Drug addiction is extremely dangerous. Nowadays, access to psychoactive substances is so simple that younger and younger people are starting to use them. Drug addiction develops very quickly and brings with it many unpleasant consequences. What to do when an addicted person does not want to undergo treatment? How to help such a person?

What are Drugs?

Drugs are the common name for psychoactive substances that act on the central nervous system, and they can be of natural or synthetic origin. These are also measures that lead to physical and mental dependence when taken on a regular basis. All of them are illegal. Drugs can be classified according to their physiological action:

• stimulants – stimulate the central nervous system, amphetamines, ephedrine, caffeine, nicotine, cocaine
• depressants – delay the central nervous system, benzodiazepines, sleeping pills – barbiturates, chloroform, opioids – morphine, codeine, heroin, methadone
• psychedelics – they cause disturbances in the central nervous system, ketamine, MDMA, atropine, LSD
• cannabis – it is distinguished as a separate group because, depending on the variety, it has a stimulating, depressive and psychedelic effect.

Find help: Salt Lake City Rehab

How Do I Know When My Loved One Is Using Drugs?

The main signs that a loved one uses drugs will be symptoms that appear after taking psychoactive substances or behavior after drug withdrawal. A symptom of addiction is a strong urge to reach for the next, higher doses. The addict loses control over the intake of the substance very quickly and is unable to stop taking it. A warning sign could be a change in a person’s lifestyle. Problems at school and work, lack of interest, weight loss are significant symptoms. In addition, drug users usually change their behavior – attacks of aggression, nervousness, anxiety, psychosis, and insomnia begin to occur. The patient is not able to quit the habit on his own, even if he is willing and is aware that it is harmful to his health. At this stage, the therapy of the addicted person is a must.

Drug Addiction Treatment

Drug addiction treatment can prove challenging. Sick people usually do not notice their problem and say that they do not need any help. It is also very often the case that the more a loved one pushes to make a decision about treatment, the more such a choice is rejected. To a large extent, it is a defense mechanism against confronting addiction.

Read more: symptoms of drug abuse

The first step should be to talk to the drug addict. It cannot be nervous, aggressive and inciting to start therapy at all costs. Blackmail and threats will also be useless – they can have an even more negative effect on that person. In the treatment of drug addiction, the best solution will be to go to an addiction treatment center for therapy.

Thanks to this, the addicted person will not be able to take further doses of the substance. It must be remembered that an adult cannot be forced to undergo treatment – it is possible only when he has been incapacitated. In certain situations, the Mental Health Act may be applied. It will only be possible if the addicted person shows symptoms of mental disorders. In such a case, a mentally ill person who poses a direct threat to his life or people in his environment is forcibly placed in a psychiatric hospital.