Dangerous Medicine: Dealing with Prescription Drug Abuse

Prescription drug abuse isn't simply a bad habit, it's a devastating addiction that can be fatal to the person who is trying to deal with it. There are several reasons why prescription drug abuse is so dangerous, and many different ways it can impact your life and health.

Just because something is a prescription doesn't mean that it's safe. If a person is abusing their prescription medication, then chances are they are not being fully honest with prescribing physicians or being checked regularly by their physician. This can make the dangers of overdose or medication interactions extremely high, not to mention the fact that certain medications will cancel others out.

Prescription drug abuse, when dealt with in the mental health field, is usually dealt with in the same way as other substance or alcohol addictions. It's often necessary for a person who has a severe problem to attend a Rehab for substance and alcohol abuse.

At a minimum, dealing with the symptoms of withdrawal requires monitoring by a physician, likely in a medical setting. It's very rare the person who can simply stop using a substance and feel no effects from withdrawal or have cravings.

If you are the person who is doing the prescription drug abuse, remember that there is help and support out there. Recognizing that you have a problem is the first step to coping and recovering from prescription drug abuse.

If you find yourself hiding the amount or types of medication you take from your family members and other close to you, find yourself getting medications through unauthorized prescriptions (or even "doctor hopping) or even purchasing them through less than legal means- this is a strong indicator that you have a problem with prescription drug abuse.

Never lose hope. As with any other substance abuse, prescription drug abuse and addiction can be treated and a person can regain their life back without the substance. It takes a lot of patience, lots of work and many baby steps along the way.

Attending group therapy or individual counseling is an excellent way to help you cope with prescription drug abuse and the effect it has had on your life. Regardless of whether or not you are the one abusing the medication(s) or not, it's an absolute necessity to ensure that there is a support system in place to help you cope with the feelings, thoughts, actions and reactions that either cause the medication abuse or arise as a result of the medication misuse.

There are many 12-Step programs out there than can help those dealing with prescription drug abuse or the family members of those who are abusing prescription drugs. Check your city's nearest mental health center or hospital, they will have information concerning 12-Step programs, meeting times, locations, etc.

The best part about 12-Step programs are the fact that they are free, and it helps to hear from others who are in the same situation as yourself and know where you are coming from- regardless of whether you are the one in recovery or the family member of the person in recovery.

The best thing a person can do for themselves when dealing with prescription drug abuse is to make sure that they let any doctor who sees them regularly that they are in recovery for prescription drug abuse. This can make a world of difference and their physician can ensure that they are no longer prescribed potentially habit-forming medications.

Maintaining a positive attitude and hope, keeping a healthy routine, eating a nutritionally sound diet and maintaining good exercise and sleep patterns can also do wonders for general overall health when dealing with prescription drug medication.

Once a person has begun the detox process and has dealt with the withdrawals from medications, then they can focus on inner thoughts and feelings and general health and wellbeing. This is turn, makes coping with the cravings and unhealthy patterns of addiction easier day by day.