Helping A Loved One Through a Debilitating Cocaine Addiction
Posted by Samuel Sims on June 26th, 2019
Cocaine is a highly addictive drug that can get an individual ‘hooked’ from the very first time consuming it. Whether it is through powder or crack, the effects after the high diminishes can be devastating. Unlike other drugs, the withdrawal symptoms of cocaine are not physically debilitating, most of the crippling effects are psychological. Symptoms can range from difficulty in concentrating, slowed thinking, restlessness or exhaustion, increased appetite, depression and/or anxiety, inability to feel sexual arousal or pleasure. Physical symptoms include trembling, shivers, nerve pain, and muscle ache. People who have been using it for a long time, or use it in large doses experience stronger withdrawal symptoms. Often, drug dealers will mix cocaine with synthetic opioids or talcum powder, which might lead to polysubstance dependence, a phenomenon that complicates withdrawal.
Understanding cocaine addiction
Cocaine is a highly potent stimulant that produces more dopamine than the brain can produce on its own. It blocks the reabsorption of dopamine by the brain, rendering the users alert and focused for hours on end. It changes how your body and brain functions and one requires more and more of the drug to reach the initial high. Without it, users experience depressive lows and eventually stop being able to function without it.
Cocaine powder can be snorted, injected and smoked as crack cocaine. Usually, people who seek out cocaine, or become addicted to cocaine have depression or anxiety, have suffered from childhood trauma, or have a genetic predisposition to addictive behaviors. Getting help for your loved ones at the first signs of negative effects is crucial.
How do I know my loved ones need help?
Substance abuse is not the most subtle or easily hidden addiction. Understanding the signs of addiction is the first step to getting help for your loved one. The intense craving of the drug has pushed many sufferers to seek out more of the substance. There may be increased irritability, decreased appetite, sudden weight loss, and disruptive sleep patterns. Their school life or work life may get interrupted because of the uninhibited desire for the drug, as well as their financial stability. Large doses of cocaine can lead to violent, unpredictable behavior. Posing an intervention at the probable signs of cocaine addiction is necessary.
Cocaine treatment centers
Seeing a loved one suffer without their substance of abuse can be heartbreaking. Bringing the sufferer to a rehab center in Los Angeles may be the most difficult and emotionally taxing event in one’s life, but it only needs to be done once, after which the rehab center can take over treatment. The addiction affects the user psychologically more than physically, so treatments are oriented towards ‘inside out healing.’
Psychological cravings are the hardest to overcome and may resurface years after recovery. Initial detox is aided by recovery coaches and attentive staff. It may take seven to ten days to get over physical withdrawal symptoms. After which intensive, personalized psychotherapy is used to understand the precipitating cause of their addiction and helps them learn to cope in a healthy manner.
