Stages of Addiction
While there is no absolute scientific
formula for identifying when an
individual’s drug consumption
has developed into a full-blown
addiction problem, most rehabilitation
counselors agree that there are
four distinct stages of drug use
that may lead to addiction. The
four stages are generally acknowledged
as drug use or experimentation,
the misuse of drugs, the abuse
of drugs and a drug dependency
or addiction. While individuals
in the first or second stages of
use and misuse may not necessarily
progress into drug addicts, individuals
in the third stage of drug abuse
are likely to develop full-blown
addiction problems.
 Drug
Use or Experimentation
The first stage on the potential road to drug addiction,
the use of drugs without experiencing any negative consequences
is what rehabilitation counselors refer to as experimentation
or simple drug ingestion. Enjoying a drink, smoking a marijuana
joint or taking any other drug with friends or colleagues
without any serious social or legal consequences is regarded
as drug use or experimentation. While such behavior is not
to be encouraged, it is a fact of life for many teens and
adults.
Misuse of Drugs
The misuse of drugs occurs when the individual experiences
some form of negative consequences as a direct result of having
ingested any one particular drug. For example, someone who
becomes inebriated at a party or get-together and is stopped
for drunk driving on his or her way back home has misused
alcohol even if that person does not normally drink to excess
and is not an alcoholic. Examples including the one just mentioned
occur in a fairly large percentage of the North American public
at some point in a person’s life, and while not everyone
who has misused drugs becomes an addict, the regular misuse
of any drug is a telltale sign of an addict in waiting.
Abuse of Drugs
When an individual frequently misuses drugs in spite of any
negative social or legal consequences that may result from
such misuse, said individual has progressed from an occasional
misuse of drugs to the more serious stage of the abuse of
drugs. In effect, the negative consequences arising from the
misuse of drugs has done nothing to curb the individual’s
appetite for drug ingestion to the point of inebriation even
in the face of serious penalties and possible broken relationships.
Often begun as a temporary form of emotional escapism, drug
abuse leads to much more serious problems in the long run.
Drug Addiction and Dependency
Once an individual has begun to abuse drugs, it is likely
that the continuation of such behavior will lead to a drug
addiction or dependency problem. Drug addiction or dependency
is defined as a compulsion to take drugs despite any and all
negative consequences to the individual’s relationship
with his or her family, friends and work colleagues; physical
and mental health; personal finances; job security; and at
one extreme, a criminal record. While the reasons an individual
progresses from the simple or occasional use of drugs to a
possibly fatal dependency on drugs are not all clear, once
this stage has been reached most addicts cannot function without
consuming drugs. Addictions can be physical, psychological,
emotional or any combination of the three, but at this stage
professional help must be sought. |