There is a big difference between drug dependence and drug addiction. It is not so much a physiological difference and it is more of a psychological difference. It also is a difference in how one uses and takes a drug.
Generally, anyone who takes a drug can become dependent on it. Dependence on a drug means that your body has built up a tolerance for the drug. It means that if your body goes without the drug for a period of time, you will go through withdrawal.
As for addiction, it is a combination of dependence on a drug and a psychological need for it. Opiates are highly addictive drugs. This is why doctors and providers in Asheville, NC and other jurisdictions use them as a last resort. They only prescribe them for short-term use.
Drug Addiction as Compared to Drug Dependence
As we mentioned, opiates are highly addictive. Morphine is a very strong opiate. The drug binds to the receptors in the brain that deal with pain. Some of the side effects are mood elevation, euphoria, and lightheadedness.
When someone who is merely dependent on a drug stops taking it, they will feel pain. They will go back to the way the body felt before they started taking the drug. They will also feel slight to moderate withdrawal. This is generally short-lived and goes away without much trouble.
When someone who is addicted to a drug stops taking it, it can be intolerable. Not only does the pain return, but the addict is hit with many other negative feelings. They will crave the drug and the side effects it creates. The addict has an emotional connection to the drug. Someone dependent on the drug just has a physical connection to the drug.
How Drug Rehabs Professionals Can Tell the Difference
In order to treat morphine addiction, you have to be able to recognize it. People with a drug dependence typically don’t need drug rehab. They may need a short-term detox to safely get off a drug as strong as morphine. However, they don’t usually need the counseling and treatment that a person addicted to the drug does.
Rehab practitioners in Asheville, NC are trained in how to recognize the signs of addiction. Some of the tell-tale signs of addiction are:
- Using more of the morphine than you are prescribed. Some addicts take twice, or even ten times the prescribed amount of the drug.
- Ingesting the drug in ways not prescribed. Many addicts crush up and snort or inject morphine rather than take it the way they’re supposed to. Some chew the tablets to get a quicker high.
- Taking drug substitutes. If an addict cannot get morphine, they will take any other drug that will prevent withdrawal. Common choices are oxycodone or heroin.
Trained staff need to be able to identify when someone has an addiction. It is the first part of understanding when a patient needs drug rehab.
How Does Drug Treatment Help Someone Addicted to Morphine?
Once someone has been diagnosed as having a drug addiction, they need help. Not all addicts are going to be willing to get help. Some addicts need to be counseled into accepting help. Some will never accept help. It is important that addicts receive treatment or they may very well die.
If someone enters a drug treatment facility, they will first be safely detoxed from their drug of choice. A person addicted to morphine will be given medications to help with the withdrawal. Morphine withdrawal can be very painful. In fact, the fear of withdrawal is one reason a lot of addicts refuse treatment. They are so afraid of the withdrawal that they continue to suffer from their addiction.
Once the drug treatment center addresses the patient’s detox, they can address the underlying addiction. Drug treatment centers in Asheville, NC have the personnel to address all aspects of drug addiction recovery.
Contact a Drug Treatment Facility
If you or a loved one is suffering from drug addiction, contact a drug treatment facility. There are drug rehab centers in Asheville, North Carolina that offer compassionate care and recovery. Ideally, a drug treatment center will address the person as a whole. There are usually many issues underlying a person’s addiction.
You want to make sure the center you choose understands the difference between dependence and addiction. It makes a world of difference which approach is taken to treat your addiction. You need a program that addresses mind, body, and spirit. It takes time to recover from a drug addiction. It doesn’t happen overnight. A professional drug recovery center understands this.
