What is an Addict?

While you may have heard about rising addiction rates, you might not fully understand what an addict actually is.

An addict is someone who has an addiction to a drug or to alcohol.

These addictions can form in various ways — from prescription drug misuse or recreational substance use.

No matter what led to a person becoming an addict, there are many different ways addiction can affect their lives and the people around them.

These effects have serious long-term negative physical and mental effects.

This is what makes having access to quality addiction treatment centers so important.

Understanding Addiction

Addiction is a serious, chronic disease because of the way substance abuse changes the brain. An addict’s brain makes them constantly crave, seek, and use substances, even when it is negatively affecting their health.

This is because alcohol and most drugs change the way that your brain releases the chemicals that make you feel happy and relaxed. Your brain learns to rely on a substance to release these chemicals, which makes it difficult for you to feel good from things you used to enjoy doing. Over time, you will need more of the substance to feel the effects.

This is what makes overdose such a major concern for addicts.

 

Common Patterns within Addicts

No matter what substance an addict uses, they tend to have similar patterns in their behaviors. These behaviors can act as red flags to addicts and their friends and family members.

There are various signs you can look for to try and figure out if you or someone you know is an addict.

These signs include:

• Having new friends frequently
• Spending a lot of time alone
• Stopping activities or hobbies you used to enjoy
• Not taking care of your physical appearance
• Having problems being tired or sad all of the time
• Losing or gaining a significant amount of weight
• Having too much energy
• Talking fast or saying things that do not make sense
• Often being angry, or having violent outbursts
• Frequently changing between feeling bad and feeling good
• Having a strange or unreliable sleep schedule
• Having problems fulfilling your obligations at work or at school
• Frequent strife within your personal relationships

Just one of these signs may not mean that someone is an addict. If you or someone you know is showing two or more of them, there is a chance an addiction is to blame.

Once you realize that you or someone you know is an addict, it is essential to start seeking out a drug rehab or alcohol rehab program.

 

The Physical Effects of an Addiction

Drug and alcohol addiction can have many negative effects on an addict’s body. This is because our systems are not meant to process large amounts of drugs and alcohol on a regular basis.

This can lead to issues with many of an addict’s body processes and organs. The effects an addict experiences can vary depending on what they are abusing, how often they are using it, and how much they are taking.

Some common negative effects include:

• Problems with the nose and lungs for people who snort drugs
• Damage to the liver, kidneys, or heart
• Damage to the lungs, which leads to breathing problems
• A higher chance of cancer, including liver, throat, esophageal, breast, and kidney cancers
• Short- or long-term problems with your brain
• A higher chance of being infected with HIV or hepatitis from sharing needles or having unsafe sex
• Needle marks, collapsed veins, and an increased chance of getting a serious skin, muscle, or blood infection from frequent injection or from using a dirty needle for those who inject drugs

While some effects of addiction are short-term and can be successfully treated by a doctor, others cannot. That is why it is critical for an addict to find help from a reputable rehab like Best Rehabs In Arizona.

 

Mental Illness and Alcohol Rehab

An addict’s substance abuse does not just pose a risk to their physical health. It can also have many different negative effects on their brain and mental health. These effects can include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Mood swings
• Problems dealing with stress
• Angry or violent outbursts
• A harder time learning new things
• Short and long term memory loss
• Poor judgment
• Poor decision-making skills

These negative effects happen because of how drug abuse changes the way that your brain works. These effects can last for weeks or even months after an addict stops abusing drugs or alcohol.

For addicts who had an existing mental health issue before they became an addict, substance abuse can make their symptoms worse. Addicts often deal with serious depression and anxiety due to substance-related chemicals that imbalance their brains.

The only way these people feel better is by using drugs or alcohol. Once the effects wear off, they only feel worse. This leads addicts with mental health problems to use more and more drugs in order to try and treat their symptoms.

Going to rehab is the only way for addicts to finally get help for both their addiction and their mental health problems, known as a dual diagnosis treatment.

 

Drug and Alcohol Rehab Treatment Options

There are many individuals struggling with addiction that tend to worry their addiction is too severe to be treated by a drug rehab or alcohol rehab program.

However, no matter how severe your addiction is, it is possible to get help and successfully overcome addiction.

Drug rehab treatment helps addicts get clean by avoiding the use of drugs and learning healthy ways to cope with stress and other triggers to avoid relapsing, and even potential overdoses.

There are many different drug rehab and alcohol rehab treatments available.

Some common rehab center treatments include:

• Medical detox to assist in easing withdrawal symptoms
• Behavioral therapies
• Medications to lessen cravings or long-term withdrawal symptoms
• Treatment for mental health issues
• Tools and resources for long-term care to prevent relapse

For an addiction rehab program to be successful, it must be customized to suit the individual needs of every client. This is something that Best Rehabs In Arizona takes very seriously.

Each and every client that comes to us for help to overcome addiction gets the individualized attention they need by receiving a customized treatment plan based on a multitude of factors.

 

 

Getting the Help You Need for Your Addiction

When someone is dealing with an addiction, it can be challenging for them to see how their addiction is affecting their health. It may also be hard for them to see that they can get help to lead a normal, sober life.

At Best Rehabs In Arizona, we know what it takes to get your life back to normal after addiction.

Our luxury locations provide you with a comfortable and home-like atmosphere so that our clients feel safe and secure throughout their treatment program.

We ensure your success by using only scientifically-proven, cutting-edge, and effective drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs.

We have over 25 years of experience in helping people with addictions and co-occurring disorders to overcome their addictions.

Many of our clients wonder whether or not they will be able to take advantage of their health insurance benefits to assist in covering their treatment. Simply give us a call, and one of our addiction specialists can perform a free insurance verification check to see how much of your treatment program will be covered by your insurance before you actually enter treatment.

No matter what addiction you may be struggling with, you do not have to keep dealing with the negative effects of this alone.

Let us use our years of experience to help you get on the path to a meaningful and lasting recovery.

Contact us today, and see the difference our rehab programs can make in getting your life back on track.