Ever since, the problem of cocaine addiction has always been present. It can affect every level of the society. It can be a key variable to wrecked one’s family. One should be wary. This kind of addiction usually begins from simple things leading to big and complicated problems.
The origins of cocaine can be traced from the coca plant. Cocaine can be used in many different ways. It can be snorted for its effects to be felt faster. It can also be injected to the body by letting it melt first in the water. The use of cocaine produces feelings of euphoria. People keep on using this kind of substance for repetition of this kind of experience.
One can only say a person is cocaine addicted when he or she shows certain indications. These signs can be seen via intoxication symptoms and withdrawal symptoms. Examples of withdrawal symptoms are dysphoria, extremely low level of energy, horrid kind of dreams, too much or oversleeping, eating too much, and a very high level of anxiety. On the other hand, convulsions,upper body pains, difficulty of breathing, muscles turning very delicate, weight loss, and changes in the behavior are examples of intoxication symptoms.
The very apparent change in behavior is the thing that is most noticed when one gets tangled to an addictive substance. These behavioral changes can include the following: changes in the way one interacts with people, too much in increase in being cautious, hypersensitivity, too much anxiety, and easiness to get angry. As a way to describe these symptoms in a few words, it’s really a damaged way of thinking.
These changes in behavior due to the use of drug can actually develop to a mental illness. There is a term called dual diagnosis which refers to the co-occurance of substance addiction and mental illness. The causality theory of dual diagnosis explain that there are certain types of substances that can lead to a mental disorder. This due to the fact of the effects the substance brings. Example of this is the substance cocaine.
This co-occurrence of a substance abuse problem and mental illness leads to the problem of how to treat an individual suffering this kind of situation. When one has substance abuse dilemmas, he or she is most of the time advised to be put in a center for recovery. There are also recovery centers available that caters to the special needs of individuals with mental illness. However, there are actually no centers that specialize in the treatment of a co-occurrence of a mental disorder and a substance abuse problem. Experts in treating substance abuse problems have little or no idea in treating a person with mental disorder and vice versa.
In the field of psychology, dual diagnosis is quite new which is its treatment only exists by principle. The way in treating substance abuse problems and the way in treating the problem of mental illness should be joined together. The kind of treatment should not be taken apart from each other but like the disease, should co-exist.
Cocaine addiction and mental illness’ symptoms can overlap each other leaving it hard for dual diagnosis to treat easily. The problem of denial can also come in. In most cases, a cocaine addict would not own up that he or she is into drugs. The specialist would then conclude that the individual only has a mental illness when in fact, the mental illness is due to his or her use of the drugs. The greatest factor for dual diagnosis is recover is for the affected to really want help. When the affected is the one to ask for help, denial would never be a problem. Thus, recovery is on its way.
Cocaine addiction has a very high chance of developing into dual diagnosis, one should always be careful.