Cocaine Addiction

Cocaine

Shortly after an addict uses cocaine, the amount of dopamine in the brain is increased substantially, and this dopamine in the brain causes feelings of euphoria, alertness and pleasure; but as cocaine levels drop off, dopamine levels also diminish and continue to diminish far below a normal level. The initial period after cocaine has worn off is characterized by feelings of depression, lethargy and irritability; and in an effort to avoid these feelings cocaine users will often respond with further cocaine usage. This cycle of euphoria, crash, and further use deepens the hold of addiction.

Cocaine users will also quickly develop a tolerance to the drug, and will require increasingly greater quantities to achieve the desired effect. With ever increasing usage comes greater dependence and a stronger addiction to the drug.

The stereotypical cocaine user may be the inner city "crack head" but the reality of the addiction is far different, and cocaine is being used and abused in middle class suburbs, by professionals and by school aged kids. Cocaine does not discriminate, and will devastate the lives of the rich as readily as those of the poor.

Cocaine has ruined countless lives through its financial burden, its psychological devastation, and its physical impact. The sooner an addiction to cocaine is addressed, the greater the odds of a successful transition to sobriety.

When snorted, cocaine will induce euphoria within minutes, and if smoked or injected, that euphoria occurs in only seconds. The faster the onset, the deeper the addiction; and as such cocaine is one of the most dangerously addictive drugs.

As users require ever greater amounts to get high and ingest the drug ever more frequently to avoid the despair of the crash. Cocaine addiction can quickly deepen and overwhelm; and what began as casual recreational use can easily become a devastating addiction. With addiction, cocaine becomes the central focus of life, and all available resources and energy are concentrated on securing the next hit of cocaine. Eventually, cocaine addicts progress to cocaine binges that last as long as the money for more cocaine is available. On a long binge, the frequency of cocaine usage accelerates and the need for greater cocaine dosages also increases. Binges can end in full blow paranoid psychosis, as the user loses touch with reality.

Cocaine creates a paradox of tolerance and sensitization that is not fully understood. With greater cocaine usage, the addict will need to consume larger and more frequent dosages of cocaine in an attempt to get high. Concurrently with this development of tolerance, a process of sensitization to the convulsant and anesthetic properties of the drug can occur, and this can partially explain how a relatively low dose can sometimes prove fatal to an experienced cocaine user.

Cocaine can prove fatal at any time, and an overdose of cocaine can result in cardiovascular difficulties or respiratory arrest. Cocaine is often used in conjunction with other drugs, and this practice, particularly consuming alcohol with cocaine, can be very dangerous. The usage of cocaine is the most common drug related cause of an emergency room visit in the U.S.

In addition, cocaine addicts become fixated on the procurement and use of the drug at the expense of all else in their lives. Physical health, physical appearance, and even basic nutrition become of lesser importance than further cocaine use. Cocaine addicts admitted for treatment are often malnourished and in overall very poor health due to this bodily neglect.

Many addicts progress to the most potent form of administration, injection, and suffer even greater health consequences through their intravenous dosages. Cocaine injection is uniquely damaging due to the frequency of need. While a chronic heroin user may inject a few times a day, an IV cocaine user may inject 30 or more times daily. Cocaine is a vasodilator at the site of administration, and this can lead to sepsis and bacterial infections of the skin and musculature, and the impurities used to cut cocaine can cause bacterial infection, heart infections, vein blockages and vein collapse. Because cocaine needs to be injected so frequently, cocaine addicts are at great risk for HIV or Hepatitis C through the use of shared needles.

Cocaine abuse can happen fast, and recreational use of the drug can so easily become dependant abuse. With cocaine abuse, and the inevitable increases of use, the health deficits become significant and tragic.

The symptoms of withdrawal are depression, irritability, anxiety and even aggression. Because cocaine causes more dopamine to remain active in the brain, the central nervous system (which always seeks to restore equilibrium) reduces the quantity of receptors that activate this dopamine. When cocaine use is stopped, there is a drastic reduction in the level of available receptors, and as such the existing dopamine is unable to stimulate sensations of pleasure. When cocaine use is stopped, there is a period of withdrawal during which the body gradually normalizes to a more appropriate level of dopaminergic activity. During this period the addict will feel very low, anxious and irritable, and feel intense cravings for cocaine. It can be very difficult to overcome the cravings and depression of withdrawal without professional help.

Cocaine is one of the most addictive substances known, and clinical studies show that cocaine addicts prefer further cocaine use over any other drug, food or sex, and at all times. The quantities and frequency of use that become required to feel the desired euphoria increase, thus increasing the addiction, and also the danger of overdose.  Cocaine always takes over, and cocaine use becomes the fixation of life; with the desire to acquire cocaine of paramount importance. Previously unthinkable behaviors become necessary for the addict to secure the drug, and as such the change as seen by family and friends can be shocking,

A cocaine addict will exhibit bizarrely oscillating behaviors, will sleep for days, and seemingly stay up for days, will lie steal and cheat, and will become increasingly aggressive and paranoid as usage escalates. The depression of cocaine withdrawal is very real, occurs within minutes of last use, and the only way a cocaine abuser can feel better is through further use.

Cocaine devastates the body, the mind and the soul; and the lows of withdrawal are so profound and long lasting that few people can resist the cravings of a drug that they know will end the depression. Professional help is almost always required to successfully end a cocaine addiction.

Group therapy for cocaine addiction has always been very successful because it is a commonly abused substance. Many recovering cocaine users prefer group therapy to private sessions. Hearing the success stories of others can be the most important phase of treatment.

You can custom tailor your treatment so that you can have more one-on-one sessions with your counselor if needed. Contact one of our counselors today and take a step in the right direction.