Dealing with a person with addiction is a tricky situation for anyone. For the family and friends, it can be frustrating position as they witness their loved one undergoing the wrath of being an addict, or it is colleagues missing the good times they used to share.
However, addiction is often a result of multiple things combined (bereavement, abuse or even peer pressure). While addiction treatment clinics aim at helping people with addiction reclaim their life back, it is still crucial to understand why an unhealthy coping mechanism takes the shape of addiction and how you can offer support beyond the recovery process.
If you or a loved one is undergoing recovery, here are some significant facts to know about addiction to help you better:
- It’s often not a choice
Everyone wants the best in their lives, and so is the case with a person with addiction. Substances can hamper brain chemistry, inducing a temporary, fleeting feeling of relief and euphoria.
When the effect wears out, the person tends to feel restless and anxious and may have physical symptoms like violent convulsions. To feel better, they may resort to using the substance again, eventually turning the one-time thing into a regular habit.
Upon constant exposure, the brain adjusts the release of neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, etc), requiring a higher dose to achieve the desired effects. The increase in tolerance often results in dependency for survival, eventually turning a healthy person into an addict.
- Everyone is equally vulnerable
Addiction has no preferences against wealth, race, or even gender. It can happen to anyone, making it incredibly crucial to stay vigilant of your mental and emotional health.
If you are feeling hopeless and exhausted and constantly seeking ways to manage your well-being, getting professional help can be incredibly helpful in preventing any slips.
- Stigma hurts the family
A person with addiction is often deemed to be a waste of resources, hopeless among other names. While they may come out of frustration or anger, these insults hurt the other family members immensely.
It lowers their morale, makes it challenging for them to go about their daily routine without feeling inadequate and even makes them resent the victim of substance and alcohol use.
Moreover, the stigma surrounding addiction further makes it challenging to seek professional help early on, fearing the judgement of society.
- Underlying disorders
There’s always a possibility that people with addiction may have been struggling with an underlying mental health crisis that they thought no one would understand. Instead of seeking professional help, they found it much worthy to depend on substances to numb the effects of their disorders.
Such situations also arise when the person is unaware of treatments available for help. Know that the dependency on substances is often an attempt to feel normal and be able to live without worrying about facing the symptoms of their disorder.
- It can be in the genes
Addiction can be inherited, indicating it can travel from parents to their children by way of genes. This is known as a genetic predisposition to addiction and has a common name, substance use disorder (SUD), which encourages people to gravitate towards using substances slowly over the course of time. SUD is similar to having a heart disease in the genes.
It happens as a result of inherited levels of dopamine (a hormone related to the feeling of being rewarded), which can result in poor control over the impulse. As a result, whenever a difficult situation arises, the person is more likely to indulge in addiction than a healthy person with normal hormone markup.
Bottomline
Addiction, on the surface, may seem like a careless mistake one has made. However, there are various reasons a person turns to using substances and alcohol to deal with everyday situations. An individualised approach ensures all areas leading up to addiction are addressed adequately.
It can be time-consuming; however, the results will be lasting and beneficial for the individual and the family. At the same time, it is essential to modify the environment that triggered such a life-threatening response to ensure there are no remission or relapses in the future.