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Woman breaking the chains of dependence and addiction to prescriptions with the help found at Olympus RecoveryDealing with a prescription drug addiction can define every aspect of a person’s life. What might start as a legitimate need for prescription drug use could quickly spiral into substance abuse and dependence. Once this happens, recovery can be a tough road to find and stay on. Fortunately, treatment options are available for those who want to wake up from their nightmare.

Our Delray Beach drug rehab focuses on helping our clients overcome addiction and any secondary diagnoses they may have. This means if addiction leads to a disorder — or if an underlying condition could affect treatment — our professional staff is here to help. Take a moment to review what we offer, and contact us today if you or a loved one needs help.

How To Know If You Are Addicted to Prescription Drugs

The path to addiction isn’t always a clear one. Maybe you started taking medication because your doctor prescribed it, or a friend loaned you a few prescription drugs to treat pain. In nearly every case, though, no one expects to need addiction treatment. In fact, the path to prescription drug addiction can be so subtle that you may not even be sure you have a problem.

Taking action solidifies the journey towards healing.

Centers like Olympus Recovery provide not only a diagnosis but a structured and compassionate path to recovery. Recognizing the problem is the first step.
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Physical Signs of Dependency

If you’re questioning whether you’ve become addicted to prescription drugs, that’s a good sign that there’s cause for concern. There are several red flags, though, that you can pay attention to in your life. While these signs of prescription dependency may not seem abnormal for you, they’re very common among those with substance abuse disorders:

  • Taking medications in higher doses than prescribed
  • Using medicines for longer than directed by your doctor
  • Developing a tolerance that requires higher doses for the same effect
  • Using any prescription medication for non-prescribed purposes
  • “Doctor shopping” — visiting multiple doctors to find one who will prescribe a drug
  • Lying to others about your usage of a drug
  • Taking a medication prescribed to someone else
  • Visiting multiple doctors to get multiple prescriptions
  • Withdrawing from family, friends, and activities you once enjoyed
  • Prior attempts to end use have proven unsuccessful
  • Lying about lost prescription drugs to get early refills

Behavioral Indicators: Changes in Daily Habits

While none of these is enough on their own to determine you have a prescription drug misuse, they point to a pattern of behavior common among those who abuse prescription drugs. As an example, borrowing a pain pill from a family member once doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve developed physical dependence. That’s the keyword, though: dependence.

Once the human body becomes accustomed to a drug, there’s a negative response when it suddenly doesn’t have access to it. You may experience withdrawal symptoms because of this, and that’s a definite red flag for prescription drug abuse. If you’ve ever experienced any of the following symptoms when trying to cut back or stop using prescription drugs altogether, you very likely have an addiction:

  • Changes in your behavior (e.g., reclusiveness, agitation)
  • Changes to your normal sleep patterns
  • Changes in emotional state (e.g., feelings of anxiety, depression)
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • General feelings of unwellness
  • Unexpected health issues (e.g., panic attacks)
  • Hallucinations and delusions

Withdrawal Symptoms: What Happens When You Don’t Take Them

A man who repaired relationship problems from his drug dependence and addiction to treat anxiety

Unfortunately, these symptoms and Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) often prevent people from overcoming prescription drug addiction. The lack of the drug in a person’s system leads to these side effects, so they quickly discover that relapse is a quick way to feel better. This provides temporary relief, but it only worsens the problem.

In addition to making it difficult to stop abusing prescription medications, withdrawal can also be fatal. While benzodiazepine withdrawal is known to have potentially deadly withdrawal symptoms, coming off of any medication can prove dangerous. This is why reaching out for help is so important when trying to beat prescription drug abuse.

At Olympus Recovery, we’re ready to help you overcome this initial hurdle so your treatment process can succeed. Contact us today to learn how we can help.

Prescription Drug Abuse and Mental Illness

There is plenty of discussion surrounding the epidemic of people abusing prescription drugs to deal with mental health issues. What rarely gets the attention it deserves, though, is the fact that drug use can create psychiatric problems. Mood disorders, sexual dysfunction, anxiety disorder, persisting dementia, and sleep disorders are just a few of the expected outcomes of prescription drug abuse.

Understanding the Link: Prescription Drugs and Mental Health

Recent statistics from the Drug Enforcement Administration show that 37.9% of individuals with substance abuse disorders also have a mental illness. Those who abuse drugs are twice as likely to develop anxiety and mood disorders as the general public. Unfortunately, over half of the people with co-occurring disorders don’t get treatment for either of them.

Related statistics are just as disheartening:

  • Those who only receive mental health care: 34.5%
  • Those who only receive substance abuse treatment: 3.9%
  • Those who receive both: 9.1%

Less than one in 10 people with prescription drug abuse and accompanying mental health concerns receive treatment. Unfortunately, this can lead to worsening conditions over time. At Olympus Recovery, our approach is to treat both issues. Without doing so, therapy is unlikely to be effective for either diagnosis you’re facing.

How Prescription Drug Abuse Exacerbates Mental Illness

If you believe this won’t happen to you, it’s essential to understand that this isn’t a conscious process. However, you may become paranoid while on certain medications; the effects go much deeper than that. Chronic use of any substance can result in chemical changes to the brain that can affect your psychological health in several ways.

Consider the variety of prescription drug addictions that can lead to depression:

  • Benzodiazepines (e.g., Xanax, Valium)
  • Stimulants (e.g., Provigil, Ritalin)
  • Barbiturates (e.g., Amytal, Donnatal)
  • Opioid Painkillers (e.g., Percodan, Demerol)

The Role of Therapy in Breaking the Cycle

With early intervention at Olympus Recovery in Florida, a woman showing the signs and symptoms of being physically dependent gets help

This small sampling of medications can lead to a single psychiatric disorder. Various other conditions could arise concurrently or due to prescription drug misuse. In a best-case scenario, such conditions are only short-term. With continued abuse, though, a side effect of drug abuse can become a lifelong problem.

The important thing to remember is that you aren’t alone in this. Countless people face these difficulties daily. The only individuals who can’t get help are the ones who choose not to seek it. If you’re ready to stop fighting addiction alone, reach out for help and make it a fair fight.

Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment at Olympus

The statistics about prescription drug abuse are disheartening, showing how many people struggle with this epidemic. Fortunately, this problem doesn’t have to remain a person’s reality. Various proven treatment strategies are shown to combat addiction and any co-occurring disorder a person may be facing. The combination of treatment programs we offer for prescription drug abuse depends on the individual’s physical and mental state.

Integrated Care: A Holistic Approach to Healing

At Olympus Recovery, we offer the most effective programs proven by science. These include:

Group therapy with topics such as:

  • Life after loss
  • Building resilience
  • Anger management
  • Principles of Recovery (12-step introduction and more)
  • Trauma
  • Life skills
  • EMDR therapy program

Each of these has proven to be a life-saving approach for countless individuals. And at Olympus Recovery, we’re especially proud to offer dialectical behavioral therapy. Not all treatment centers offer DBT; our focus includes emotional regulation during therapy. This is another invaluable weapon in fighting the negative consequences of prescription drug addiction and mental health issues.

Support Systems: Building a Network for Recovery

The medical professionals of Olympus Recovery help young adults overcome prescription medication usage in group therapy

Our evidence-based treatment approach is further improved thanks to our Master’s Level Clinicians, registered interns, and a financial team that’s in-network with HMOs, PPOs, and more. Self-pay is also an option if you need it, but we’ll work diligently to find a way for you to get the treatment you need. The Olympus Recovery facility also offers:

  • Housing in a separate wing of our Via Delray facility
  • Weekend and evening outings that include meetings
  • Van transport
  • Small program size (30 clients or less)
  • Three separate group rooms
  • First responder programs

Everything we’ve created at Olympus Recovery focuses on helping you get better. You won’t find treatment for in-depth mental health issues such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but other Transformations programs provide therapies focused on these.

Instead, Olympus Recovery specializes in handling substance abuse disorders, alcoholism, other addictions, and the conditions that may accompany them. Prescription drug addiction can present in many forms. This is why we strive to offer personalized treatments for everyone we meet.

Get Help for Prescription Drug Addiction Now

It’s an unfortunate reality, but prescription drug abuse often starts because people reach out for help. Pain medications following an injury or anxiety prescriptions for those with panic disorder are common. Sadly, this can lead to misuse. When combined with those who self-medicate to deal with mental health issues, the scope of this drug problem becomes all too clear.

At Olympus Recovery, our certified staff of professionals works tirelessly to help each of our clients overcome their battles. We focus on building a treatment plan tailored to each individual, so we have a wide array of therapeutic offerings. Contact us today to learn how we can help you regain control of your life from prescription drug addiction.

Start a new journey!

For immediate help call us confidentially at (866) 305-7134. Our admissions specialists can answer all your questions, and put you on the road to recovery.

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