How do I know if I'm dealing with addiction?

Question

I've been using prescription drugs (not prescribed to me) for the past 3 months. Mostly pain killers. I'm not taking more than 5 a day. I use it to stay mellow. I have found that it works to calm my add better than my ridilin does.... But does my behavior and growing numbers of pills I take a day make me an adict?

Answer 1

It sounds like you are becoming addicted to these pills, and you are finally realizing that yourself. You said that it makes you mellow to take them...you should go to your doctor and let them know that your Ritalin is not working for you and tell them you would like to try something different. Mixing pain pills with your medicine can cause serious side effects and even become fatal. Please get help and consider join a support group for people that have the same problems as you. You sound like a bright person who obviously knows something is wrong....my best advice to you is to be conscious of your health. Life is a gift :o)

Answer 2

According to the pills, if your taking them daily, then your going to get addicted. The thing is it may cause problems to your body, due to your body becoming immuned to the medication, and it may leave an effect if you go without taking them, so the best thing to do is stop taking them. And the best way to know that you have over-come something is coming in contact with it. And what I mean by that is the pills can be in your presence, but you have to have enough faith to say that I am not an drug addict!!!

Answer 3

OMG yes. Pain killers are very dangerous! You need to get off of them right away! You may think you are in control but trust me when I say one day you will wake up and realize you are in a hole you can't get out of. Get some help now especially since you have only been doing this for 3 months. That three months will soon turn to three years and it will ruin your mind, body, and most of all your spirit. Good luck to you!

Answer 4

Addictions are not formed overnight. An addiction connotes a mental habit of becoming attached to something on which you have become dependent. We commonly think of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, coffee etc. to be objects of addiction.

However, a habit can be as addictive; be it playing cards, sex, watching TV, gossiping, or anything else that you cannot help but do. If for some reason you are unable to indulge in the habit or activity to which you are addicted, it leads to tremendous discomfort, frustration, anger, or even unbearable physical pain (as in drug addiction).

Needless to say, all addictions are undesirable. Addiction builds its fetters around you making you an inmate in your self-created prison. If a simple thing like not having tea or coffee can spoil your day and make you unfit for efficient work, then whither enlightenment? When you give in to addictions, you give up freedom.

Habits or addictions spring from constant repetition of certain actions. These actions may have been repeatedly performed due to ignorance or under the influence of wrong judgement. Sometimes simple actions too have a snowballing effect. Habits become ingrained in the mind depending on how often they are repeated as well as the will of the person. A weak-willed person becomes a slave of habit sooner than a strong-willed person.

In order to overcome an addiction or undesirable habit, we have to adopt a 'contrary' approach. Here one needs to understand how an action that is opposite in nature to the pertinent habit will help. It may be next to impossible to wipe out a habit and let a vacuum or void take its place. In the beginning, we should strive to replace it with something positive.

For instance, if you smoke, it may a good idea to bite into a piece of clove or candy or something harmless instead. True freedom will never entail replacing a greater evil by a lesser evil, and yet practically, this may be very difficult to achieve except by a select few.

Let us also remember the basic facts about thoughts that influence action. In fact all action springs from thoughts. That is the seed and the cause to the effect.

The fact that every action is repeated is an indicator of the fact that the thought or thoughts behind it are repeated too. Thus to revert an action we have to revert our thoughts. By reiterating a positive thought we move easily towards the corresponding actions.

Thus, at a basic level we need to dive deep into the mind from where thoughts emerge. We need to consciously imbue the mind with positive thoughts or affirmations. To overcome a particular habit or addiction you need to formulate an appropriate affirmation which strengthens the corresponding positive qualities.

For instance, if you want to give up smoking, think of the positive state you would be in, when you are free of this habit. Say to yourself: "I am free. I am happy, healthy and poised. I can do whatever I want, whenever I wish, independently." If you are given top frivolous gossiping and now feel it is time to shed this habit, affirm to yourself: "I am calm and filled with s deep silence. I turn inward to discover joy and freedom. I radiate friendliness and love to all."

Repeat this regularly following the rules of affirmation outlined in this section, until it melts into your subconscious, from where by penetrating your superconscious it will automatically bounce back to start influencing your conscious physical and mental habits and thought patterns.

Answer 5

I know exactly what you mean, trust me. Do you 'need' the painkillers everyday, whether it's to calm yourself down, or just to feel that euphoria? Think about it. Do you NEED them, or just want them? Either way, it could be an addiction.

I was the same way. I took them as a self-treatment for depression (ones that weren't prescribed to me too), and I ended up getting addicted to them. If you're taking them for a self-treatment for anxiety, depression, or anything of the sort, you're most likely going to get addicted (if you're not already, but you very well could be.)

If the amount you take keeps growing, you're definitely addicted. It sounds like it more since they're not yours. I would suggest you see a therapist to help, unless you like the idea of rehab. You could try to get off of them yourself, but...it takes A LOT of will power, more so if you're really not that willing to stop taking them.

If you try to get off them yourself, slowly decrease your amounts. I don't know how much you're taking or what you're taking exactly, but it could harm you more if you just quit cold turkey, so it'd be safer to just slowly get off of them.

I've dealt with something similiar before and still am dealing with it. If you need someone to talk about it, feel free to IM me. My screenname is suisakka; e-mail address [e-mail].

Answer 6

What I am wondering is how you are able to over take pain pills and keep getting your prescription renewed earlier than supposed to? Using multiple doctors to get them?
Its a red flag in our office when one keeps calling in needing more pain pills because they "took more than prescribed" because they needed them....its a no no on refills....So yes, you have made yourself addicted to them and someone soon will realize that and shut it off for you.....go back to your doctor and tell him about your other medicine and get straight with him.

Answer 7

do u NEED them to just get thru the day or for REAL Pain.. do u need them to "survive"..if u ran out, would you go crazy.. Do u use them to get "high" .. do u think "I can't get thru a day without getting that feeling or rush".. u are addicted.. 5 a day is not that many..it depends on why u take them.. i was addicted to sleeping pills.. I had to take them to even go outside and be around the public or so I thought.. i dropped one 1 day and my first thought was not "how am I going to sleeP".. my first thought was "that is one less pill I have to get high on"...

Answer 8

Yes. I'm not going to lie to you, it sounds like you have a problem. taking pills not prescribed to you is the first clue.

please get help.

Answer 9

PLEASE DO NOT self medicate.......my brother did the same thing to try to control his mental health (take someone elses meds) and it ended him up in jail.....it is illegal and will not do anything for mental problems in the end. Go to the doc and get on the right meds .....not addictive ones (pain killers are extremely addictive)!!!!

Answer 10

i would think so,
5 a day is a lot,but an easy way to get rid of this addiction
is to simply and slowly decrease the amount of
pils you take each day, or ask your doctor.
hope i could help
-Sana I