Substance & Behavioural Addictions

​No addict takes their first drug - whether that is a substance or a behaviour - believing that they will become addicted. All addicts start out believing that they could give up drugs any time they wanted to. Every addict is sad proof of how wrong that belief is.

Another word for addiction is ‘dependence’. The two kinds of dependence we speak of are psychological dependence and physical dependence. Psychological dependence occurs when a person feels he or she needs drugs, alcohol or any other crutch to function or feel comfortable (e.g., needing to drink alcohol to feel relaxed in social situations, or needing to be high to enjoy sex). Some people eventually feel they need a substance just to be able to cope with daily life.

Physical dependence occurs when a person’s body has adapted to the presence of a substance. Tolerance has developed, which means that the person needs to use more of that particular substance to get the same effect. When substance or behavioural use stops, symptoms of withdrawal occur, both psychologically and physically.

You can never anticipate the effect that drugs will have on you. You could experience a very pleasant response to one drug, yet another drug could have a very frightening reaction - it could even kill you. It is a mistake to think that experience increases your tolerance levels or that nothing will happen to you if you take a drug that you have used before. It is a well-known fact that seasoned drug addicts often die of an overdose.

No matter how good you may feel when using drugs, your body suffers. Drugs are dangerous. If you take drugs, you are at great risk of becoming addicted. Addiction comes with a big price tag. The more drugs you want, the more money you need to feed the habit. It is not weak people who become drug addicts, its drug addicts who become weak people.

However tempting it may be, using drugs to take a break from reality will not make your problems disappear or make life better. When the drug wears off, reality will still be there with all the problems from which you were trying to escape.

If you feel that things are spiralling out of control and you are overwhelmed by problems, seek real help from someone who cares.

Realise your addiction now and save yourself – let me help you. Contact me on [email protected] or on 084 779 4889. Visit my website on www.nadinetherapy.co.za.