It’s late at night and you find yourself at the computer glancing at the blog posts on various rehabilitation center websites. Some of what you read resonates with you, but you don’t fully agree with a lot of what is written. You aren’t living in the street or prostituting yourself to get high.
You actually enjoy your life. Sure, sometimes things get stressful and you take a few pills to cope, but everybody does that. You might blackout sometimes or do something really stupid, but those are just funny anecdotes.
But, what if they aren’t? What if your method of coping is working less and less, even though you are relying on it more and more? Should you go to rehab? Can you quit on your own? What are you supposed to do?
The first thing you need to do is to be honest with yourself. If you find at the end of your self-examination that you do have a problem and you want to pursue rehabilitation, contact Amphetamines.com at 800-816-1059(Who Answers?) and speak with someone who can connect you to the help you want.
Assess Your Behavior
Being honest with ourselves is hard for human beings. There is rarely a black and white situation. We live in shades of grey.
Keeping track of your amphetamine use in a journal can help you realize how often and how much you’re taking.
One way to present yourself with an honest picture is to begin journaling. Keep track of every time you turn to amphetamines. Using your memory is often faulty. You might not remember everything or you may discount certain incidents. If you keep a completely factual account, you can track how often you are relying on or indulging in amphetamines and you can record how much you are using.
You may find that you are only using amphetamines on weekends but that when you do, you are taking quite a few. If you only thought about how often you take pills, you might not see a dangerous pattern. But with the accountability of a journal, you might discover that you take the medication more often than prescribed.
Also, keep track of what is happening emotionally each day. You may see a pattern that revolves around certain triggers. If work is particularly rough, you may be more likely to pop some pills every day when you get home. If work is overwhelming, you might spend more time using amphetamines to keep you going.
Ask the People Who Love You
You might think that you would be the first person to know that you have a troubling relationship with drugs, but addiction is a disease of denial. Many times, addicts have no idea they are grappling with addiction until they find themselves in a family intervention or find themselves isolated by a family that has had to distance themselves from the problem.
People who love you pay attention to your well-being. Sometimes, it feels like they pay too much attention. Instead of pushing them away, invite them over and ask if they think you have a problem. Obviously, you don’t have to talk to parents who don’t even know you use amphetamines. Pick a person that is involved in your live, who loves unconditionally, and who you consider family.
Do not pick someone who gets high with you. They are too close to the activity to be objective
Do Research
The internet is full of resources that identify addiction and list symptoms and signs of addiction. For example, the National Institute of Drug Abuse defines addiction as “Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her.” If you find that you use drugs despite a desire to stop or harmful consequences, then you can move forward knowing you fit one definition of addiction.
Be sure to research via reputable sources. Don’t rely on the general media. “Media depictions of addiction are often very sensationalized,” says Mark Willenbring, M.D., Director of the Division of Treatment and Recovery Research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
If after you do all three of these suggestions, you are made aware of an addiction, you should seek rehabilitation to get back on track. For help finding treatment and locating resources, contact Amphetamines.com at 800-816-1059(Who Answers?) and speak with someone today.
