Prescription drug addiction adversely affects physical and mental health. It leaves a person struggling just to get through the day. However, help is available for those who need it. If you are battling a prescription drug addiction, it’s critical to seek addiction treatment. With the help of a professional therapist at Atlanta Detox Center, you can start to retake control of your life from a prescription drug addiction.
What Causes the Risks of Prescription Drug Addiction?
To understand the risks of addiction to prescription drugs, it is critical to recognize how they change your brain. When you take an addictive prescription drug, such as Adderall, opioids, or depressants, those drugs trigger the brain’s reward center. This causes the release of a chemical called dopamine, which is responsible for feelings of pleasure.
As a result, the brain wants to keep experiencing those feelings of pleasure, so it engages in drug-seeking behavior. Over time, dependence forms, which means the body and brain now rely on the drug, and not using it creates intense pain and cravings. These risks of addiction can be very harmful for the user.
What Are Common Risks of Prescription Drug Addiction?
The risks of drug addiction are dependent on the type of drug used. However, some of the most common negative effects include:
- Health complications
- Mental health disorder development or worsening
- Physical dependence leading to pain and cravings
- Damage to relationships
- Reckless behavior resulting in accidents or injuries
- Problems with work or academic performance
- Financial and legal issues
All of this occurs because of the way the drugs change the function and communication within the brain, which puts you at risk for many complications.
Different Risks for Different Prescription Drugs
Each type of prescription drug carries its own risks if abused. For example, those abusing opioids may find themselves with slowed breathing, low blood pressure, and slowed heart rate. This can lead to coma or sudden death. Chronic use of these drugs can also cause cognitive function decline.
Those using medications and sedatives, such as benzodiazepines, may experience problems with memory, low blood pressure, and loss of consciousness. In addition, overdose can occur. If a person simply stops taking these medications, there’s a high risk of seizures and hallucinations.
Stimulant drugs, such as those taking for ADHD, can also come with numerous health risks. This includes heart problems, high blood pressure, tremors, high body temperature, and hallucinations. It may also lead to aggressive behavior and paranoia in some.
What Addiction Treatment Programs Are Available?
Prescription drug addiction is often treatable at Atlanta Detox Center. A detox center like ours can create a safe place for men and women to safely remove these substances from their bodies over a gradual process and with ample support. Some of our programs that enable recovery include:
- Prescription drug detox programs
- Men’s detox programs
- Women’s detox programs
- Medical detox programs
- Residential addiction treatment programs
When you embrace detox and then continue with ongoing therapy and support, your body and brain start to heal. Not all the risks or damage caused by addiction will improve fully. Yet, there’s no worsening of this damage because the prescription drug addiction is being treated by professionals. Additionally, you may begin to feel more like yourself and better able to face the world.
If you were taking prescription medications to treat an underlying condition, our Atlanta Detox Center team will offer other solutions that may work better and carry fewer risks for you.
Contact Atlanta Detox Center Today for Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment
You don’t have to live with prescription drug addiction. You can stop using these drugs and live a life without pain, dependence, or other complications. Take the first step towards a new way of life. Contact our Atlanta Detox Center team for a consultation today. Learn how we can help you by calling 470.450.2355 or connect with our counselors online.
