How to Recognize When a Loved One Has a Cocaine Addiction

The highest rate of cocaine addiction is in young adults, ages 18 to 25. Though it’s difficult to get an accurate count, most estimates of cocaine use in the United States report more than 600,000 addicts. The symptoms of cocaine addiction fall into two broad categories: physical and social or emotional.

Since cocaine is a stimulant, immediate physical effects include fast breathing, bloodshot eyes with dilated pupils, elevated body temperature, chills, tremors and hyperactivity. Blood pressure rises because the drug causes the coronary arteries to constrict. The diminished blood supply to the heart can cause heart attacks or convulsions. Over time, other physical symptoms appear, such as a constantly runny nose, nosebleeds, loss of appetite with concomitant weight loss, and increased vulnerability to colds and other illness.

Emotional and Social Symptoms of Cocaine Addiction

The emotional and social symptoms of cocaine addiction can be equally apparent. A primary symptom is periods of extreme energy followed by prolonged, excessive sleeping. The addict loses interest in normal activities, becoming withdrawn and depressed. Erratic behavior, including bouts of rapid talking and irritability are common. These psychological issues can lead to paranoia, auditory hallucinations and thoughts or threats of suicide.

Isolation is one of the most common social symptoms. Addicts tend to distance themselves from family and their usual friends. It may become difficult for an addict to hold a job, partly because of frequent absences due to the physical strain and partly because relationships become problematic. Even with a job, however, an addict may be constantly in need of more money in order to support his or her habit. This often leads to stealing. Thefts are generally committed first against the family, but may soon turn to robbery, assault and other criminal behavior.

If you recognize these symptoms in someone you care about, consider contacting an intervention specialist. You’ll find a list of resources on our home page, under “Key Links.”

Information on Cocaine Addiction

Cocaine is a powerful and extremely addictive drug.  Cocaine addiction can occur fairly quickly and be very difficult to break therefore, cocaine addiction requires specialized treatment methods for the best results.  Cocaine addiction also is characterized by use that persists even in the face of negative consequences.  For many people, cocaine addiction becomes chronic, with relapses possible even after long periods of abstinence.

Learn About Cocaine Addiction

The path to cocaine addiction starts with the act of taking cocaine for the first time, usually at the prompting of a friend.  Over time, a person’s ability to choose not to take cocaine becomes compromised.  The addiction becomes obsessive and compulsive in large part due to the effects of prolonged use of cocaine on the brain functioning.  This compulsion to take the drug can take over a person’s life.  Dysfunctional behavior can also begin with the prolonged use of the drug.  This can often interfere with normal functionality in the family, workplace and community.

You can learn more about cocaine addiction and the treatments available at SoberRecovery.com.  If you are struggling with a cocaine addiction you can also network with other individuals who are struggling with an addiction as well.

Nearly all individuals suffering from cocaine addiction believe in the beginning that they can stop using drugs on their own, and most try to stop without treatment.  However, most of these attempts result in failure to achieve long-term abstinence.  Understanding that cocaine addiction has an important biological component may help explain an individual’s difficulty in achieving and maintaining abstinence without treatment.

Cocaine is a very addictive drug that makes the addict feel euphoric and energetic. Cocaine and crack addiction is characterized by compulsive behavior and uncontrollable cravings. For many cocaine addicts cocaine addiction becomes chronic and relapses are possible after long periods of abstinence.

Cocaine is currently one of the most abused major stimulants in the United State of America. It is the drug most frequently involved in emergency room visits. A common misconception is that cocaine is not addictive because it does not have the physical withdrawal symptoms that are seen in alcohol or heroin addiction. Cocaine has some powerful psychologically addictive properties.

The tendencies in drug abuse in the United States is presently multiple or poly-drug abuse, and cocaine use is no exception. Cocaine is quite often used with alcohol, and other sedatives such as Valium, Ativan, or heroin, as an upper/downer combination, addicts try to balance their highs trying not to be too high or too low. The alcohol, sedatives or downers are also used to moderate the side effects of the cocaine addiction. The most common poly-drug abuse problem, seen especially in teens is cocaine, alcohol, and marijuana.

Why Cocaine becomes Addictive

Cocaine addictive disease is considered to be caused by the addict’s genetic background and their environment. Addicts from high-risk family backgrounds are particularly susceptible to the development of addictive cocaine disease. However, the presence of a cocaine addict in the family does not mean that their children will become an addict as well.

Researchers supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse have identified a process in the brain that may explain addiction to cocaine. Their research confirms that repeated exposure to cocaine causes a mutation in genes that leads to altered levels of a specific brain protein. This protein regulates the action of a normally occurring brain chemical called dopamine. It is the chemical messenger in the brain that is associated with cocaine’s pleasurable “rush”-the mechanism of addiction. Certainly, more research is needed to unlock the mysteries of addiction, but this information adds one more link in explaining how the brain adapts in the addiction process.

Most individuals with substance abuse problems don’t get the treatment they need. As Morgan Freeman’s rehab counselor character in the movie Clean and Sober said, “The best way to break old habits is to make new ones.” Rehab is all about breaking those old “maladaptive” habits and establishing a new healthier routine. Freeman’s process in many ways resembles a real life physician Carl Rogers, whose book Client-Centered Therapy’s discusses his philosophy that people tend to move toward growth and healing. The philosophy is that successful therapy is contingent on a patient/therapist relationship grounded in empathy, unconditional positive regard, and genuineness.

Although it is known that cocaine exposure changes the brain’s dopamine regulation, the addiction to cocaine is largely a psychological rather than physiological addiction. Sometimes chemical imbalances are involved, which make a purely psychological approach infeasible. At any rate, the chemical dependency is actually known to lead the addicted individual to do things they might not otherwise do, hence leading to lives of crime and disrepute. There’s a frightening collection of psychiatric problems related to cocaine abuse. The only chance to break free from the hold of the drug is through undergoing rehabilitation.

Get Help for your Cocaine Addiction

Depending on the course of addiction, cocaine rehab may involve medical treatment as well as psychological procedures, everything from involuntary residential treatment to support groups. Substance abuse programs use different methods to treat the human impact of addiction; and they also try to plan and implement a support system into the patient’s life, helping to ensure that recovery process is sustained on a day to day basis.

Aspects of addiction treatment all lead to one hopeful conclusion: the user becoming a non-user, and reaching a state of perpetual abstinence.