Admitting you need help is the first step toward living a better life. But knowing it’s time to seek help at an addiction treatment center isn’t always easy. Addiction is a tricky illness that can be hard to understand or even recognize. But there are signs you can look for in your own life to let you know when to seek help. No one has to go through addiction and recovery alone. With the assistance of an addiction treatment center, you can work your way toward a healthier, more fulfilling life.
What is Addiction?
For a long time, addiction wasn’t well understood by the greater medical community. And while doctors and other health professionals now understand substance use disorder, there’s still a stigma surrounding addiction in general circles. Drugs and alcohol contain chemicals that affect your brain and body. Many of these chemicals are used in a medical setting, such as painkillers. But the misuse of these substances can lead to a chemical dependency in the brain. As such, going for long periods of time without exposure to drugs or alcohol can make someone experience painful and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.
What Can You Be Addicted To?
Any drug that has the ability to chemically influence your brain can lead to addiction. Common addictions include:
- Heroin
- Cocaine
- Methamphetamine
- Prescription Opiates
- Kratom
- Synthetic Drugs (like marijuana)
- Alcohol (yes, believe it or not, alcohol is medically considered a drug)
Whenever someone begins using these drugs, there’s a chance that they can immediately become dependent on their use. Addiction can form quickly, and it swiftly takes over someone’s life if left untreated. Although there is a strong genetic connection that makes some people more susceptible to addiction than others, anyone can become addicted to substance use.
Signs of Addiction
It’s never easy to look at your own life and accurately judge your situation. Many people ignore their actions and refuse to look inward, while others judge themselves too harshly. In either scenario, those suffering from addiction rarely recognize it or take the steps needed to seek help. However uncomfortable it can be, it’s necessary to take a good, strong look at your life to determine if you struggle with substance abuse and need an addiction treatment center to help you get back on track.
Financial Strain
One of the more obvious signs of an addiction problem is financial struggle. Because many of the drugs that form addiction are either illegal or heavily controlled by a prescription, it can be costly to find and obtain them. Many who struggle with addiction also struggle with making other ends meet. Because withdrawal symptoms can be so severe, people are more likely to spend their money on substances rather than rent or even food. When the brain is affected by addiction, getting the next fix becomes the top priority, overshadowing all other human needs.
If you find yourself struggling to make necessary payments or needing to borrow money from friends and family to afford daily items, a treatment center can help you retake control of your finances.
Physical Degradation
Substance use puts a strain on all aspects of your life, but none more so than your body. While some drugs have medical benefits, overuse can lead to physical ailments. Drug and alcohol use can severely affect your body. Common physical signs of addiction include:
- Extreme weight loss or weight gain
- Bloodshot eyes
- Frequently runny nose
- Shaking/tremors
- Pale/undernourished skin
- Disrupted sleep
- Bad breath/dental decay
If you begin to notice changes to your body without any external act, substance use is beginning to take its toll. If left untreated, addiction can lead to serious physical ailments that last a lifetime.
Inability to Stop
Stopping an addiction isn’t easy. For many, they are aware of the negative impacts of their substance use but are unable to stop using. Addiction is a serious illness that forces your brain to desire nothing more in the world than the substance it is addicted to. Breaking free of addiction isn’t as simple as mind over matter. To the addicted mind, nothing else matters more than the next hit.
For those who haven’t experienced substance addiction themselves, it can be hard to understand why someone would continue to use something. It’s easy to judge when you haven’t gone through an addiction yourself. But the truth is that knowing something is bad for you doesn’t mean you’ll be able to stop. Withdrawal symptoms can be extremely painful and uncomfortable, and in many cases, it’s easier to use again rather than suffer through them. While a select few are able to get clean on their own, many need the medical and therapeutic aid of an addiction treatment center to find a healthier life once more.
Do You Need an Addiction Treatment Center?
Knowing whether or not you need the help of an addiction treatment center is fairly simple compared to other aspects of addiction. A treatment center can help you not just overcome addiction but stay clear of it. If you struggle with stopping an addiction, find yourself continuously relapsing, or even think you may be addicted but aren’t sure, seek the help of an addiction treatment center.
Addiction Treatment Center in San Diego
At The Bridges of San Diego, we know the stigma that surrounds addiction. We also know the best medical and therapeutic practices that help our patients overcome these addictions and stay away from them in the future. Using a combination of group education and individual counseling, we help those struggling with addiction find their footing again. We offer both intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs that help you find the tools you need to build yourself a better life. If you are struggling with addiction, you don’t have to go through it alone. Give us a call at 619-639-1458 to see how our advanced addiction treatment center can help you.