Medicines are helpful only when people take them as prescribed by a physician. Taking more pills than asked can lead to an extensive range of unhealthy consequences. Pill addiction, also known as substance use disorder, severely affects an individual’s mental health and behavior. There are several reasons behind the drug abuse, and many people worldwide choose to take medicines in a way that they are not intended to.
A significant reason behind the increasing number of cases of drug abuse is that people today have easier access to various kinds of prescribed addictive prescription medicines than they had a few years ago. Also, restrictions on prescribing dangerous prescription drugs like opioid pills and benzodiazepines have been lifted. Now, doctors can prescribe these addictive drugs to people who complain about experiencing pain and other health issues where they require medications.
Although these addictive prescription drugs help in relieving pain, they slowly yet steadily lead to drug addiction. The addiction can result in several kinds of dangers associated with an individual’s physical and mental health. Below are different dangers of drug abuse in various settings:
- Tolerance To Pills
Taking addictive pills in a way not intended by the physician can make an individual get used to the drug. In this case, the person asks for more pills than required. Also, the individual becomes more dependent on the drug and feels unable to function when the pills are not available. There comes a time when the individual finds him addicted to a particular medicine.
- Bad Health
Consuming addictive drugs not just leads to pill addiction but also results in an individual losing his health. It usually happens when the person has reached a level of addiction, where he stopped caring about how the pill addiction may affect his physical health. This addiction may lead to consequences like irregular heart rate, lung damage, psychosis, seizures, and heart failure.
- Change In Behavior
As per the dangers of prescription drugs facts by experts, pill addiction alters an individual’s behavior. In this case, the person stops caring about his family and relationship. All that he requires are the pills. The person becomes secretive and does not like the people around him.
- Legal Trouble
Taking pills not prescribed is illegal. Apart from that, drug abuse is also responsible for the increase in drug-related crime in the last few years. People using addictive pills regularly cause violence and commit crimes that result in damage to property.
Pill Addiction Treatment And Aftercare
Drug abuse is dangerous for an individual and people around him, but it is treatable. Through detox at a professional treatment at a rehab center, an addict can abstain from taking prescribed medicines in an excessive amount. The individual may need to spend a few weeks or months in a rehab center to get rid of the pill addiction.
In the case of an individual keeps on consuming drugs like Methadone or Suboxone after the rehab, the person can have cognitive behavioral therapy to understand the addiction and get rid of it.