How to overcome drug and substance abuse
Alcohol or tobacco may be the biggest sources by which people make their life a hell, there are many who have gone beyond these. You can find these people claiming to be the most modern humans, or others who have given up to depression. In any case, they have left themselves on the mercy of that one element. These people and their whole life revolve around a point that a normal person keeps distancing with. Nonetheless, normal human beings will never want to make their lives worst hell.
These people’s life dependency on substance is so much that they have become slave of their own addiction. We are talking about substance abuse or drugs abuse, including the harmful use of alcohol or medications. Substance abuse is the use of drugs or alcohol in excess amounts of by different methods that are harmful for individuals or humans. These people use prescribed or banned, legal or illegal drugs or alcohol for mood altering, stress relieving or muscle building purposes.
Harmful drugs lead serious health issues
Substance use disorder or drug addiction is a disease affecting an individual’s brain and behavior and leading to an inability to control the use of drugs. Substance abuse is not something to take lightly, but a severe disorder where person depends on alcohol, narcotics, cocaine, etc. Not only youngsters but also many senior people are indulged in substance abuse across the world. These people are self-medicating by use of legal and illegal drugs and alcohol. This lands them to serious health issues.
In terms of elderly this becomes more serious as many seniors deliberately or unknowingly mix up their medications to alcohol. Even medical people and health workers hesitate to question seniors about possible substance abuse due to societal stereotypes about them. So, on the one hand youth is continuously being trapped by drug addiction, on the other hand seniors are also not safe from the demon. The frequently used drugs among the addicts are cocaine, cannabis, opioids and amphetamines.
Drug addiction is disease, disorder that kills
Drug use, directly and indirectly, accounts for 11.8 million annual deaths. Among them 11.4 million are premature deaths as a result of smoking, alcohol and drug each year. Annually, more than 350,000 people die from disorders driven from overdoses of alcohol and illicit drugs. Moreover, men tend to die more from substance use disorders. Over half of those dying from alcohol or drug overdoses are not even aged 50 yet. This addiction results in 1.5% of disease burden worldwide, with over 5% in some countries.
In 2018, nearly 269 million people used drugs globally, around 30 percent more than in 2009, said report. As per the World Drug Report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), more than 35 million people suffered from drug use disorders in 2018. The use of drugs went up far more rapidly among developing nations than in developed ones over the 2000-2018 period. Adolescents and young adults are the largest drug using individuals, with facing worst affects of drugs, said the report.
10 tips to overcome drug, substance abuse
- Have a written record of your plan to leave addiction, adding daily improvements and mistakes.
- Redesign your lifestyle from an addict to a sober by avoiding binge eating or binge watching.
- Identify your weak points like where and when in the day or night your craving meets a peak.
- Control your craving by eliminating those old addiction-related stuff from your home or office.
- Recreate the social circle by leaving your addiction group and joining a sober club for support.
- Engage in more physical activities like breathing exercises, yoga, aerobics, workout, or a sport.
- Reconnect with your creativity, passion or any fun activities which you missed for many years.
- Distract your mind by reading, watching, playing, stress relieving activities like music or travel.
- Find an accountability partner – spouse, family or friend – for whom you can quit the addiction.
- Help others who are on the same path like you, share tips with them and take help from them
