Drug and alcohol addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease. This disease includes physical and psychological dependence on the substances being abused. During addiction, individuals keep abusing the drugs despite knowing they cause problems in every area of their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

Picture of whiskey and pills on a table may mean a drug and alcohol addiction .How Drug and Alcohol Addiction Affects You

Drug and alcohol addiction heavily affects your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Many people abusing drugs or alcohol know they have a problem but cannot stop on their own. They need professional help from a licensed and accredited drug detox treatment program. Many people experience the temptation to use a drug or alcohol for the first time. But once you do, it is far too easy for this use to slip into addiction. Using a substance repeatedly over time leads to tolerance. Once tolerance occurs, you must use more and more of the drug or alcohol to feel its same effects. Tolerance is the first big step toward addiction. It is the condition of your body and brain adjusting to your substance abuse. After tolerance comes dependence. Physical and psychological dependence means your body and brain rely on the substance for normal daily functioning. Without your drug or alcohol, you experience withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal provides many ill effects when your body readjusts to existing without the substances.

Why Drug and Alcohol Addiction Happen

Drug and alcohol addiction happens to many new people each day. No one plans to suffer from addiction. But this is where substance abuse leads. Some experience drugs and alcohol for the first time out of curiosity, others due to peer pressure. Still more seek to relieve stress or other mental illness affecting their daily lives, as part of self-medication. Other factors leading people to addiction include a family history of substance abuse, genetics, and mental health problems. Genetics determine 40 to 60 percent of the likelihood of suffering drug and alcohol addiction, according to recent studies.

Substance Abuse Effects

Substance abuse affects both your body and brain. These substances prompt your brain to produce excess dopamine, leading to a reward response. When you continue abusing drugs or alcohol, your brain stops being able to produce dopamine normally on its own. At this point, you need the drugs or alcohol to feel pleasure and life seems empty without your substances. Identifying drug or alcohol addiction is difficult, even for professionals. Some signs are obvious but others are difficult to see. Add to this difficulty the individual’s attempts to hide their substance abuse. Knowing your loved one needs help takes time and an observant eye. We see so much TV and film depiction of people with drug or alcohol problems as being criminals. This pop culture exposure makes seeing a functioning person as addicted even harder. This is why it is critical to note that anyone from any walk of life can suffer addiction. Even someone dressing in a suit and tie every day and going off to a big company job can suffer a serious addiction.

Detox to End Your Drug or Alcohol Abuse

If you have suffered drug or alcohol abuse for a long period of time and need help ending your addiction, you need support from a licensed and accredited detox center. Serenity House Detox & Recovery in Fort Lauderdale and Jupiter, Florida provides this medically supervised detox, so you do not stand alone on your journey to sobriety. Serenity House Detox & Recovery programs include:

Whether you suffer addiction or someone you love abuses substances, Serenity House Detox & Recovery provides helpful services to end the addiction. Call Serenity House Detox & Recovery now at 866-294-5306 for more information about a program just for you. Don’t wait to make this call. The help you need is here.