Our outpatient detox Delray Beach programs have helped hundreds of people overcome addiction to prescription painkillers. But for every person who forms an addiction to prescription painkillers, dozens more use them without experiencing lasting harm. What makes some people vulnerable to prescription painkiller addiction, while others can take or leave the medication?
Safe When Used as Directed
Prescription painkillers are considered safe when used exactly as directed. But as the specialists here at our outpatient detox Delray Beach program know, the high potential for addiction associated with these drugs makes it all but impossible for many people to use them exactly as directed. These pills stimulate the brain’s reward system, to cause a euphoric rush that, for many, plants the seeds of addiction.
Some People Become Instantly Addicted
Addiction experts believe that some people are born with brains that are especially susceptible to addiction – so much so, in fact, that using prescription painkillers or other substances a single time leads to an almost instantaneous substance abuse problem. Five to 10 percent of people are born with this susceptibility to addiction – and there’s no way to know if you’re one of them until addiction strikes.
Risk Factors for Addiction
The experts at our outpatient detox Delray Beach program would like all people struggling with addiction, and their families, to know that many risk factors for addiction have been identified. Genetics is one of them – if someone in your immediate family struggles with addiction to alcohol or drugs, you have a 50 percent chance of developing an addiction yourself!
However, heredity isn’t the whole story when it comes to addiction. There are multiple environmental factors that increase a person’s risk of developing a drug or alcohol addiction over his or her lifetime.
A history of trauma in childhood is a major risk factor for addiction later in life. Emotional, sexual or physical abuse, losing a parent, or other traumatic events in childhood cause physiological brain changes and raise your risk of developing and addiction later on. Indeed, the majority of the people we help in our outpatient detox Delray Beach program have endured some kind of childhood trauma.
Untreated mental illness is another significant risk factor for addiction. Though mental illness doesn’t cause addiction, it can be the catalyst that drives a person to heavy substance abuse. People suffering from anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression and other mental illnesses may use prescription painkillers, illicit drugs or alcohol to self-medicate their symptoms.
That’s why we offer a dual diagnosis component for the treatment of mental illness at our outpatient detox Delray Beach program . If you are struggling with prescription painkiller addiction and an untreated concurrent mental illness, you will need treatment for your mental illness symptoms if our outpatient addiction treatment program is to be a success.
If you have a history of abusing other substances, like alcohol, illicit drugs or even tobacco, you could also be at a higher risk of developing an addiction to prescription painkillers. Younger people are at a greater risk of prescription painkiller addiction than older people. If you have been exposed to substance abuse and addiction in childhood, then you may be more likely to develop an addiction as an adult, because you may subconsciously believe that substance abuse is an acceptable means of coping with the normal stresses of life.
Treating Prescription Painkiller Addiction at Our Outpatient Detox Delray Beach Program
If you become addicted to prescription painkillers, our outpatient detox Delray Beach program can help. It’s important to seek treatment as soon as you realize that your use of prescription painkillers has become a problem. As with other conditions, addiction is easiest to treat when it’s caught early.
Here are some signs that your use of prescription painkillers may be developing into an addiction:
- You’re using more than you intended, and at times when you didn’t intend to use at all.
- You’re using prescription painkillers to fill an emotional void or meet a need – for example, to ease your anxiety or perk you up when you’re depressed.
- Your drug use is causing problems at home, school or work, or problems with the law.
- You need to use more and more of the drug to feel the same effects – you’re building a tolerance.
The sooner you get help from a program like outpatient detox in Delray Beach, the better your chances of a successful long-term recovery. Don’t wait; if left untreated, addiction devastates lives and can ultimately be fatal.
Call us at 888-699-5679 to learn more about our outpatient detox Delray Beach program.