One of the first and most noticeable changes that will reveal itself in an individual dealing with an addiction to a controlled substance is the gradual erosion of physical health. Physical repercussions will depend greatly upon the individual and type of substance, but a popular sign of drug dependency is rapid, drastic weight loss.
While some substances decrease one’s desires for food, others decrease the desire for anything other than more frequent or higher doses of that substance. Apart from drastic physical changes, and perhaps more alarming, is the change in a friend or loved one’s priorities and outlook.
How Drug Addiction Affects Family Life
If you have been dealing with an addiction to a controlled substance for some time now, you may have already watched your role within your own family change. The unfortunate reality is that substance abuse of any kind can ultimately remove you from your role as a father, mother, husband, wife, son or daughter.
Emotional and Psychological Repercussions of Drug Addiction
Addiction in its worst form causes a person’s chief priority to become the location and consumption of medication. This not only takes a toll on family but also renders a person incapable of maintaining important relationships.
One crucial aspect of any successful rehab is a focus on therapy after detox. Some form of therapy is always necessary and beneficial because of the ways that an addiction to a controlled substance can create powerful emotional and psychological strongholds in the mind.
Prescription drug abuse in particular is unsurpassed in its ability to change an individual’s entire attitude toward life. If you neglect the psychological aspects of addiction, you run the risk of developing another addiction.