Recent studies conclude that over 20 percent of adults in the United States are affected by polysubstance abuse. Worse yet, almost half of drug fatalities include multiple drugs. Not only does this grave disorder skyrocket fatality numbers, but it also greatly inflates polysubstance abuse. Heed the enlightening information below to help you or a loved one recover from Polysubstance addiction today.
What is Polysubstance Abuse?
Put simply, Polysubstance abuse is exactly what the name entails: abusing more than one substance. This can mean abusing multiple substances in separate sessions or simultaneously. However, it’s worth noting that Polysubstance abuse is most frequently done simultaneously. Most, if not all, who indulge in Polysubstance abuse have an addiction to multiple substances. If this describes you, get the help you need before it’s too late.
Common Signs of Polysubstance Abuse
Common symptoms of polysubstance use are many of the same indicators of singular drug use, but to an exacerbated degree. Here’s a brief rundown of some of those red flags.
- Excessive Fidgeting or Tremors: People under the influence of multiple drugs will have noticeable arm, leg, or head shakes. These polysubstance use indicators will usually be perceivable by the exaggerated magnification of this symptom.
- Sudden Mood Shifts: If you notice any disturbing mood shifts for no apparent cause, this is indicative that more than one drug is involved. Any staggering shifts from happy to sad or mad should never be overlooked, but met with swift action.
- Nodding in and out of consciousness: Unusual behavior like head-bobbing in and out of consciousness is an indication that someone is deeply under the influence. This can also be a red flag for a potential overdose.
- Accelerated Movements or Speech: Uncharacteristically fast body movements or speech are telling of significant drug intoxication. Such movements will be exaggerated and speech will often be indiscernible.
Dangers of Polysubstance Misuse
The dangers of abusing multiple substances are well-documented. Here are the specific details of these bodily and mental harms.
Abusing multiple substances overloads your brain’s pleasure center and affects neurotransmitters. Excessive stimulation of these neurons and associated receptors can induce permanent brain defects. These defects consist of various deficiencies depending on your body’s response, including serotonin or GABA deprivation, or other neurochemical harms. Enroll in a dual-diagnosis program today to prevent and reverse these damages.
As cited earlier, a large portion of overdose deaths involves the misuse of multiple substances simultaneously. Each time you indulge in Polysubstance misuse, you’re risking your life. Unfortunately, many think they can handle it for one reason or another and ignore this inherent risk. We plead with you not to become a part of the statistical majority who ignore these harms and reap the consequences.
Even if you know the potency of each substance separately, there’s no way to know their potency when combined. It’s impossible to know because once two drugs are taken jointly, the potency factors are automatically elevated. This conjunctive counteraction of two substances in the bloodstream is unpredictable and unknown, especially since everyone’s body reacts differently. Throw in these personalized bodily reactive factors, and you have a potentially lethal blend.
Even if you are lucky enough to endure abusing multiple substances, it eventually catches up to your health. Serious health problems and permanent damage to your respiratory or cardiovascular systems, and other vital organs, will eventually occur. Regardless of the toll taken by substance abuse, it’s never too late to prevent further damage. Reach out to our caring team to prevent fatal consequences and potentially reverse some damages inflicted by Polysubstance addiction.
Ironically, the many mental health sufferers who turn to Polysubstance use end up causing more problems. That’s because abusing one drug is enough to inflict significant mental harm, let alone multiple substances. Abusing more than one puts you at significant risk of developing a variety of personality, anxiety, and depression disorders.
Underlying Causes of Polysubstance Use
Abusing multiple substances doesn’t just come out of nowhere. There’s a root cause to every dependency and addiction through the following causes. Please note that there may be additional causes aside from the ones listed below.
Many individuals who are desperate to feel any shred of enjoyment or euphoria are more prone to abusing multiple substances. Therefore, anyone suffering from mental disorders often indulges in more than one drug, attempting to feel some trace of happiness. What’s more dangerous is the fact that many with polysubstance use disorders stemming from depression can be careless with their drug use.
Trauma stemming from childhood or adulthood is a common root cause and accelerant of polysubstance use. Examples include, but are not limited to, childhood abuse, witnessing traumatic events, military experiences, or other mental and physical traumas. If you have experienced any of the aforementioned traumas or other types of trauma not listed here, we’re here to help. Seek a mental health assessment to diagnose the underlying cause of your polysubstance addiction.
When singular drug tolerance reaches a peak, it’s common for addiction sufferers to add other drugs to reach greater desired effects. This means that since they’ve reached a point where one high is no longer satisfying, polysubstance use is often experimented with. This is especially dangerous because, despite elevated tolerance levels, your body still has a limited threshold for overdose. Adding other drugs is likely to push your body beyond these fatal limits.
People who feel alone are more likely to experiment with multiple drugs. This is especially the case for people desiring acceptance into social circles, caving to the demands of peer pressure. Sadly, polysubstance misuse often stems from an unintentional act of experimentation that leads to addiction to multiple drugs. In turn, loneliness leads many down a drug-induced self-destructive road, feeling that their only escape from loneliness is substance use.
Many have the good intention of quitting, only to be met with severe withdrawal symptoms that drive them into relapse. That’s when it’s common for addiction sufferers to turn to multiple substances in a desperate attempt to alleviate these painful withdrawal symptoms. In these cases, it’s not the desire to get high that urges them to relapse, but the painful withdrawals alone.
Comprehensive Treatment Options and Management Techniques for Polysubstance Use
Let’s dive into the deep details about a variety of polysubstance addiction management techniques and treatment options. Bear in mind that any of the factors to be mentioned must be administered by a certified professional.
The first response to any addiction rehab should consist of enrolling in a detox program. The rest of your rehab doesn’t work without the crucial preliminary cleansing phase of drug detoxification. This expunges substance-related toxins from your body that induce the withdrawal symptoms that are the primary cause of relapse. You’ll be surprised how much easier the rest of rehab is once you’ve completed this introductory, often most difficult, short-term phase of recovery.
Meditation techniques are extremely effective at honing your focus on your sobriety goals and needs when relapse temptations arise. Different meditations, like Mindful meditation, Mantra, and other techniques, help you fend off external distractions to put things in perspective. These types of meditations and so much more are offered as a part of our holistic therapy treatment approaches.
Having one or more accountability partners you can depend on is an advisable component of rehab. This accountability structure is frequently infused by our dedicated support team in conjunction with therapy programs as a solid support foundation. These accountability partners are intended to be a lifeline you can contact at any time, anyplace, anywhere, under any circumstances. Thus, it is advisable to choose people closest to you who you trust, who are most dedicated to your sobriety.
One of the primary components of polysubstance addiction treatment is dual-diagnosis therapy. Dual-diagnosis therapy’s focus on treating multiple addiction or mental health disorders simultaneously makes it naturally engineered to meet these addiction recovery needs. Since these programs require a professional diagnosis of multiple disorders, seek out a professional assessment before enrolling. From there, we’ll equip your individualized recovery plan with all the personalized tools you need to thrive.
Our comprehensive 12-step programs embolden you with encouragement, confidence, and support from like-minded individuals. These settings encourage everyone to share their stories and offer educated solutions that have helped many achieve and sustain sobriety. Even if you’re not comfortable sharing, hearing the struggles and success stories of others reinforces the fact that you’re not alone. This helps you overcome the loneliness and discouragement associated with the majority of addiction sufferers.
If you want a less social, more confidential form of therapy, individual therapy may be your best solution. Furthermore, these one-on-one sessions provide arguably the most personalized care due to the singular doctor-to-patient attentiveness. All external distractions are removed as your therapist gets to know your background, tribulations, and concerns on a deeper level. Being equipped with all the information you share enables your therapist to maximize therapeutic efficacy through methodically personalized training.
Receive Help for Drug Abuse at Origins Texas Recovery
The true solution to your drug battles awaits at Origins Texas Recovery. We take the rigors and difficulties that are usually associated with rehab and turn them into a more enjoyable and blissful experience. You’ll learn firsthand about the joys of rehab and sobriety in all of our life-changing treatment programs. Connect with us to get the help you’ve always wanted.
