The Truth About Cocaine Addiction

Cocaine addiction in South Africa is well established and thus the country has been forced to being experienced in dealing with it. Many facilities are available through both the public and private sector to help those suffering from cocaine addiction.

These include centres or clinics where cocaine users can receive medical attention, enter into a psychological rehabilitation program and receive support and advice from specialised counsellors.

The addiction to cocaine stems from the need to be given larger doses as the tolerance builds in the body. The negative physical reactions that result from not taking cocaine result in an intense psychological craving for the substance.

There are a number of symptoms which come to the fore when an addict is deprived of their “hit”. These symptoms vary in severity and can range from moderate to more intense feelings of anxiety and depression to physical pangs and cravings, to a psychological weakening which manifests itself through a lack of concentration or an addict not being able to carry out the simplest of tasks.

Users are prone to mood swings, paranoid behaviour and will regularly be attacked by bouts of anxiety. As if that were not bad enough, with time it becomes increasingly difficult for those who suffer from addiction to sleep, blood pressure rises and the heart’s functioning weakens while the brain also begins to display signs of cerebral dysfunction and the inability to apply thought and think things through. New, erratic personality traits develop and one can suddenly become aggressive and start embarking on criminal activities (usually in order to support one’s habit).

It is of the utmost importance that one should know that although the physical withdrawal symptoms that come with cocaine addiction are not as severe as those associated with the use of other drugs, it is highly addictive and perhaps more disturbing or troubling is the fact that the withdrawal symptoms are psychological. There is probably nothing worse than an attack on one’s psychological wellbeing.