Many people wrongly assume that abusing prescription drugs is nowhere near as dangerous as substances such as heroin or cocaine. Prescription drug overdoses are now killing more people than illegal drugs are so this misconception couldn’t actually be further from the truth.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the three classes of drugs which are most often seen in prescription medication abuse include:
- Opioids which are used to treat pain including Vicodin, morphine, codeine and OxyContin
- Central nervous system depressants such as Xanax which are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders
- Stimulants such as amphetamine which are used to treat attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy
Opioids are widely used for pain relief and many of them are easily available to us with a prescription from our doctor. They work by reducing the intensity of pain signals which are sent to the brain and can help to relieve anything from a headache or toothache to broken bones or pain following surgery.
While prescription drugs are perfectly safe when used for short-term pain relief, the problem is that they can become incredibly addictive very quickly. Why exactly do people lose control over prescription drug use even if they have no previous dependency issues however?
Why do people get addicted to prescription drugs?
There are a number of reasons why a person may become addicted to the medication they have been taking. Although it can happen to absolutely anyone, some factors do increase your chances of becoming vulnerable to prescription drug abuse:
- If you currently or have previously suffered from another addiction, you are at a higher risk of becoming addicted to prescription drugs.
- If you have family members with addiction problems, your chances are also higher. This may be because you have inherited genes that make you more likely to become addicted.
- Those who have experienced childhood trauma such as physical or sexual abuse, violence or losing a parent, may turn to substance abuse as a coping mechanism and start to develop prescription medication abuse symptoms.
- In recent years, there have been links between mental health and an increased risk of prescription medication abuse. Speaking about why this is, Howard Forman, medical director at Montefiore Medical Centre in New York commented:
“If you give oxycodone to an anxious person, they will be less anxious. After the pain has gone away however, they may have become accustomed to a medication that is powerfully helping their distress. Now you have the makings of someone who could be hooked. People with mental health problems such as anxiety and depression are more likely to use painkillers on a long-term basis.”
- Another reason why more people could be becoming addicted to prescription drugs is because they are so readily available these days. There has been a huge increase in the number of prescriptions which have been written in the last decade or so which suggests that we could be relying too heavily on medication. While we don’t want to interfere with the treatment of legitimate pain, doctors and loved ones should learn to recognize when someone truly needs pain relief and when prescription drug abuse signs are present.
- Another issue is that people simply don’t realize that it’s possible to become addicted to prescription drugs. Generally, we trust what our doctor tells us and because of this, if they prescribe us something, we assume that it’s perfectly safe and harmless. When we follow the instructions of our doctor, prescription medication is safe. If we take matters into our own hands however, this is when problems may occur. If you’re in a lot of pain for example, you may decide to take your medication more often than you should or you may take more pills than what is recommended. This can contribute towards you building up a tolerance for the drug so you end up taking more to get the desired effect and the downward spiral of addiction starts to occur.
If you think that you or someone you know could have a problem with prescription drug abuse, please feel free to contact Toronto Trauma & Addiction Counselling for more information about how we can help you.
