For a person who has started regularly using drugs or has been fostering harmful behavior towards themselves, it can be difficult to understand their real situation. Accepting that one suffers from dependence on a substance or activity is always a very hard blow to one’s conscience, regardless of the reasons that led to it. Therefore, it is common that when others realize their reality, they decide to lie to others and deceive themselves. However, the family’s role is crucial for the recovery of the affected individual. For this reason, they should not give up their efforts to convince them that they suffer from an addictive disorder, and they should focus on helping them quit the addiction. For the most complex cases, the most effective solution is to gradually talk to the addict about the possibility of entering a detox center where they can begin a rehabilitation treatment. Today we tell you how to identify the risk situations that arise from drug use to make it easier to identify the best way to recover from an addiction.
The Family’s Role in the Rehabilitation Process
The role of the family environment in addiction recovery is crucial for patients suffering from a dependence disorder. When drug use or behavioral abuse becomes a problem of coexistence, it not only affects the individual responsible but also impacts their entire environment. Therefore, the addict’s family must be treated jointly to restore those bonds damaged by substance use.
The family must understand how the addictive disorder works and how it emotionally and psychologically alters the patient. This way, they will have a clearer vision and it will be less complicated for them to help the individual quit the addiction. Furthermore, the family unit is a space where the effects of drug use are directly experienced. Therefore, an environment of trust and relief must be created where they can begin to build a new life.
Warning Signs of Addiction
Drug use is one of the worst problems a family can suffer. Not only because of what it represents, but also because of all the indirect and derived consequences that can result from a case of substance abuse.
When alcohol or other drug use becomes an addiction, it can ruin the affected person’s life. Addiction is a disease that can destroy the essential fabric of trust within a family. Therefore, early detection and intervention are fundamental to ensure rehabilitation and a return to a normal life.
The signs that indicate a person is suffering from an addiction are:
- Physiological alterations (insomnia, red eyes, mucus, sweating, etc.)
- Sudden and constant emotional changes
- Changes in school attendance or work and grades
- Unexplained loss or gain of money
- Deterioration of social relationships
- Mood or personality changes towards negativity
- Disappearance of medications from the medicine cabinet
- Neglect of physical appearance
Characteristics of a Dependent Person
The consumption of psychoactive substances is a phenomenon present in society and is more common than expected. As a result, the profile of a dependent person is that of an individual who uses drugs recurrently. Sooner or later, they end up suffering from an addiction that causes them both physical and mental dependence on the substance.
Drug dependence can be the result of a wide variety of situations and circumstances. Therefore, establishing a profile of a dependent person can be complex. However, doing so can mean a big step towards finding the best solution to help a person quit addiction.
The most common characteristics of a person who uses drugs are:
- Mainly men
- Between 20 and 50 years old
- Onset of use in adolescence or early adulthood
- Regular use of alcohol and/or cocaine and heroin
- Has a medium socio-educational level
- Has a stable job
- Married individuals in the case of alcohol. Single in the case of other substance use
- Uses to cover emotional deficiencies and frustrations
- Has an unbalanced personality. Low self-esteem, low tolerance for frustration, emotional instability, rational dependence, low self-confidence, and difficulty setting boundaries
- Initiation of use due to rebellion or need for socialization
Common Self-Deceptions in Addictions
Many phrases are used for the self-deceptions of those addicted to a substance. And the longer one has been using, the harder it is to eliminate them. It is important that both the person who needs to quit the addiction and their family remain attentive to everything the affected individual says to identify self-justifications and thus try to refute them.
Some of the most common self-deceptions when suffering from an addiction are:
- When I want to use, I use, and when I don’t want to, I don’t. Indicating a false sense of control over use.
- I have a high tolerance for alcohol; I need more for it to affect me. This is not an effect of immunity to alcoholism, as it is generally called, but rather self-deception. And, furthermore, the social environment often stimulates and applauds consumption.
- I am not addicted to drugs; those are the people on the street who beg to use. I am not in that situation, so I don’t have drug problems. Dependence problems are associated with labels of socially rejected users, denying having problems.
- I’m not an alcoholic; I can quit whenever I want. I don’t harm myself or anyone else. This allows for an emotional disconnection of the addict from themselves and others.
- I don’t have problems; the people I go out with use the same as me and don’t have problems. Normally, a person doesn’t start using alone but does so with others. That’s why when they start having addiction problems, they deny it and justify it by others. If those they started using with are fine, then they are too.
CCAdicciones is a drug rehabilitation center specializing in addictions and dependencies. Contact us and we will help you start a detoxification process to return to your previous life.
