{"id":303,"date":"2015-09-26T05:08:55","date_gmt":"2015-09-26T05:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/?page_id=303"},"modified":"2015-09-26T05:08:55","modified_gmt":"2015-09-26T05:08:55","slug":"prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html","title":{"rendered":"Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/em><\/p>\n

Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction<\/h1>\n

What is prescription drug abuse?<\/h2>\n

Prescription drug abuse means taking a prescription medication that is not prescribed for you, or taking it for reasons or in dosages other than as prescribed.<\/p>\n

Addiction of any substance is when the user begins seeking the substance compulsively and continues to use the substance even though there have been harmful effects to their lives, including problems with family, school, work or the legal system.<\/p>\n

Common drugs of abuse<\/h2>\n

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse<\/strong><\/em> (NIDA<\/strong>), the commonly abused classes of prescription medications include opioids (intended for pain), central nervous system depressants (for anxiety as well as sleep disorders), and stimulants (prescribed for ADHD as well asnarcolepsy).<\/p>\n

Opioids<\/h3>\n

Opioids include hydrocodone (sold as Vicodin\u00ae), oxycodone (sold as OxyContin\u00ae), propoxyphene (Darvon\u00ae), hydromorphone (Dilaudid\u00ae), meperidine (Demerol\u00ae), and diphenoxylate (Lomotil\u00ae).<\/p>\n

Long-term abuse of opioid-based medications can lead to physical dependence as well as addiction. Opioids can produce drowsiness, constipation and can even depress breathing. (1)<\/sup><\/p>\n

Central nervous system depressants<\/h3>\n

Central nervous system depressants include barbiturates such as pentobarbital sodium (sold as Nembutal\u00ae), and benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium\u00ae) and alprazolam (Xanax\u00ae).<\/p>\n

Central nervous system depressants slow down brain function and, if combined with other medications that cause drowsiness or with alcohol, heart rate and respiration can slow down dangerously. (2)<\/sup><\/p>\n

Stimulants<\/h3>\n

Stimulant medications include dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine\u00ae), methylphenidate (Ritalin\u00ae and Concerta\u00ae), and amphetamines (Adderall\u00ae).<\/p>\n

Stimulants can cause anxiety, paranoia, dangerously high body temperatures, irregular heartbeat, or seizures when taken repeatedly or in high doses. (3)<\/sup><\/p>\n

What happens if I try to stop and I’m addicted?<\/h2>\n

Withdrawal<\/h3>\n

If you believe that you have an addiction or physical dependence to prescription medication, it is important to talk with your doctor about whether you need to withdraw under medical supervision. Sudden withdrawal from some medications can be quite dangerous!<\/p>\n

Support<\/h3>\n

Some people require support to help them as quitting, even under a doctor’s care, can be difficult and quite uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How can SMART Recovery help me stop abusing medications?<\/h2>\n

SMART Recovery provides its members with tools and support that they can use to help them recover from addictions to drugs or other addictive and negative behaviors. SMART Recovery’s 4-Point Program\u00ae is designed to help you overcome your problems with abusing drugs:<\/p>\n

1. Building & Maintaining Motivation<\/strong> \u2013 Helps you identify and keep up with your reasons to quit. Why do you want to stop – what will keep you focused on that goal?<\/p>\n

2. Coping with Urges<\/strong> \u2013 Dealing with urges and cravings is part of recovery. SMART has tools designed to help our members cope with urges that can help you maintain abstinence.<\/p>\n

3. Managing Thoughts, Feelings and\u00a0Behaviours\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 We frequently turn to using drugs to either escape from or avoid addressing problems. SMART Recovery participants learn problem-solving tools to help them manage challenges along the way.<\/p>\n

4. Living a Balanced Life<\/strong> \u2013 When you abuse drugs, your life frequently falls out of balance \u2013 you may find yourself opting to use rather than go to work or school. You may find that things you once enjoyed just don’t seem fun anymore. SMART give members skills to help balance both short and long-term goals, pleasures and needs that were once out of balance due to drug abuse.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From Our Participants<\/h2>\n
\n

I now feel like I can trust myself, my reactions, and my emotions. Vicodin gave me a false sense of being in control. I can really tell the difference now that I actually am. I’m not afraid of my feelings. I know that I can handle anything drug-free.\u2014 M.H., California<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Where do I go from here?<\/h2>\n

Getting started<\/a> with SMART Recovery is easy!<\/p>\n

If you would like to get started right away, you can join our online support group where you can read, share and learn from our worldwide community of members at any time of the day or night.<\/p>\n

You can also find a local SMART Recovery meeting<\/a>, or, if we don\u2019t have any meetings in your area yet, you can join us at one of our online meetings.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to have printed study material, we suggest the SMART Recovery Handbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

References <\/strong>
\n[1][2][3] – Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction What is prescription drug abuse? Prescription drug abuse means taking a prescription medication that is not prescribed for you, or taking it for reasons or in dosages other than as prescribed. Addiction of any substance is when the user begins seeking the substance compulsively and continues to use the substance…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":289,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-303","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","description-off"],"yoast_head":"\nPrescription Drug Abuse and Addiction - SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction What is prescription drug abuse? Prescription drug abuse means taking a prescription medication that is not prescribed for you, or taking it for reasons or in dosages other than as prescribed. Addiction of any substance is when the user begins seeking the substance compulsively and continues to use the substance…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/index.php\\\/resources\\\/addiction-information\\\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/index.php\\\/resources\\\/addiction-information\\\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html\",\"name\":\"Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction - SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-26T05:08:55+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/index.php\\\/resources\\\/addiction-information\\\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/index.php\\\/resources\\\/addiction-information\\\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/index.php\\\/resources\\\/addiction-information\\\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"RESOURCES\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/index.php\\\/resources.html\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Addiction Information\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/index.php\\\/resources\\\/addiction-information.html\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups\",\"description\":\"Self-Management And Recovery Training is a global community of people & families working together to overcome the suffering caused by addiction and thrive.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/09\\\/BC-SMART_Recovery-350W.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/09\\\/BC-SMART_Recovery-350W.jpg\",\"width\":365,\"height\":61,\"caption\":\"SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartrecoverybc.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction - SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction","og_description":"Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction What is prescription drug abuse? Prescription drug abuse means taking a prescription medication that is not prescribed for you, or taking it for reasons or in dosages other than as prescribed. Addiction of any substance is when the user begins seeking the substance compulsively and continues to use the substance…","og_url":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html","og_site_name":"SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html","url":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html","name":"Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction - SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-09-26T05:08:55+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information\/prescription-drug-abuse-and-addiction.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"RESOURCES","item":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources.html"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Addiction Information","item":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/resources\/addiction-information.html"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/","name":"SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups","description":"Self-Management And Recovery Training is a global community of people & families working together to overcome the suffering caused by addiction and thrive.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/#organization","name":"SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups","url":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/BC-SMART_Recovery-350W.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/BC-SMART_Recovery-350W.jpg","width":365,"height":61,"caption":"SMART Recovery Self-Help Addiction Recovery Program | Addiction Support Groups"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"campaignId":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":304,"href":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/303\/revisions\/304"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartrecoverybc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}