Drug abuse has long focused on subjects like alcohol abuse and illegal drug use like cocaine, crystal meth and so on. While all of these drugs remain real problems, the new trend in drug abuse is prescription drugs where addiction can come on quickly.

The 1960s were all about free love and what have you. Flash forward to today and we don’t find hippies smoking funny cigarettes. No, we find people popping pills. More specifically, popping pain pills. The explosion in the frequency of prescriptions for painkillers is amazing and offers the possibility for abuse and addition to occur. The question is what should you look for when considering whether a problem exists? Let’s take a look.

Perhaps the most obvious sign to consider is defensiveness. A person who is defensive, usually is so for a reason. If you or a person you know lashes out when asked about their prescription pill habit, the chances are they have issues that need to be addressed.

The second issue to consider is withdrawal. When a person becomes an addict, they often will withdraw from friends and family. They know inherently there is a problem with what they are doing, but their addiction out ways this knowledge and causes them to pull away so they can continue their conduct without being embarrassed. A classic sign of a problem.

The third issue is one that should draw a lot of attention immediately. It is the effort that the person in question makes to obtain the painkillers. The medication should be prescription only, so there should be a set usage and refill level set by a doctor. If the patient is having issues with what is prescribed or trying to get more when the prescription has expired, a problem definitely exists and should be addressed.

There are many other indicators of addiction when it comes to prescription painkillers. That being said, the above three are almost always present whether it be all of them or only one.

 

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