Can you get addicted to your prescription medications?
When people think of substance abuse, they automatically think of alcohol and illegal drugs or street dugs, such as cocaine and heroin. What most people are not going to think about are the drugs that are given to people with the permission of their doctor. When people abuse a substance, it is not always something that is illegal. It can be prescription drugs that people, even teenagers, sometimes abuse. In fact, studies show that while pain medication is one of the most abused substances in North America, medications such as cough syrup are often abused by young adults.
For many people, prescription medication is easier and sometimes cheaper to acquire than the street drugs that are usually associated with substance abuse. It is so easy to acquire these kinds of legal drugs that young adults will often go for these ones before moving on to stronger drugs. Some studies that have been done show that about ten percent of substance abusers will use cough medication, while twenty percent will abuse tranquilizers and another twenty percent will abuse pain medication. Aside from being relatively easy to acquire, it could be that many of these medications are addictive; meaning that some people who take the drug might become dependent on the drug because it relieves pain, allows them to relax or gives them the buzz or high that they are looking for. While these medications may not seem harmful to abuse, they can be. Even taking cough medication can eventually become detrimental to a person’s physical and mental health.
Some people will become dependant on these prescription drugs because they are trying to self-medicate. It could be that someone is having difficulty at school, is trying to fit in with the popular crowd or they are trying to hide from their depression. Adolescents especially are open to developing addictions. It is a time where their brains are changing and the hormones and other chemicals in the brain can become unbalanced; this can drive an individual into a depression. When adolescents become addicted to these kinds of prescription drugs and are not treated, the addiction can carry on into adulthood. While many can become addicted at the adolescent age, many adults can be just as susceptible to developing a dependency on these types of drugs.
For a person to finally accept that they might have an addiction or trying to convince someone that they should get help can be a difficult task. Many people who have developed a dependency will deny that they have a problem. Others will realize that they might have a problem but don’t know how to get help. One of the main reasons why people will avoid seeing a therapist or counselor for help is because they are embarrassed or shy to go for help. Today, online therapy or online counseling is available for people who would rather contact a therapist from their private computer at home. The online therapist or counselor can help the person to get over their addiction and work on improving their life, as well as any other issues they may have. The therapy is also confidential and does allow for someone to get help in a more discreet way. Online therapy or counseling is just like conventional therapy, it is just working with an online therapist or online counselor in the format that you feel most comfortable with.
If you or anyone that you know would like more information regarding this post, feel free to visit http://www.completecounselingsolutions.com or email jennifer@completecounselingsolutions.com
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By the purposeful absence of the definitions of dependence and addiction you only present 50% of the available information to those who have tried all methods available save opioid/and adjunctive medication therapy. For some chronic intractable patients there is simply no option other than opioids to help abate the pain that never stops.
To deny these people an opportunity to achieve as close to a normal life as you would wish for yourself, you may be showing a bias reflected in the statement "Just say no." The attitude that "if it isn't happening to me, it isn't happening," is myopic and closed minded. Pain kills, as does the lack of knowledge concerning all the options one may be faced with when pain robs them of the joy of a normal life, and exerts undue physiological stress on all of the human biological systems. Robert R MPF Wa State
Agreed with your statement, but the point of this article is to talk about the fact that even if you are prescribed something, that does not mean that it is exempt from addiction. I have worked with far too many people that use the phrase, "Well, my doctor prescribes these to me so I cannot be addicted."
Pain medication is one thing, but there is a higher chance to get addicted if you are not careful. Becoming dependent on any one thing for too long is not a good thing. thxs for the input.
Dr.Jennifer Baxt
jennifer@completecounselingsolutions.com
http://www.completecounselingsolutions.com
Dependency is the main problem in prescription drug abuse. My uncle had prescription drug addiction and the most sad thing is he did not know that he had an addiction problem. He was addicted to a sleeping pill which lead him to loosing his life. There are some rehab centers that helps people to recover from drug rehabs. It is better to find them and take proper treatment.