The symptoms of methamphetamine withdrawal vary wildly, and the depth of a person's addiction will often guide the severity of the torture involved in quitting this lethal drug. The effects of methamphetamine addiction often include convulsions, paranoia, and tremors, as well as eventual death.
Each time a methamphetamine addict falls back into drug use, the potential for
stopping that addiction recedes. Meth addiction is considered one of the most difficult types of drug abuse to stop due to the physical dependence of the body upon the drug once a person has started using.
Before the withdrawal symptoms even truly begin when the last remnants of the drug are wearing off, immediate feelings of panic, irritability, and even depression may set in and cause the addict to inflict harm if more drugs cannot be obtained.
Despite the chance to exhibit violent and psychotic behavior while abusing methamphetamines and the long-term effects like the potential for stroke and epilepsy, the problems of active use pale in comparison to the pain and torture of withdrawal. Unfortunately, many addicts choose to keep using rather than risk experiencing methamphetamine withdrawal.
Destruction of Mind and Body
Symptoms of methamphetamine withdrawal range from physical symptoms that wrack the body and cause pain to psychological problems that make it incredibly difficult to resist using the drug again. Some of the worst physical symptoms an individual might experience while in withdrawal include:
- Hyperventilating
- Nausea
- Palpitations
- Shaking
- Sweating
The further mental trauma a meth addict might experience while he is attempting to quit the drug may include:
- Depression
- Exhaustion
- Fearfulness
- Irritability
Methamphetamine addicts with a long history of using drugs are at an extraordinarily increased risk of death, and even after a person gathers the strength to stop using the drug, the body's chemical balance may never return to normal. Meth addicts in recovery often can't even feel normal due to the physical impact of the drug on the body's production of natural chemicals like dopamine.
Frightening Statistics
Unfortunately, statistics from the United States National Institute on Drug Abuse suggest that illicit drug use is on an upward trend with many new addicts experiencing their first exposure to drugs like meth when they're still in high school. A survey in 2009 suggested that over 20 million people in the United States had used drugs in the month the survey was taken.
Meth addiction crosses all social and racial boundaries with almost a million and a half meth users currently addicted across the United States. According to the National Association of Counties, addiction ranges from blue collar workers to white collar workers, and also occurs in many demographics and age groups. Meth use began in the west, but has since made its way across the country into the communities of middle-America and to the East Coast.
In addition, according to information from the United States Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Behavior Health Statistics and Quality, drug treatment admissions for methamphetamine use over the past several decades have skyrocketed. Medical professionals have good reason to call this rise in abuse an epidemic with more people choosing to try meth each year.
Repairing the Mind
Quitting an addiction to methamphetamines may be one of the most difficult experiences of a person's life, but the news isn't all bad when it comes to living a life in recovery. A study at the University of California in 2011 suggested that some of the nerve damage sustained by people addicted to methamphetamines reversed itself after a person stopped abusing meth for at least a year.
Modern Methamphetamine Addiction Recovery Options
The reality of recovering from a methamphetamine addiction is that the process takes years, and the potential for relapse may always exist to a certain degree. Although doctors once felt that addicts would never truly recover from their addiction and that relapse was all but certain, intense techniques today include medication and strong cognitive behavior therapy.
Many people do not realize until it's too late the devastating effects of methamphetamines on the body and become addicted with no hope of recovery. The symptoms of meth addiction withdrawal for methamphetamines are some of the worst of any drug, and preventing new addicts can only happen if vulnerable individuals are aware of the dangers of this addiction.
Sources
- National Association of Countries
- National Institute on Drug Abuse
- United States Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Behavior Health Statistics and Quality
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