These so-called "soft drugs" helped Roni cope with back pain alongside the painkillers prescribed by his doctor. Later, as the pain worsened, Roni also developed an addiction to the painkillers. Signs of a problem appeared slowly. Roni had always been a little absent-minded, but increasingly arriving late to work, difficulty getting up in the morning, attempts to hide the addiction at work and an inability to get through the day without smoking or frequently taking pills raised red flags for some friends.
The road to the decision to get clean
At first, Roni refused to hear about rehabilitation, let alone acknowledge that he had a problem. Whenever the subject came up, he became defensive, withdrew, sometimes shouted and made a scene, slammed doors and did not answer calls. "My problem isn't drugs. My problem is the back pain that's killing me."
But there was a moment, hard to pinpoint, when something inside him opened. Despite all his efforts to deny it, Roni also felt that the toll of his drug addiction was cruelly bringing his life toward a point of no return. It was a kind of window of opportunity that Roni seized with both hands. This took the form of his decision to begin a drug rehabilitation process.
Drug Rehabilitation: Can Someone Develop an Addiction in Midlife?
Addiction to painkillers generally develops when the painkillers being taken act on the nervous system, much like other illegal drugs. These substances have a high potential to cause addiction.
They work very well and effectively at first, but over time the body adapts, and a higher dose is needed to achieve the same effect. In this way, even ordinary people suffering from chronic pain can find themselves caught in the cruel cycle of drug addiction in midlife.
The stages of rehab at the rehabilitation center
At a rehabilitation center, the person goes through two main stages: physical withdrawal, usually lasting between five days and a month, and psychological rehabilitation. The second, psychological stage is complex and lengthy. It focuses on recognizing the thought patterns that sustain addiction and learning how to change them.
Treatment consists of individual therapy, support group therapy and other complementary treatments. Their combination has been found effective in treating drug addiction.
