Downward Spiral - The Progression of Drug Addiction

No one wants to be a drug addict or alcoholic but this doesn't stop people from getting addicted. The most commonly asked question is simply, how? How could my son, my daughter, or anyone I am close to, become a liar, a thief, someone who cannot be trusted? How could this happen? And why won't they stop using when they say they are trying?  Is this just another lie?  Couldn't they change if they really wanted to?

The first thing you must understand about addiction is that alcohol and addictive drugs are basically painkillers. They chemically kill physical or emotional pain and alter the mind's perception of reality. They make people numb to their problems and numb to their present time environment, which, psychologically makes them feel "better". For drugs to be attractive to a person there must first be some underlying unhappiness, sense of hopelessness or physical pain. This could be as simple as boredom and the desire to have a more dramatic and exciting life, or it could be clinical depression. These poisons must first handle a problem or the addict wouldn't take them to the extent that he becomes physically addicted.  The first few times a person takes a drug he feels the relief of the pain and after a number of times he develops an addiction to the drug.  Depending on the drug, he may develop a physical addiction where the metabolism has altered to the extent that he needs the drug to feel normal.

Some drugs, like crack and meth, cause the body to flood the system with the neurohormones that give a feeling of pleasure and euphoria, but do not have a strong physical addicting quality. However, the "rush" of these biological chemicals into the body causes such a euphoric feeling that it compels the person to continue reaching for that feeling.

We hear parents and loved ones continually say that their son, or whoever the addict may be, is one of the kindest and sweetest person; more loving than their other children that are not on drugs. However, when he is on drugs he is mean and cruel and nothing like the person they know.

There are many different types of personalities that get addicted to drugs, but it is more common to hear of the sensitive, kind child being the one that is addicted. Over time, and working with hundreds of addicts, Colorado Drug Rehab staff have seen this to be the rule rather than the exception. In understanding this phenomenon, you have to realize that kind, gentle young people are more likely to be hurt emotionally by their peers than are the tougher, more callused peers.

Not having the emotional skills to understand and confront the cruelty and insults of others is a problem that must be addressed in our prevention efforts. Most of these young people expect the world to give back to them the same attitudes and kindness that they are showing towards it, but this is hardly the case. When a person is happy and appears to be handling life well, it causes others, that are lower emotionally, to feel antagonism towards the happy person. It is easier to crush the happiness in another than it is to confront one's own unhappiness and take responsibility to handle the factors that are keeping them from being equally happy.

The pain that comes from being invalidated as a person is hard for anyone to confront and resolve, but for young, developing adults, it seems to be a feeling that is insurmountable. Introduce a "Pain-killer" into the equation and you have someone that feels that they can now handle those depressing assaults.  In fact, they nearly forget what was bothering them.

However, when the effects of the drug wear off, the drug user is faced with the same feeling, only magnified. Using drugs to handle emotionally disturbing feelings is a very temporary fix and the incident or many incidents that are causing the disturbances will always come back with more emotional charge after it has been suppressed by alcohol or drugs.

Now the uncomfortable feelings are overwhelming and all the person is preoccupied with how to get more and stronger drugs to find relief. Add to this the physical compulsion that has developed and one can see how the person now needs an effective program of therapy to handle the physical and emotional problems that have developed.

As the person continues to use drugs to "handle" his problems, he is creating other internal conflicts. He knows that taking these poisons into his body is destructive and goes against his moral code. To behave in a manner that is against your own self-interest causes one to feel more guilt, anger and hopelessness about one's future. These conflicts and the feeling that there isn't a way out change the behaviors of the addict from being the kind and gentle person that he truly is, into someone that lashes out at the world and especially those that are closest to him. His loved ones make him feel angry and ashamed of what he is doing and he feels that they should save him from himself, but when they don't, he feels betrayed and he increases his abuse in an unconscious way of hoping that someone will stop him. This resentment helps him justify his behavior towards his loved ones.  He is now feeling that he is a victim of an unloving family. At this stage, you find the addicts getting arrested and doing things that are reckless without regard for his future.  It is important to not buy into the accusations of an addict at this stage of addiction since they are really needing someone to force them to be ethical and get their lives together.

Some people say that you have to apply "tough love" to get the addict to do the right thing. Many recommendations from "professionals" in the alcohol and drug rehab and treatment field go against one's common sense. If you place yourself in the position of the person described above, you can see that tough love and being abandoned by your family, may be the last bit of support that is keeping him alive and attempting to get out of this trap. Be very careful in how you interrupt "tough love" and don't let others interrupt it for you. Parents know when they are enabling continued use and not doing the right thing in relationships such as these. Loved ones must seek help to better understand this problem and what it takes to reverse this downward spiral. It is overwhelming at times and confusing always, but you don't remove your love from someone who can no longer find any acceptance in himself or from his surroundings.

This description of the "Downward Spiral" is a short look into the cycle of destruction that is going on inside a person that is using drugs to better handle life. All people have different ways that they relate to their addiction and their emotional pain, but the basics that are spelled out here are universal and if you operate off of a place of understanding and compassion, without sympathy and a an attitude of bailing someone out of their mess, you will have much greater successes than closing the door on them and going to support groups of other parents that have also violated their instincts on handling their son's problems.

Calling the counselors at Colorado Drug Rehab and sharing your frustrations as a parent of loved one will certainly help. Find new ways that you can intervene and help and find programs that you know will handle this problem. There is no price that is too high for bringing back the kind, sensitive being before everyone is at a place where there is no coming back. CALL 1-877-444-1137 and take the time to get out of the reactionary actions that all loved ones get into and find rational and competent methods to save the life of your loved one.

This is a free service that will help you find a drug rehab for any alcohol or drug addiction problem you or a loved one may be having. It is easy to confuse the different terms used in this field, describing the different types of drug rehab centers, drug rehabilitation centers, and substance abuse treatment programs. For your specific addiction or drug problem, you maybe looking for an Outpatient, In-patient, Residential Treatment Center, Long term or Short term treatment and, secondly, what modality of treatment is the most effective and what are the cost related to these forms of treatment or rehab.