In most cases, drug addiction starts as experimentation. For instance, you are curious to know how it feels to take drugs or you just want to have fun. From using it once, it often becomes regular use. This is when you know you are getting addicted to it.
If you try drugs once, there are high chances that you will try it again. This is how most people end up with addiction and some become permanently dependent.
To overcome your addiction to drugs, you should go to an addiction treatment center where you can get treated by professionals.
What are the different stages of drug addiction?
Drug addiction happens in four stages and they are as follows:
- Experimentation
This is considered the first stage of addiction when you try it out of curiosity or just to have fun. You try it without facing any serious consequences. Adults want to experiment or try drugs out of social pressure or to cope with a new culture.
- Social use
This stage comes when you start using drugs occasionally. Many people will indeed be able to use it without getting dependent on it. But in most cases, they reach the third stage. This increases health risks.
- Risky drug abuse
This is the stage when you start prioritising drugs over other things in your life. This stage comes quickly and you won’t even realise when that happens. You will soon become unaware of your life and the consequences you might face. Some of the warning signs linked with stage 3 are drug craving, fatigue, and depression.
- Drug dependency
This is the final stage of addiction where your body and mind cannot function without drugs. Despite all the negative impacts, you will want to use it without caring about the consequences. This is the stage where the risk of drug overdosing increases.
Drug addiction is not a joke. It is better to avoid such harmful substances in the first place because will never know when you will get addicted to it.a