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Few people take their first dose of a drug-- illegal or legal-- with the hope of getting addicted. Yet for 2009, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration declares that 23.5 million people sought some form of treatment for drug and alcohol problems. Of course, individual physiology and psychological makeup have much to do with how swiftly addiction can take hold and with the amount ingested prior to passing the invisible threshold from freedom to enslavement.

While every distinct instance may vary in time frame and ferociousness of dependence, certain patterns are common among the entire pool of drug abusers. Through the testimonies of addicts and the professionals who treat them, researchers can identify benchmarks for the stages of drug addiction.
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Experimenting With Substances

Experimentation can certainly have manifold different motivations. Among youths, peer pressure is a dominant reason for partaking in their very first puff, drink or snort. Addiction need not begin in adolescence. A middle-aged or older individual may try out prescribed pain killers to remedy continuous discomforts and aches. Even the elderly might use drinking or substances to take the edge off being alone. These represent significant moments in a person's life when a substance is used to initiate a bodily, social or emotional malady a little more bearable. Isolated instances of use might or might not be followed up with greater repetition or quantities. Without a realistic self evaluation a truthful analysis of the signs of drug addiction a person might cross unwittingly into the more intense stages of drug addiction.

Regular Use

Taking a drug or other people substance regularly may not necessarily lead an individual into addiction. Some are able to take a drug regularly for a time span and after that terminate its consumption with negligible discomfort. The probability of addiction is based upon the timeframe of the use period and the strength of the dosages. Should the duration extend indefinitely and the strength of the dose increase likewise, regular usage could emerge as prescription addiction. Another cautionary signal is particular changes in tendencies. If speech and behaviors adjustment significantly, especially a raised tendency toward aggression and risky behavior, it is necessary to end using the drug.

Dangerous Usage

As the stages of drug addiction are passed through, the individual's personal choices and conduct get increasingly dangerous, both to himself or herself and others. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health declared that 28.4 percent of young adults between the ages of 21 and 25 drove under the influence of illegal drugs in 2009.

• Operating a vehicle while under the influence of a sedative drug
• Using cash irresponsibly to acquire the substance
• Defensive during conversation
• Hiding Binge Drinking, What is it?
• Adjustments in look.
Adjustments in desire for food, memory failure and degrading fine motor skills are also manifestations of drug abuse. The line of demarcation in between hazardous use and dependency is difficult and thin to differentiate. Finding aid for oneself or another person you love ought not be delayed at this stage.

Addiction

Of all the stages of drug addiction, dependence and use are the hardest to distinguish. The disastrous consequences of drug abuse are definitely evident in dependency. For example, the dependent individual is repeatedly absent from their employment due to repetitive use of the controlling substance. Beyond the employer, the drug abuser may occasionally allow responsibilities to family, close friends, neighbors and society go by the wayside. The risky behaviors noted above become much more habitual too.
Through it all, though, the dependent differs from the addict by meeting enough obligations to maintain the fundamental framework of their life. The trajectory of substance abuse stages is still headed downward, the appearance of functionality remains.

Addiction

If changes are not initiated-- and help is not secured-- the stages of drug addiction lead to the most dangerous phase: addiction itself. With this the person is mentally and physically bonded to continuous usage of the substance or alcohol. The stage of brain disorders is reached and the person undergoes numerous detrimental consequences of prolonged drug abuse. The heart and circulatory system might be imperiled, as can the respiratory tract. The immune system is weakened, allowing hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and several kinds of cancer to ravage the addict. Brain damage and mental deterioration can also occur.
Since the addiction is of both mind and body, withdrawal manifestations are best supervised and treated by knowledgeable doctors. After the addictive drug has exited the physical body, the drug abuser can work with psychotherapists to determine the causes and nature of the addiction.
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Without a candid self-assessment-- an sincere evaluation of the signs of substance addiction-- a user can pass unknowingly into the more distressing stages of drug addiction.
Taking a drug or other chemical substance on The Course to Addiction: Stages of Alcohol addiction does not automatically entrap an individual into addiction. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health declared that 28.4 percent of young adults between the ages of 21 and 25 operated a vehicle under the influence of illegal drugs in 2009. Of all the stages of drug addiction, dependence and use are the toughest to separate. If adjustments are not initiated-- and aid is not sought-- the stages of drug addiction lead to the most dangerous stage: addiction itself.

Structure and Statistics from:
http://www.projectknow.com/research/stages-of-drug-addiction/
http://www.samhsa.gov/