you a better understanding of the problem and how to best deal with it.

Understanding substance use, abuse, and addiction

People experiment with drugs for many different reasons. Many first try drugs out of curiosity, to have a good time, because friends are doing it, or in an effort to improve athletic performance or ease another problem, such as stress, anxiety, or depression. Use doesn’t automatically lead to abuse, and there is no specific level at which drug use moves from casual to problematic. It varies by individual. Drug abuse and addiction is less about the amount of substance consumed or the frequency, and more to do with the consequences of drug use. No matter how often or how little you’re consuming, if your drug use is causing problems in your life—at work, school, home, or in your relationships—you may have a drug abuse or addiction problem.

Why do some people become addicted, while others don’t?

As with many other conditions and diseases, vulnerability to addiction differs from person to person. Your genes, mental health, family and social environment all play a role in addiction. Risk factors that increase your vulnerability include:

• Family history of addiction
• Abuse, neglect, or other traumatic experiences in childhood
• Mental disorders such as depression and anxiety
• Early use of drugs
• Method of administration—smoking or injecting a drug may increase its addictive potential

Drug and alcohol addiction and the brain

Addiction is a complex disorder characterized by compulsive substance use. While each drug produces different physical effects, all abused substances share one thing in common: repeated use can alter the way the brain looks and functions.

• Taking a recreational drug causes a surge in levels of dopamine in your brain, which trigger feelings of pleasure. Your brain remembers these feelings and wants them repeated.
• If you become addicted, the substance takes on the same significance as other survival behaviors, such as eating and drinking.
• Changes in your brain interfere with your ability to think clearly, exercise good judgment, control your behavior, and feel normal without drugs.
• Whether you’re addicted to inhalants, heroin, Xanax, speed, or alcohol, the craving to use grows more important than anything else, including family, friends, career, and even your own health and happiness. This is a result of complex changes in the brain.
• The urge to use is so strong that your mind finds many ways to deny or rationalize the addiction. You may drastically underestimate the quantity of drugs you’re taking, how much it impacts your life, and the level of control you have over your drug use.

How substance abuse and addiction can develop

• Problems can sometimes sneak up on you, as your drinking use gradually increases over time. Smoking a joint with friends at the weekend, or taking ecstasy at a rave, or cocaine at an occasional party, for example, can change to using drugs or drinking a couple of days a week, then every day. Gradually, getting and using the drug becomes more and more important to you.
• If the drug fulfills a valuable need, you may find yourself increasingly relying on it. For example, you may drink alcohol after work to calm you if you feel anxious or stressed, energize you if you feel depressed, or make you more confident in social situations if you normally feel shy. Or you may have started using prescription drugs to cope with panic attacks or relieve chronic pain, for example. Until you find alternative, healthier methods for overcoming these problems, your drug use may continue.
• Similarly, if you use drugs to fill a void in your life, you’re more at risk of crossing the line from casual use to drug abuse and addiction. To maintain healthy balance in your life, you need to have other positive experiences, to feel good in your life aside from any drug use.
• As drug abuse takes hold, you may miss or frequently be late for work or school, your job performance may progressively deteriorate, and you start to neglect social or family obligations. Your ability to stop using is eventually compromised. What began as a voluntary choice has turned into a physical and psychological need.

The good news is that with the right treatment and support, you can counteract the disruptive effects of drug use and regain control of your life. The first obstacle is to recognise and admit you have a problem, or listen to loved ones who are often better able to see the negative effects drug use is having on your life.

Signs and symptoms of drug or alcohol abuse and addiction

Although different drugs have different physical effects, the symptoms of addiction are similar. See if you recognise yourself in the following signs and symptoms of substance abuse and addiction. If so, consider talking to someone about your drug use.

Common signs and symptoms of drug or alcohol problems

• You’re neglecting your responsibilities at school, work, or home (e.g. flunking classes, skipping work, neglecting your children) because of your drug or alcohol use.
• You’re using drugs under dangerous conditions or taking risks while high, such as driving while on drugs, using dirty needles, or having unprotected sex.
• Your drug use is getting you into legal trouble, such as arrests for disorderly conduct, driving under the influence, or stealing to support a drug habit.
• Your drug use is causing problems in your relationships, such as fights with your partner or family members, an unhappy boss, or the loss of old friends.

AND Most importantly- ask yourself, is my substance use fitting with my version of a meaningful valued life? Does it fit with what my values are as a person?

Common signs and symptoms of drug or alcohol addiction

• You’ve built up a tolerance. You need to use more of the drug to experience the same effects you used to attain with smaller amounts.
• You take drugs or alcohol to avoid or relieve withdrawal symptoms. If you go too long without drugs, you experience symptoms such as nausea, restlessness, insomnia, depression, sweating, shaking, and anxiety.
• You’ve lost control over your drug use. You often drink or use more than you planned, even though you told yourself you wouldn’t. You may want to stop using, but you feel powerless.
• Your life revolves around drug use. You spend a lot of time using and thinking about drugs, figuring out how to get them, and recovering from the drug’s effects.
• You’ve abandoned activities you used to enjoy, such as hobbies, sports, and socializing, because of your drug or alcohol use.
• You continue to use drugs or alcohol, despite knowing it’s hurting you. It’s causing major problems in your life—blackouts, infections, mood swings, depression, paranoia—but you use anyway.

 Help is available, and it works!!

5 Myths about Drug Abuse and Addiction

MYTH 1: Overcoming addiction is a simply a matter of willpower. You can stop using drugs if you really want to. Prolonged exposure to drugs alters the brain in ways that result in powerful cravings and a compulsion to use. These brain changes make it extremely difficult to quit by sheer force of will, many people need help.

MYTH 2: Addiction is a disease; there’s nothing you can do about it. Most experts agree that addiction is a brain disease, but that doesn’t mean you’re a helpless victim. The brain changes associated with addiction can be treated and reversed through therapy, medication, exercise, and other treatments.

MYTH 3: People have to hit rock bottom before they can get better. Recovery can begin at any point in the addiction process—and the earlier, the better. The longer drug abuse continues, the stronger the addiction becomes and the harder it is to treat. Don’t wait to intervene until you have lost it all.

MYTH 4: You can’t force someone into treatment; they have to want help. Treatment doesn’t have to be voluntary to be successful. People who are pressured into treatment by their family, employer, or the legal system are just as likely to benefit as those who choose to enter treatment on their own. As they sober up and their thinking clears, many decide they want to change.

MYTH 5: Treatment didn’t work before, so there’s no point trying again. Recovery from drug or alcohol addiction is a long process that often involves setbacks. Relapse doesn’t mean that treatment has failed or that you’re a lost cause. Rather, it’s a signal to get back on track, either by going back to treatment or adjusting the treatment approach.

If you suspect you or a loved one has a drug or alcohol problem, consider linking them in with a mental health professional or GP. Try the menu of options and figure out what works for you. You’re not alone, and there is so much effective help:

• Your local GP, Psychologist or Counselor.
• Smart Recovery has many free online tools and meetings in many areas of Australia.
• The Alcohol and Drug Information Service, for 24 hour information, rehab info, referral and support, Ph 1800 422 599.
• Family Drug Support, for loved ones and carers of someone with an addiction, Ph 1300 368 186.
• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings
  
• Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings
  
• Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meetings
• Gambling Anonymous (GA) meetings

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Anxiety disorders: Signs, Symptoms and Successful Recovery

How do I know if I have an anxiety disorder? How do I know whether my loved one has an anxiety disorder?

The symptoms of anxiety are sometimes not all that obvious as they often develop gradually and, given that we all experience some anxiety at some points in time, it can be hard to know how much is too much. Remember help is available!

Some common symptoms include:

• hot and cold flushes
• racing heart
• tightening of the chest
• snowballing worries
• obsessive thinking and compulsive behaviour.

These are just some of a number of symptoms that may be experienced. If you are familiar with any of these symptoms, check the more extensive list of symptoms common to the different types of anxiety issues below. They are not designed to provide a diagnosis – for that you need to see a doctor – but they can be used as a guide.

Generalised anxiety disorder

For 6 months or more, on more days than not, have you:

• Felt very worried
• Found it hard to stop worrying
• Found that your anxiety made it difficult for you to do everyday activities (e.g. work, study, seeing friends and family)?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, have you also experienced 3 or more of the following:

• Felt restless or on edge
• Felt easily tired
• Had difficulty concentrating
• Felt irritable
• Had muscle pain (e.g. sore jaw or back)
• Had trouble sleeping (e.g. difficulty falling or staying asleep or restless sleep)?

Phobias (specific and social)

Have you felt very nervous when faced with a specific object or situation? For example:

• Flying on an aeroplane
• Going near an animal
• Receiving an injection
• Going to a social event?

Have you avoided a situation because of your phobia? For example, have you:

• Changed work patterns
• Not attended social events
• Avoided health check-ups
• Found it hard to go about your daily life (e.g. working, studying or seeing friends and family) because you are trying to avoid such situations?

Panic disorder

Within a 10 minute period have you felt 4 or more of the following:

• Sweaty
• Shaky
• Increased heart rate
• Short of breath
• Choked
• Nauseous or pain in the stomach
• Dizzy, lightheaded or faint
• Numb or tingly
• Derealisation (feelings of unreality) or depersonalisation (feeling detached from yourself or your surroundings)
• Hot or cold flushes
• Scared of going crazy
• Scared of dying?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, have you also: felt scared, for 1 month or more, of experiencing these feelings again?

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Have you:

• Experienced or seen something that involved death, injury, torture or abuse and felt very scared or helpless?
• Had upsetting memories or dreams of the event for at least 1 month?
• Found it hard to go about your daily life (e.g. work, study, getting along with family and friends)?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, have you also experienced at least 3 of the following:

• Avoided activities that remind you of the traumatic event
• Had trouble remembering parts of the event
• Felt less interested in doing things you used to enjoy
• Had trouble feeling intensely positive emotions (e.g. love or excitement)
• Thought less about the future (e.g. about career or family goals)?

and have you experienced at least 2 of the following:

• Had difficulties sleeping (e.g. had bad dreams, or found it hard to fall or stay asleep)
• Felt easily angered or irritated
• Had trouble concentrating
• Felt on guard
• Been easily startled?

 Obsessive compulsive disorder

Have you:

• Had repetitive thoughts or concerns that are not simply about real life problems (e.g. thoughts that you or people close to you will be harmed)
• Done the same activity repeatedly and in a very ordered, precise and similar way each time e.g.:
  • constantly washing your hands or clothes, showering or brushing your teeth
  • constantly cleaning, tidying or rearranging things at home, at work or in the car in a very particular way
  • constantly checking that doors and windows are locked and/or appliances are turned off
•  Felt relieved in the short term by doing these things, but soon felt the need to repeat them

• Recognised that these feelings, thoughts and behaviours were unreasonable
• Found that these thoughts or behaviours take up more than 1 hour a day and/or interfered with your normal routine (e.g. working, studying or seeing friends and family)?

Treatments for anxiety

If you think that you, or someone you know, may have anxiety, it may be worth seeing your GP for recommendations and support as a first step. There are many forms of psychological counseling, such as mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapy and exposure therapy, that have long been shown to help people overcoming the impact of anxiety in their lives. You may also be interested in trying meditation and Yoga Nidra.

Help is available:

• See your local GP, Psychologist or Counselor
• Beyond Blue 
  
• Free online therapy via Macquarie University “E-Clinic”
• Free online self-help courses via Black Dog Institute

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