June 26, 2016 is 29 International Anti-drug Day. Dr. Clove wants to talk to you about drug abuse and detoxification.
Perhaps we have heard and even experienced the story of family fragmentation caused by drug abuse. We are in pain and emotion. At the beginning of the story, as relatives and friends of drug addicts, do we have anything what can do to help them get rid of drug abuse in time so as not to get so deep?
Identify signs of drug use
If people around you actually start using drugs, the signs may be slight. Relatives and friends may not be able to tell whether their behavior changes are caused by mood swings or drug use. According to the work experience of drug rehabilitation agencies in our country, the following are the most common signs of drug use:
1. Conduct
- Poor academic or work performance, distraction, soliloquy, trance, often asking for money, even stealing money, know drug addicts [friends] used to speak fluently, speech began to stutter phenomenon
2. Emotions and Living Habits
- Drinking more water and drinking a lot of clear water or cold drinks for several hours have changed the eating habits (such as sudden loss of appetite). Emotional instability, ups and downs, sudden irritability, fatigue, trance, dullness, slow response, poor memory, thirsty sleep and lethargy (sleep for 1-2 days)
3. Personal belongings
- Possessing tools for taking drugs such as tin foil, beverage pipes, modified beverage bottles, etc. Drugs of unknown origin, cigarette paper, cigarette pipes, cigarette pots, medicine bags, paper bags or plastic bags filled with drugs (powder) have peculiar smell.
Step 4: Socialize
- When I go home late, I stay away for a long time. When I run away from home and contact my friends, I always stay at home alone for a long time, avoiding contact with my family. I often go to KTV, game center, Internet cafe and other places to borrow money from my colleagues and friends, but I can’t say why.
5. Physical condition
- Urination frequency increases often runny nose water, nosebleeds, nose red swelling of the body has unknown causes of scar often urethral inflammation, urination feeling pain and other rotten teeth, constipation, diarrhea
If the above characterization occurs-
0: indicating no signs of drug abuse;
1 ~ 8: There may have been drug abuse, and drugs have begun to affect daily life and interpersonal relationships. Relatives and friends must face up to this situation;
9 ~ 15: Have a certain degree of dependence on drugs, the body has developed withdrawal symptoms, drugs have gradually invaded life, please encourage him or her to receive treatment;
16 ~ 25: Drug abuse is already very serious and there may be obvious withdrawal symptoms. Drug abuse has become a part of life. The situation is very dangerous, please contact professional drug treatment support agencies as soon as possible.
Acknowledge and face this painful fact
When we notice that people around us are behaving abnormally, many people will try to ignore these signs or not notice these abnormalities at all.
[Denial] is a key characteristic of drug addiction, both from the perspective of relatives and friends and the drug addict himself.
Do you think he or she is using drugs? Maybe you know that the answer is yes, but you don’t want to admit it. If a relative finds out something is wrong with the person around you, he or she should try to find out the truth in the first place. At this time, the real problem may not be the drug problem, but the denial of the fact that the family is taking drugs.
If one does not ask for help, one’s dirty linen will only worsen.
Sometimes, we hesitate whether to take family members or friends who may take drugs to the hospital for drug tests or consult with a doctor. We worry that if the drug test results are negative (no drugs have been used recently), we will feel distrustful.
Isn’t it better to be negative? Isn’t that what we want most?
In addition, we can also buy our own drug testing paper (usually [five-in-one multifunctional drug testing paper]) and do drug testing at home.
Drug testing is not a bad thing in what. This is what relatives and friends should and must do. We cannot expect these abnormal situations to disappear automatically.
Looking for a cure
If you find someone around you using drugs, don’t blame him or her first.
Blame is meaningless, it is to shirk our responsibility as relatives and friends. In the family of drug addicts, mutual accusations will only encourage each other to avoid personal problems and use others as excuses for problems. In fact, drug addicts are not [problems] we are waiting to solve, but [individuals] we want to live with him or her.
Then what needs to be done is to find a cure.
Drug addiction is a very complicated behavior, which cannot be recovered by family ties alone. More rational actions are needed to help drug addicts, including seeking medical treatment and professional counseling.
When people around you are found to have signs of suspected drug abuse, you can seek help through the following professional institutions:
1. Voluntary detoxification: Drug addicts can go to drug rehabilitation medical institutions (including drug rehabilitation departments in general hospitals and voluntary drug rehabilitation hospitals) to receive drug rehabilitation treatment. Drug addicts (families) can call 12320 health departments to understand the information of local legal drug rehabilitation medical institutions. Drug addicts who voluntarily accept drug rehabilitation treatment will not be punished by the public security organs for their original drug abuse behavior.
2. Drug Addiction Treatment Center: Compulsory isolation drug treatment is the main drug treatment mode in our country. The public security organs make the punishment decision of compulsory isolation drug treatment for drug addicts, usually for two years.
3. Methadone clinic: Heroin addicts can choose methadone substitution therapy. Drug addicts (families) can call 12320 health department to learn about the local methadone maintenance treatment clinic.
4. Psychological counseling agencies or drug rehabilitation social work service agencies: Drug addiction hurts the entire family of drug addicts, As relatives, friends and victims, they can choose local influential and credible psychological counseling agencies or drug rehabilitation social work agencies to seek help, learn about drugs and drug rehabilitation, and understand how to deal with the family crisis caused by drugs and how to take good care of themselves while helping drug addicts.
Once treatment is started, the problem is to let drug addicts accept a normal life instead of correcting their previous behaviors. Especially young people, they are growing up while receiving treatment.
No matter through what treatment, unconditional love and companionship of relatives and friends are the most important. It is more important than any organization to make them feel cared for.
Admitting that your family or friends are taking drugs is a worrying thing, but we must overcome the sense of shame and the idea of refusing to admit it to help them. The most important thing is to let them know that you still love them, [I will help you here].
The author comes from [sober life], a domestic addiction support organization.
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