Why Meth Addiction is So Difficult

This issue of addiction does not end with drug use. Someone addicted to meth or any other drug might do almost anything to keep taking it. These things can include lying, stealing, or hurting people. Using meth at all costs can lead to family problems, losing a job, and even arrest and jail time. Even when people understand this, they can still be unable to quit.

People start using drugs for many reasons, often to feel good or stop feeling bad. As is often the case with teenagers, many start using drugs simply because others around them are doing it, and they are curious or want to fit in.

Whatever the reason, taking drugs is usually a choice at first. But as you continue to take them, exercising self-control becomes much more difficult. At this point, drug use is less of choice and more of a compulsion.

Research has shown that addiction changes the brain in areas that are involved in judgment, decision-making, learning, memory, and self-control. These brain changes explain the harmful and dangerous behaviors associated with addiction and why it’s so hard for addicts to restrain themselves. Loss of control over drug use is the biggest sign of addiction.

Perpetuating the Cycle

Addiction is a chronic disease. So, even if you stop using for a while, addiction can remain for a long time. It does not simply go away with time, like a cold might. Things like withdrawal and triggers can lead to relapse and start the cycle again.

Withdrawal results from dependence on a drug. Addictive drugs generally stimulate the brain’s reward centers, which are responsible for making you feel good.

Meth specifically increases the release of dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain associated with pleasurable experiences. When you continue taking it for a while, your brain’s reward circuit gets used to the excess dopamine, so you eventually need more of the drug to get the same good feeling.

As drug use continues, you will likely develop a dependence on the drug, meaning your brain and body now need the drug to feel normal. At this point, if you stop taking the drug, you will typically feel sick, anxious, and irritable. The unpleasant symptoms of meth withdrawal can make you feel like you can’t live without the drug.

Sometimes people can quit their drug use despite withdrawal if they are away from their triggers, which are people, places, or other things that remind them of their drug use and cause cravings.

Unless people with addictions learn to avoid or manage their triggers, they are likely to relapse any time these triggers are present.

Health Reasons to Quit Meth

As mentioned, addiction can affect people in various ways, but meth inevitably takes a considerable toll on both your brain and body. The changes that meth makes to your brain can affect many areas of your mental state.

Some effects include:

• Deficits in thinking and motor skills
• Increased distractibility
• Memory loss
• Aggressive or violent behavior
• Mood disturbances
• Anxiety
• Insomnia

In long-term users, meth use can even lead to the development of symptoms of psychosis, including paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions.

A common example of a delusion is the sensation of insects crawling under the skin. This uncomfortable sensation can cause people to pick and scratch at their skin, resulting in sores. In some cases, symptoms of psychosis can persist even after a person has quit using meth.

Meth can also cause several heart problems, including rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, and increased blood pressure. Because meth decreases appetite, it is also commonly associated with significant weight loss.

Continued use can lead to what is known as “meth mouth” or severe dental problems due to a combination of poor dental hygiene, dry mouth, and teeth grinding.

After prolonged use, the development of physical dependence makes it difficult to feel any pleasure from anything other than the drug.

In many cases, however, long-term users continue to use meth not to produce any pleasurable effects but rather to avoid the uncomfortable effects of meth withdrawal.

What Treatment Can Do For Meth Addiction

With the proper addiction treatment, many people see a drastic improvement in their lives. Improvement is often due to behavioral therapy, which is a common treatment method for drug addiction.

Different medications may also be useful for certain substance use disorders, helping to ease withdrawal symptoms, for example.

However, there are currently no medications that have proven effective in treating meth addiction specifically.

Although pharmacological treatment studies are underway, behavioral therapies are currently the best approach to treating meth addiction. Therapy can address drug use and an array of problems that often accompany addiction.

A major part of treating addiction is recognizing and avoiding triggers for relapse. Teaching methods of coping with triggers is mainly what behavioral therapy aims to do. Therapy helps people change their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use to manage stressful situations and other triggers that might lead to relapse.

Every type of therapy may not apply to you in your journey to recovery. Treatment is meant to be unique to you. For treatment to have a full shot at success, it should address a person and their needs because addiction can impact so many aspects of a person’s life.

Addiction treatment goes far beyond stopping drug use. Counselors can work with you to address your specific medical, mental, social, occupational, family, and legal needs.