Do I need to get off drugs?

The inability to not be able to get off drugs is often measured not by ‘how much’ of a substance you use, but by the effect it has on you.

Normally, if you have three or more of the following – this is a sign you are dependent on booze/drugs:

•    An intense need or ‘compulsion’ for it

•    Difficulty in stopping once you’ve started

•    Getting ‘withdrawal’ effects when you get off drugs

•    Needing more and more of it to get the same effect

•    Losing interest in other things in your life

•    Keeping going with your habit, in spite of the damage it’s doing

In the end the decision to get off drugs ultimately falls in the addicts hands. We all must take that personal decision. For some the choice to get off drugs can come from one bad night on the town. For others it takes prison or being on the brink of death to get off drugs. There are some questions a addict can ask themselves if they are wondering if they need to get off drugs. Is the use of drugs causing unmanageability in your life? Have you tried to get off drugs many times but still have failed? Am I happy with the way my life is using drugs? Does my family keep telling me I need to get off drugs? These are questions we must ask ourselves. If we really want help there are recourses out there we can use. We can find help in Narcotics Anonymous or our family church. Most addicts know when they have had enough, but no one can tell us when the time to get off drugs is. Even though we have been sentenced to prison time, in hospital beds and make our families disown us. That is the nature of addiction. We are not bad people, just sick people. But we can find a better life in recovery after we get off drugs and start a new life. If you are reading this article, and you can relate to any of these signs, maybe you are a addict.  Don’t worry, you can get off drugs and be a productive member of society. Admitting you are a addict is the first step to getting help. If the desire is there, anyone can break the bounds of addiction and start a life they couldn’t believe once they get off drugs.