Sleeping pills help people get a good night’s sleep. But on the other side of the pillow is a potential for dependence and addiction.
Following prescription guidelines and staying in communication with your prescribing doctor can mitigate the risks of addiction, as can tapering off sleep medications as soon as you can. If you or someone you love develop an addiction to them, you have resources for healing.
Types of Sleeping Medications
Some sleeping medications you can buy over-the-corner, like melatonin and sleep aids with doxylamine or diphenhydramine (the active ingredient in Benadryl). These medications aren’t likely to cause addiction, though you can get used to your starting dose and need more and more to feel tired—signifying you’ve built a tolerance.
Prescribed sleeping pills are used to treat insomnia1, which is a sleep disorder that makes it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or both. Behavioral treatments (therapy) can also treat insomnia by addressing what’s keeping you up, like stress, trauma, or racing thoughts related to a condition like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Here are some common prescription sleeping pills:
Ambien
Lunesta
Sonata
Belsomra
Dayvigo
Sleeping pills broadly fall into these categories: sedative-hypnotics, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants, since some antidepressants have sedative effects.
Using any medication outside its prescription guidelines can come with dangers, but they can be especially prevalent for sleeping medications due to their sedative effects.
Physical Dangers
Since sleeping pills sedate people, taking too many at once can dangerously enhance those effects. You may sleep much longer than intended, find it extremely difficult to wake up, or in extreme cases, die from your central nervous system slowing too much. Overdosing can lead to a coma and heart failure or stopped breathing.
If you think you or someone else has taken too many sleeping pills, call 911 for emergency medical care or contact Poison Control.
Emotional Dangers
Becoming reliant on anything, sleeping pills included, can lead to anxiety and an overall worsening of mental health conditions. If you can’t take the pills, you may become too anxious to sleep, leading to a cycle of use even if you want to stop. Tapering can help with this.
Depending on which kind of sleeping pill you take, like an antidepressant versus a hypnotic, you could also experience new or worsening mental health conditions as a side effect of the medication.
Harm to Relationships
Addiction can alter priorities, making substance use more important than spending time with loved ones and maintaining relationships, personal and professional. This can damage those relationships over time.
Can You Overdose on Sleeping Pills?
Yes, you can overdose on sleeping pills. You can take too many of almost any pill, but the effects of a sleeping pill overdose can be especially pronounced due to their sedative nature. The more potent they are, the more easy an overdose becomes—which is why following prescription guidelines is so important.
Sleeping pills can react to other substances, like alcohol, and have a much stronger effect. For example, alcohol is also a central nervous system depressant, so having alcohol and sleeping pills can create a dangerous double-strength effect4 even at your usual dose. Be sure to read the warnings on your prescription bottle and ask your doctor about potential drug interactions.
If you think you or someone else has overdosed on sleeping pills, call 911 or your local emergency number.
Signs of Sleeping Pill Addiction
Someone who’s developed an addiction to sleeping pills typically will show a few key signs that you and other loved ones can look out for—or you might recognize these signs in yourself. In any scenario, identifying the need for help is the first big step in getting it.
Taking More Than The Prescribed Dose
For example, someone may have a prescribed dose of 10mg but take 50mg daily. Or, they might take 10mg throughout the day, multiple times daily.
For a stronger effect some people may crush up their sleeping pills and snort the powder, dilute it in water and inject it, or dissolve it into a drink for a quicker impact.
Negative Consequences, But an Inability to Stop
Someone who’s unable to stop taking sleeping pills despite clear negative consequences has likely developed an addiction. These consequences could include job loss, damage to relationships, negative health effects, and stress.
Frequently Under The Influence
Overusing sleeping pills can mean someone often seems under their influence—sleeping or sleepy, disoriented, woozy, and disconnected from reality. They may go about daily life in this state or isolate themselves to hide symptoms.
New Habits and Friend Groups
As procuring and taking sleeping pills becomes more imperative due to an addiction, people’s habits and friend groups can change in turn. For example, they may adopt new habits to hide or excuse their drug use, like taking walks at night that could actually be private time to take substances unseen or meet dealers.
New friend groups might include others in active addiction who can supply substances or connect people to more. At the least, these new friends may not discourage substance use, which can make them appealing substitutes for concerned friends and family.
Treatment Options for Misuse and Addiction
An addiction or dependence on sleeping pills can be treated, often with a tailored combination of behavioral therapies and medical care.
Behavioral Therapies
Therapy aims to reach the root of an addiction and pluck it. You’ll learn the purpose addiction serves in your life and how to address the issues and emotions that led to it, all in a safe and therapeutic space.
Therapy occurs 1:1 with a therapist or in group settings. Many rehabs and outpatient addiction programs offer a structured daily routine of therapy and skill-building to address core issues and build relapse prevention skills.
Medical Interventions
Medical care can help people detox from substances like sleeping pills, safely removing them from their body. Detoxing without medical care can be dangerous and even fatal, so be sure to get your doctor’s advice on the level of care you need for your symptoms. You can ask questions like
“What treatments will make my recovery as safe and comfortable as possible?”
“How can I improve my sleep without sleeping pills?”
“Do I need medical detox? If so, what are my next steps for that?”
“What lifestyle changes can I make to improve my physical and mental health as I recover?”
Support Groups
“Connection is the opposite of addiction”5 has been touted and found true in many instances. One of the best ways to find connection is through peer support groups like Pills Anonymous (12-Step-based) or SMART Recovery groups (non-12-Step). These groups occur worldwide, in-person or virtually. You can also find connection and support through religious organizations, your workplace, and other community settings (like sports and craft communities).
Find Help for Sleeping Pills Misuse and Addiction
With medical, therapeutic, and emotional support you can stop using sleeping pills, or cut down to a dose you and your doctor feel comfortable with. Your doctor can be your first point of care, guiding you to your various options and offering treatment. You can also go to a rehab that treats sleeping pill addiction. Use Recovery.com to find sleeping pill rehabs by what insurance you have, your location, desired amenities and more.
Some people, especially those in recovery, may worry about developing an addiction to antidepressants. Thankfully, antidepressant addiction doesn’t occur often, but it is a possibility at non-therapeutic doses. This is due to how they can affect and change the brain, leading to a dependence then compulsory use.
Anyone worried about their antidepressant use can bring their concerns to their doctor, who can start a tapering plan or even switch to a different type of antidepressant. Behavioral strategies, like therapy, can help people transition off antidepressants while still managing their symptoms.
What Are Antidepressants?
Antidepressants primarily treat depression1 and other mood disorders, plus conditions like obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). They work by balancing disruptions in neurotransmitters and boost the reception of serotonin, which can make people feel happier.
Antidepressants can have a variety of formulas and interact with different parts and systems within the brain. Your doctor and/or psychiatrist will aim to find the best match for you. A genetic test can help you pinpoint good matches. Sometimes, people cycle through a few antidepressants to find the one that works best.
Interestingly, many antidepressants have off-label uses for conditions besides mood disorders. For example, trazodone can help people fall asleep1. Some other antidepressants help patients with chronic pain.
Nausea, especially for the first couple weeks after starting the medication. In most cases, it goes away.
Sexual dysfunction.
Headaches.
SNRIs
Serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) work similarly to SSRIs1, but also block the reuptake of norepinephrine, not just serotonin. Doing this helps various synapses in your brain access more of these neurotransmitters, making you feel better. Norepinephrine triggers the central nervous system’s fight-or-flight response, leading to anxiety and panic disorders if these triggers don’t come when needed. SNRIs can reduce symptoms of both depression and anxiety.
SNRI brand names include Cymbalta, Pristiq, Effexor, and Fetzima. They can cause most of the same side effects as SSRIs, like:
Nausea that typically goes away after a week or so.
Someone taking antidepressants for the sensation of being high may dissolve several pills in water and inject it using a syringe, take multiple pills orally, or crush them into a powder and snort it. To maintain their high dosing, they might request refills sooner than needed, take out prescriptions through multiple doctors, or request higher and higher doses without a demonstrated need.
Sadly, some people misuse antidepressants with the intent of taking their lives. In 2011 nearly every emergency room visit for a drug-induced suicide attempt came from prescribed medications; 20% of those overdoses involved antidepressants5, the highest percentage after prescribed opioids.
Antidepressants can cause withdrawal symptoms7, which raises an argument for their addictive potential since people may need to keep taking the substance to avoid withdrawals, similar to opioids and other addictive substances. Tapering plans can prevent uncomfortable withdrawals.
If you’re worried a loved one struggles with an antidepressant addiction, you can watch for signs and start an open-minded conversation. If you’re worried about your antidepressant use, you can bring your concerns to your doctor and look for signs of addiction in your own life.
Some key signs of an antidepressant addiction include:
Taking more than their prescribed dose. For example, you may notice they take three pills when the prescription bottle only says to take one.
An inability to stop taking the pills, even if negative health, work, or relationship consequences arise.
Spending excessive time and money to procure antidepressants.
Treatment Options for Addiction
If you’re struggling with an antidepressant addiction or any drug or alcohol addiction, you have resources available for recovery. Treatment options broadly fall into 2 categories: inpatient and outpatient care.
Inpatient Care
Inpatient treatment includes treatment in a hospital (often for acute withdrawal needs or overdoses) or attending a residential rehab. At rehab, you’ll live with peers and receive treatment from clinical staff, who monitor your health and emotional needs around the clock.
Each day often follows a structure, with time for therapy (group therapy, 1:1 sessions with your therapist, and family therapy), fun activities, peer meetings, and downtime. Rehabs last 28+ days, aiming to treat both mental and physical needs for comprehensive healing. You’ll also learn relapse prevention strategies and get connected with outpatient levels of care, if desired, to continue your healing journey.
Outpatient Care
In short, outpatient care is the treatment you attend without living at a treatment facility. You return home after treatment and have more flexibility to work, attend school, and meet family needs. Outpatient care could include
Day treatment, where you undergo therapeutic treatment and practice practical recovery skills for 5-7 days a week. Sessions often last 5-7 hours daily, making day treatment the most intensive version of outpatient care.
In intensive outpatient programs (IOPs), you attend treatment 3-4 days weekly for about 3 hours a day. These also offer therapy, peer support, and an encouraging and supportive recovery environment but with a less intensive schedule.
General outpatient can include 1-2 weekly group therapy sessions, lasting an hour or so each.
Regular 1:1 therapy sessions with a therapist. You may see them once a week, once every two weeks, or at the cadence best fit to your recovery needs.
Help from Your Doctors
As medication prescribers, your primary care physician (PHP) and/or psychiatrist can also help you. They can ensure that, going forward, all antidepressant prescriptions are carefully considered and that you have a clear plan for how to take them without risking addiction.
For example, your doctor may only prescribe a week’s worth and set up regular appointments to check in and monitor your use. Or you can work out a plan with loved ones, like a spouse or parent, to keep your medications locked in a safe. This can also be a preventative measure for people struggling with suicidal thoughts or with a history of suicidal ideation and attempts.
At your appointment, you can ask questions like,
“What is the addictive potential of this medication?”
“Are there other medications with less addictive potential that I could try first?”
“What signs should I look out for that mean this medication isn’t a good fit?”
“What can I do if I start to feel like I’m relying on it too much?”
Find Treatment for Drug Misuse
Recovery exists for all types of addictions, including antidepressant addiction. Treatment can help you navigate the underlying causes of addiction and address emotional struggles with healthy coping strategies and new behaviors. You can use Recovery.com to find prescription drug treatment centers and see their insurance information, reviews, photos, and more.
Barbiturates are sedative-hypnotic drugs primarily used for seizure disorders, anxiety, insomnia, and drug withdrawal symptoms in babies. Using them regularly (especially outside prescription guidelines) can lead to dependence and, eventually, addiction.
Like all other addictions, you can recover from a barbiturate addiction with the appropriate care and support.
What Are Barbiturates?
Barbiturates are sedative-hypnotics1, meaning they cause sedation and sleepiness. They’re often used to control seizures and unwanted muscle twitches, treat insomnia, and relieve anxiety. Doctors prescribe them; you won’t find barbiturates for sale in grocery stores or pharmacies, like ibuprofen or Tylenol. You need a prescription, including instructions on when to take the pill, how much to take, and potential side effects.
Barbiturates can be addictive, often for those who take more than their prescribed dose and for longer than they should. You can build a tolerance to their effects, meaning you need to take more and more to get the same impact.
Factors Contributing to Barbiturate Misuse and Addiction
Certain factors can make addiction more likely, though not a guarantee in any sense.
Higher Doses
If you’re on a notably high dose of a barbiturate, it can have a stronger effect that your brain more quickly adapts to and grows dependent on. The same goes for medications like opioids and benzodiazepines.
Your genes can predispose you to addiction. Epigenetics (changes to how your body reads genetic code) can account for this, or it could simply be the genes you inherit. But it’s vital to note many factors lead to addiction, not just your genes.
Other more long-term consequences include job loss, homelessness, physical illness, new or worsening mental health conditions, and an inability to maintain good relationships with loved ones. As addiction takes a stronger hold, other areas of life inevitably fall away.
Treatment can restore these aspects and your overall well-being.
Treatment for Barbiturate Addiction
The first step in getting treatment will likely be setting up an appointment with your primary care doctor; or, you can start by reaching out to drug rehab and admit to their program for detox services and therapies targeted at comprehensive recovery.
Detox
Medical detox removes toxins from your body. This step is especially important for barbiturates as their withdrawal symptoms can be deadly3. Providers will likely use a tailored blend of medications to make the detox process safe and comfortable, preparing you for the next step: therapeutic care.
Therapy
Therapy gets to the heart of addictions, helping you discover what drives it emotionally and how you can cope with distress in new ways. You’ll likely meet with a therapist 1:1 and with other patients in group therapy. Many drug treatment programs also offer family therapy, or you can seek it out yourself. Common therapies include
Cognitive behavioral therapy, which often uses ‘homework’ and practical strategies to catch and challenge untrue thoughts leading to distress, retraining your brain to help you heal.
Dialectical behavioral therapy focuses more on adapting to thoughts and adjusting how you react to them, rather than challenging them with another belief. Coursework and group support are key components.
Attending support groups can maintain your progress once you graduate from drug rehab or outpatient care for addiction. These types of peer support groups can include 12-Step-based groups, like Pills Anonymous (PA), or secular groups not associated with the 12 Steps.
Any social activity can also support your recovery by surrounding you with people who want you to get better and/or maintain your progress. For example, you could schedule regular meetings with friends and commit to calling a loved one every day.
Find a Prescription Drug Rehab Center
Many rehabs recognize barbiturates as one of the most addictive drugs and offer comprehensive care centered on long-term recovery. At a prescription drug rehab you’ll stay in a recovery-conducive environment for 28+ days, with each structured week filled with therapeutic care, activities, relapse prevention training, aftercare planning, and more.
It’s an issue that deserves more attention. In this article, we’ll cover what inhalants are, what they do, and the many available treatment options.
What Are Inhalants?
In short, inhalants are chemicals people inhale to get a high. These include many household products, all of which people can buy cheaply, easily, and legally. Here are a few of the most common inhalants:
Super glue
Felt-tipped markers
Paint thinners
Nail polish
Gasoline
Lighter fluid
Degreasers
People can buy most of the above items at a supermarket. General use of them, like painting your nails with nail polish, won’t result in a high. But purposefully inhaling the fumes can1.
To do this, people use a few different techniques:
Huffing: Soaking a rag in the substance and putting it over the mouth and nose while breathing in.
Bagging: Spraying the substance into a plastic bag and putting it over the head, then breathing in.
Though inhalants only produce a short-term high, it’s relatively easy (and again, cheap) to re-dose and stay high. This continuous redosing and moving to stronger products can alter the reward pathways and other neurochemical operations in the brain1. These changes can lead to a physical and emotional dependence.
Inhalant Use and Addiction Statistics
A study reports2, “More than 22 million Americans age 12 and older have used inhalants, and every year, more than 750,000 use inhalants for the first time.” This correlates to 9% of the population ages 12 and older. For every general inhalant user, around 6-8% meet criteria for an inhalant use disorder2.
However, inhalant use has been on the decline3, with a more recent report from 2023 saying, “less than 1% of people ages 12 and older reported using inhalants at least once in the past year.”
Inhalants can also cause chemical burns on the mouth and nose. The pleasurable effects wear off quickly, which can prompt multiple redoses.
Long-term Effects
Inhalants can have particularly grievous long-term effects2 on people’s physical and mental health. Some effects can reverse with cessation, but the damage can be life-long and can have deadly complications. These dangers go unreported, meaning most users, especially kids, don’t know what they’re risking.
This list, though long, captures just a handful of the effects of inhalant use.
Cognitive deficits, including memory loss and learning difficulties
Poor judgment
Loss of brain cells and white matter, which can lead to various neurological disorders
Damage to brain cells
Organ failure, typically the liver, heart, and kidneys
Inhalant withdrawal symptoms closely resemble alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawals, though experiencing withdrawal symptoms from inhalants isn’t very common1. It’s more likely to happen in those who’ve taken inhalants for an extended period of time and in high doses. Symptoms of inhalant withdrawal include:
Vomiting
Jitters
Irritability
Hallucinations
Insomnia
Delusions
Treatment Options for Inhalant Addiction
Many treatment centers don’t offer specific programs for inhalant use recovery; rather, they apply the practices and concepts used for general drug addiction recovery. As practitioners become more aware of inhalant use, especially in adolescents, specialized programs will hopefully crop up at treatment centers worldwide.
Treatment options for drug addiction, and thus inhalant use disorder, include the following.
Rehab
Rehabs involve staying at a treatment facility to uncover and treat the behavioral, psychological, and physical effects of inhalant use. You’ll likely work with therapists 1:1 and in group settings; many rehabs offer family therapy too. Days in treatment typically involve a blend of therapy, group activities, downtime, and extracurricular outings (like hiking or going to the beach.)
Rehabs typically offer detox services to treat withdrawal symptoms in a safe medical environment. You’ll also learn relapse prevention strategies and leave with coping tools for challenging emotions. Stays typically last 28-60 days but can extend longer.
Day Treatment and Intensive Outpatient
Day treatment and intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) offer treatment for less intensive needs. For example, in day treatment, you spend 5-8 hours a day in treatment, 5-7 days weekly, but go home afterward. You’ll still engage in 1:1, group, and potentially family therapies, but without intensive monitoring and structured activities beyond your therapeutic care.
Intensive outpatient programs follow the same setup but with less time spent in treatment. Often 3-4 days weekly for a couple hours a day. Day treatment and IOPs can serve as step-down levels of care for those coming from rehab or as primary treatment for those with less intensive needs.
Therapy and Peer Support
Attending therapy regularly can address the underlying issues leading to inhalant use. Your therapist can help you identify unhelpful beliefs and thought patterns that lead to inhalant use and practical strategies to alter how you respond to difficult emotions. Building a collection of coping tools and behavioral strategies can strengthen your recovery long-term.
Peer support includes peer recovery meetings, where people in recovery meet to connect and hold each other accountable. Peers provide support and often form strong friendships that can be vital in recovery. You can search for 12-Step or SMART Recovery groups near you to find a meeting.
Find Help for Inhalant Use and Addiction
Inhalant use is highly treatable. Many of the negative physical and mental effects wear off with cessation, meaning treatment can help you feel better fast. Therapy can help address underlying triggers and causes for inhalant use, while relapse prevention strategies prepare you to live confidently in recovery. Use Recovery.com to find a treatment center that fits your needs. You’ll find photos, reviews, insurance information and more, all in one place.
Rolling a blunt one too many times can roll into a problem. Marijuana has the potential for addiction and bodily harm, and with it becoming legal in some states, now poses an even greater risk.
Many people use weed regularly without understanding the possible risks. We’ll explore those here, plus signs of marijuana addiction and how to get treatment.
People typically smoke the dried leaves of the cannabis plant or the resin of its flowers. A rolled-up ‘cigarette’ of marijuana is called a blunt; some people roll and smoke their own or buy premade blunts. To smoke the more potent resin, people use bongs. People can also take edibles that take longer to set in but have longer-lasting effects (for example, pot brownies.)
You can quickly build a tolerance to marijuana, meaning you need to take more to experience the same effects as your first experience. Taking more and more further alters your brain. Soon, you can start craving marijuana and experiencing intense urges to take it, until it becomes consuming and starts having pronounced negative effects on your life.
Marijuana has immediate and long-term effects. People often take marijuana for its immediate effects; to relax, fall asleep, or center their focus. Different strains of marijuana give different highs1, known as head or body highs. A head high is more conducive to focus while body highs offer a pronounced sense of relaxation.
Immediate Effects
After taking marijuana, you’ll likely experience
A strong sense of relaxation and calm
Miscalculating time and distance
Paranoia
Red, bloodshot eyes
Food cravings
The initial effects of weed7 can last 2-10 hours, depending on its potency. Some people enjoy the effects, while others experience intense anxiety, paranoia, psychosis, and panic attacks.
Respiratory conditions from smoking, like bronchitis or regular coughing
Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, which means continuous vomiting
Poor concentration
Poor coordination
Cognitive and executive dysfunction
The longer someone uses marijuana, and the more they take it, the more intense the long-term effects can be. For example, someone who has smoked marijuana once a week for several years likely won’t experience the same slew of negative effects as someone who’s smoked daily for the last decade.
Signs of Marijuana Use
Someone who’s ingested marijuana will show a few key signs, both physically and psychologically.
Physical Signs
Red eyes, like they’ve been crying or rubbing at them.
Seeming disconnected from reality, out of it.
Unusually relaxed and giggly.
Talking slowly and not comprehending when other people talk.
Smelling of weed, which has a mossy, skunky odor.
Psychological Signs
Someone may show psychological signs of marijuana use, either in addition to or instead of physical signs. Examples include
Some people use marijuana to self-medicate anxiety and unease. These symptoms, and a host of other psychological symptoms, can occur once they stop.
Irritability
Restlessness
Discomfort and agitation
Pronounced return of anxiety as regular symptoms combine with withdrawals
Treatment Options for Marijuana Misuse and Addiction
Treatment options for marijuana addiction abound. You can go to a residential rehab, where you’ll stay for 28+ days to address underlying emotional issues and build coping strategies to maintain recovery outside treatment.
Rehabs typically combine 2 elements of care: behavioral and medical. You can access this care at an outpatient level, too, separately or concurrently.
Behavioral Treatment
Therapy addresses the thoughts and feelings leading to marijuana use and, subsequently, marijuana addiction. For example, if your marijuana use started as a way to relax and mitigate anxiety, you’ll find a new approach to managing symptoms through therapies like CBT, DBT, and PE. Here’s what those mean:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and challenging untrue thoughts or beliefs before they can affect your emotional state and lead to unhealthy coping measures.
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) still helps you identify harmful thoughts and beliefs but focuses on accepting them, rather than challenging them, and managing your responses.
Prolonged exposure9 (PE) works by exposing you to a trigger to help you become desensitized to it. People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can find PE particularly effective for managing the intense emotional responses to triggers that might lead to substance use.
Holistic therapies can help, too. Many people benefit from a blend of evidence-based therapies, like the ones above, and holistic approaches like art therapy, yoga, and creative writing.
Intervening early is one of the best ways to prevent addiction. This applies to all drugs, marijuana included. The sooner someone takes steps to stop their use, the easier and less disruptive returning to sobriety can be. The intervention may come from within, from healthcare professionals, or loved ones.
Family Support Systems
Family members are often the first to notice a loved one’s struggle with marijuana use and addiction. Because of this, they can be the first to intervene through a formal intervention or a more casual conversation voicing their concerns and asking how they can help. How you approach the situation depends on your unique circumstances.
Family members (chosen family or related) also serve as a crucial support system in recovery. Education on addiction, mental health, and recovery can help them become stronger allies for their loved one’s healing.
Professional Help
A myriad of professionals can help people with a marijuana addiction recover. Your first stop may be your primary care provider, or the doctor you see for regular check-ups and arising health needs. They can guide you to the next steps in your treatment and recommend an effective path for you. This may include inpatient care or outpatient services, like therapy.
Therapists can alleviate the emotional factors contributing to marijuana use and addiction, using proven evidence-based methods (or holistic therapies) to treat disorders like anxiety, depression, and trauma. With these underlying causes addressed, you’re less likely to feel a desire for marijuana.
Attending a residential rehab or outpatient treatment for marijuana addiction offers a comprehensive healing package. Regular therapy sessions can too, as can peer support groups like 12-Step meetings or SMART Recovery meetings.
Find Rehab Centers for Marijuana Addiction
Many drug rehabs treat marijuana addiction, offering different approaches, therapies, and amenities to treat the causes and symptoms of addiction. The best rehab is the one that’s right for you. You can use Recovery.com to find marijuana rehabs and see their insurance information, photos, reviews, and more all in one place.
Relaxing without alcohol is entirely achievable by exploring healthier and more fulfilling alternatives. From engaging in physical activities like yoga and walking to practicing mindfulness through meditation or journaling, there are countless ways to unwind. Creative hobbies, such as painting or playing music, and social connections, like spending quality time with friends or joining a club, can also bring relaxation and joy. These alternatives not only reduce stress but also promote long-term well-being, proving that relaxation doesn’t have to come in a glass
1. Deep Breathing and Relaxation Techniques
In moments of stress, breathing is powerful. Data shows that breath control has huge benefits,1 both physically and psychologically.
Deep breathing techniques,2 in particular, can help your body relax. These practices stimulate your relaxation response, which has a direct effect on your physical health. Experts say deep breathing can stabilize your blood pressure, and may even improve immune system activity. Deep, diaphragmatic breathing3—or, belly breathing—can also reduce stress and negative emotions. It may even improve your attention span.
Here’s one technique you can try:
Rest your hand on your belly as you take slow, deep breaths in and out. Notice how it feels to breathe, both in your lungs and as your breath moves your hand. Continue this exercise for as long as you like. Try to observe your own experience without judgment.
Mindful meditation can take many forms. For instance, you can sit quietly with your eyes closed and focus on your breath. But that technique doesn’t work for everyone. You can also look around and take note of your environment, or pay attention to how your body feels while you go for a walk. Some people meditate in groups, sharing their experiences in daily or weekly sessions. Many people who are new to meditation find it helpful to use guided meditations or guided imagery. You can think of meditation as a therapeutic coping mechanism, a spiritual practice, or anything else that works for you.
You’ll start by sitting or lying in a comfortable position. Then you’ll tense a single muscle or muscle group, bringing your attention to that area. It’s important to keep breathing, and not tense your muscles so much you injure yourself. Sometimes just a little tension is enough. Next, you’ll slowly release the tension and notice how it makes you feel, both physically and emotionally. You can repeat this process with muscles anywhere in your body. PMR sessions normally last 10-15 minutes.
4. Physical Activities
If you’re wondering how to take the edge off without alcohol, physical activities are a great place to start. Any type of aerobic exercise reduces alcohol cravings.6 Just moving your body and increasing heart rate can make a big difference right away.
Dopamine is a naturally occurring neurochemical that allows you to feel a sense of accomplishment. Addiction affects dopamine,8 and regulating this neurotransmitter is a very important part of healing. Regular exercise doesn’t only improve your physical health; it also helps your mind relax and recover.
Exercise isn’t accessible to everyone, but there are countless ways to engage your body. If you’re still recovering from the physical impact of addiction, you might need to move slowly at first. Talk to your doctor about which types of physical activity would be safe at each point in your healing process.
5. Yoga and Its Calming Effects on the Mind and Body
A growing body of research shows that yoga can help you commit to addiction recovery.9 This practice combines elements of exercise, mindful meditation, and spirituality. Many rehab centers offer yoga, and you can easily find classes in most areas or online.
Yoga promotes relaxation10 and improves your overall physical health. Experts believe that “yoga and meditation practices exert positive influence on addictive behaviors.”
6: Fidget Spinners
When energy builds up and demands an outlet, instead of drinking to subdue energy you can reach for something as simple as a fidget spinner, slime, or other fidget toy to release tension and free your mind. You can find a myriad of options on Amazon.
Keep a few fidget toys in your purse or pocket, and bring them to work to have on-hand at a moment’s notice. Some fidget toys provide sensory stimulation through pressure or texture, like bumpy rings or a thick dough you can knead to help yourself unwind and relax.
7: Balance Boards
Using something like an Indo Board requires your focus and attention, which can serve as an excellent way to destress by giving your brain and body a fun distraction. Balance boards command coordination and control, similar to surfing or riding a skateboard.
Incorporating balance boards into your daily routine, or taking it out each time you feel the urge to drink, can become an enjoyable part of your recovery journey.
8. Spending Time in Nature for Relaxation and Stress Relief
And when it comes to relaxing without alcohol consumption, this strategy is especially helpful. Data shows that spending time outdoors can help you recover from alcohol addiction.12 This is also a great way to connect with other people. For example, you could go camping with friends or join a local hiking group.
9. Creative Outlets
Artistic pursuits like painting, drawing, or crafting can be very therapeutic. What’s more, they offer an emotional outlet. This is extremely important during addiction recovery, when you might still be learning new coping skills.
Creativity reduces stress13 and anxiety and improves overall well-being. Data shows these activities can also benefit your physical health. Subjects in several studies reported reductions in chronic pain, fatigue, and sleep problems after working on creative projects.
10. Reading Books
While it might look passive from the outside, reading is an extremely creative activity. Think about what happens in your mind when you read. You might see images in your head, draw connections to your own life, or just imagine how it feels to be somewhere else.
Experts at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) explain that reading is “a healthy escape.”14 It lets you take a break from the stress of daily life without the negative effects of alcohol. Reading can also enrich your inner world, exposing you to new ideas and perspectives. By practicing this coping strategy, you can learn new ones at the same time.
11. Writing and Journaling
Writing—and especially journaling about your life—is a great way to process your thoughts and feelings. Studies show that writing can support recovery from alcohol addiction.15 Specifically, it can boost your self-confidence and stimulate new brain activity. If you join a writing group, it can also help you connect with other people.
Writing is an extremely accessible creative outlet. Unlike painting or crafting, you don’t need to invest in any specialized supplies. It’s also easy to keep your work private, even if you write in public places. This is a great way to explore your deepest feelings in a protected space. And if you ever want to, there are also plenty of ways to share your writing with the world.
Pouring a glass was my pause button, and then I’d have a huge spike in anxiety after heavy drinking that negates all of the benefits. Reframing how you relax is essential; you need a new off button, and there are alternatives without the hangover effect
-Amanda U.
12. Self-Care Practices
Self-care might sound like a passing trend, but there’s a reason everyone’s doing it. These small rituals can improve your relationship with yourself. You are more than the roles you play in other people’s lives. You could be the best employee, boss, parent, friend, or hiking buddy anyone has ever had—but who are you to yourself?
Simple activities, like taking a relaxing Epsom salt bath or painting your nails, can make a big difference. These practices let you give and receive love at the same time. They can also be relaxing, satisfying, and just plain fun.
There’s much more to self-care than pampering yourself. You can also think of going to therapy or eating well as forms of self-care. For many people in recovery, these activities are non-negotiable. Once you find the strategies that work best for you, look for ways to build them into your daily routine.
Friends and family can provide emotional support and hold you accountable in every phase of your healing journey. You can also ask them to invite you out to try new sober activities. If your loved ones enjoy a certain hobby, you might just like it too.
Any addiction, but especially high-functioning alcohol addiction, can interfere with your relationships. Maybe you isolated yourself to hide your addiction from your loved ones. Or maybe your close friends encourage you to keep drinking. In any case, you might have to rebuild your community during recovery. Consider joining a support group or attending a local meet-up to connect with people who share your values.
14. Engaging in Puzzles, Brain-Teasers, and Crosswords
Puzzles and brain-teasers are easy to find. You can play sudoku online, download an app like Tetris, or do a new crossword puzzle every morning. These games keep your mind engaged, helping you relax while you enjoy a simple challenge.
15. Music and Audio
Music is a powerful tool for regulating your feelings. Studies show that listening to music activates the limbic system,18 which is the part of your brain that controls emotion and memory. Different types of music have different emotional impacts, depending on the tempo, volume, and genre. You might also associate certain pieces of music with different times in your life.
When you’re first learning how to relax without alcohol, you can explore different types of music to see what works for you. Instrumental pieces or nature sounds might help you unwind. In addition to music, you might try listening to podcasts or audiobooks.
16. Aromatherapy and Scented Relaxation
It’s no secret that alcohol can be addictive. That’s partly because drinking affects all of your senses, including your emotional responses. While that may be enjoyable in the short term, alcohol abuse just isn’t sustainable.
Relaxing without alcohol can also be a full-body experience. Engaging your sense of smell can help you create a soothing environment. You could take a bath with essential oils, light a scented candle, or put a diffuser on your desk at work. Various scents also have unique emotional effects. For example, studies show that lavender decreases anxiety.19
17. Cultivating a Positive Mindset
Positive thinking can help you heal from alcohol20 abuse. But there’s a fine line between cultivating optimism and invalidating your feelings. With the right support, you can learn to strike a balance.
When you first enter treatment, it might take effort to look on the bright side. But as you continue to heal, your confidence will likely go up. You can also learn how to interrupt negative thought patterns in therapy. This becomes a positive feedback loop. As you make more progress, it often gets easier to maintain your recovery.
18. Quiet Reflection
This coping strategy is a lot like meditation, but it can be more accessible. For example, meditation can be triggering for some trauma survivors.21 And even if you love to meditate, you might not be able to use this skill while you’re driving a car.
Quietly reflecting on your own life helps you put recent events in perspective. Consider how far you’ve come in your recovery journey. What coping strategies are currently working for you, and what could use an update?
Try letting your mind wander for a set period of time—like 10 minutes, or for however long it takes you to wash the dishes. Take notes on any revelations so you can share them with your therapist. Then, bring yourself back to the present moment. This practice can offer valuable insight, but it’s important not to get lost in thinking about your past.
19. Practicing Gratitude
In certain stages of recovery, gratitude can help you sustain abstinence.22 Data shows that engaging in a regular practice of gratitude improves levels of satisfaction, optimism, and hope. It also improves sleep and reduces depressive symptoms. At first glance, the benefits seem endless.
There’s one caveat here. Researchers note that if you’re still actively abusing alcohol, a gratitude practice may not help you recover. In fact, it can have the opposite effect. According to one study, “if the client does not want to change or is ambivalent about change, a gratitude practice might affirm what is good in life while currently drinking.”
Once you start treatment, writing about gratitude23 can be extremely helpful. This practice helps you focus on positive experiences, putting more energy into the things that bring you joy. It might also help you connect with other people, especially if you decide to share your writing.
Caring for plants can also give you a sense of accomplishment. There’s nothing like eating a meal with vegetables you grew yourself. And if you join a community garden, you can use this hobby to build strong relationships.
21: Sleep-Inducing Supplements
Though alcohol can make you feel sleepy for a bit, it actually prevents you from getting good sleep. Healthier alternatives, like sleep supplements, can improve how much you sleep and the quality of it.
Supplements for sleep include melatonin, ashwagandha, valerian root, and magnesium, plus many others. Check with your doctor to ensure any of these supplements won’t interact poorly with other medications, or impact pre-existing conditions you may have.
These natural ways to relax typically aren’t addictive or harmful, meaning you can take them as long as you need.
Preparing and drinking an alcoholic drink at night can bring the same comfort as the ritual of a morning coffee. Losing this part of your life can be hard. But you can keep the ritual and all its comforts by replacing alcohol with a non-alcoholic drink.
If you live with someone else, see if they might want to join your new ritual too. This can function simultaneously as check-in time with a loved one.
These are just some of the options you can try, adapting flavors and recipes to your preferences:
Sparkling waters—try add-ins like fruit, herbs, or liquid water enhancers.
Tea, especially relaxing blends with chamomile.
Hot chocolate.
Kombucha.
Tart fruit juices, like cranberry or pomegranate juice, can replace the flavors of wine.
Non-caffeinated sodas.
Mocktails that include the ingredients of an alcoholic drink, but without the alcohol. You can also buy pre-made mocktails or 0-proof liquors.
Coloring books aren’t just for kids anymore. People of all ages can benefit from the relaxing, de-stressing qualities of coloring. Adult coloring books vary from children’s in that they’re a little more complex in their designs, and with shapes and scenes adults would find more appealing. When you’re done you can even frame the piece.
Coloring in shapes requires no artistic abilities to shade or mix colors. Simply buy a pack of markers or crayons and start filling in the lines.
24: Dabble in New Hobbies
Try as many new hobbies as you can to give yourself a collection of calming activities to alter between. Some may be more relaxing, like knitting, or require more focus and attention, like building Legos or model airplane sets. Switching between hobbies and having multiple to choose from can alleviate both boredom and stress.
Here are a few hobbies you could try to relax and wind down:
Crocheting blankets, washcloths, or making stuffed animals.
Deep cleaning.
Pottery–make yourself plates, mugs, bowls, and decorations.
Jewelry making.
Metal detecting (this also helps you spend more time in nature).
Upcycling thrifted clothes.
Embroidery.
Arranging and pressing flowers.
There are countless ways to relax without drinking. The important thing is to choose activities that resonate with you. When you genuinely enjoy what you’re doing, it becomes easier to stay present, instead of trying to escape through addiction.
Learn more about treatment at alcohol rehab centers to get the support you need in any stage of recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Relax Without Alcohol
How can I relax without alcohol?
It’s entirely possible to relax without alcohol through various methods, such as deep breathing, mindful meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, physical activities, yoga, spending time in nature, and creative outlets like art and writing.
How does engaging in creative activities help in relaxing without alcohol?
Engaging in creative activities like painting, drawing, crafting, reading, and writing offers a therapeutic outlet for emotions and stress relief. These activities help you stay positive, improve your overall well-being, and support addiction recovery by promoting self-expression and diverting your focus from alcohol.
Celebrities have the unique ability to reduce mental health stigma with just a quote or two about their experiences. Many well-known celebrities, like Emma Stone and Howie Mandel, exercise this ability to show 1) mental health issues don’t discriminate and 2) how they healed, and that recovery exists for everyone.
We’ll cover a few of the many celebrities changing the narratives about mental health and championing the freedom to heal openly.
Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen is a model and muse for her husband, singer John Legend. She’s also opened up to the public about her struggles with postpartum depression. Despite support from her family, fame, and fortune, she found herself unable to control or lessen her symptoms.
Chrissy spoke up about her struggles to show how “postpartum does not discriminate,” even though she “has a good life.”
Selena Gomez
Singer and actress Selena Gomez has experienced depression, anxiety, and anxiety attacks. She posits them as side effects of, and exacerbated by, her medical condition, lupus. Her mental health led her to take a break from performing and speak up about her struggles, saying, “I know I am not alone by sharing this, I hope others will be encouraged to address their own issues.”
Emma Stone
Actress Emma Stone began experiencing anxiety and overwhelming anxiety attacks at a young age. For three years, the debilitating attacks and constant anxiety of something going wrong plagued her. She’s since learned to use her “big emotions” as an acting superpower and credits acting for helping her manage the anxiety.
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson, known more commonly as The Rock, is an actor and boxer. He’s tall and buff and stars in action movies, comedies, and children’s films. He’s also publicly acknowledged his struggles with mental health and the importance of maintaining mental well-being. By opening up about his struggles with depression, he hopes to give hope to others struggling and be the voice to tell them, “Hey, it’s gonna be OK. It’ll be OK.”
Lizzo
Body-positive rapper and singer Lizzo has spoken about her challenges with mental health, specifically after coming to fame. She notes, “My anxiety didn’t go away. My depression didn’t go away.”
She’s taken to social media to document her struggles, bring fans into her healing, and acknowledge her progress, recently saying she’s much happier now than before.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga experienced depression and anxiety at the sudden soar of her success as a musician and singer. She remembers little of this time, besides it being “traumatizing.” Now, she’s using resources like antidepressants to stabilize her mood and speaks out about her experience. She says,
“I openly admit to having battled depression and anxiety and I think a lot of people do. I think it’s better when we all say: ‘Cheers!’ And ‘fess up to it.”
Adele
Singer Adele has wowed listeners for years with her powerful voice and deep lyrics, but has also opened up to how mental health issues have impacted her career. She struggles with depression and experienced postpartum depression after the birth of her son. Talking about it was daunting at first, like it was for Chrissy Teigen, but she believes this openness can reduce stigma and embarrassment.
Miley Cyrus
Singer, actress, and former Disney star Miley Cyrus has opened up about her depression and how it affects her. She acknowledges it is out of her control and unrelated to her lifestyle and status as a superstar, but recognizes she can help others by talking about it. She says,
“There’s not much that I’m closed off about, and the universe gave me all that so I could help people feel like they don’t have to be something they’re not or feel like they have to fake happy.”
Jared Padalecki
Despite the fame and acceptance actor Jared Padelecki experienced from a young age, he still struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts—even with career success, good friendships, and a strong fanbase. He notes how mental illness doesn’t discriminate, saying,
“It’s not just people who can’t find a job, or can’t fit in society that struggle with depression sometimes.”
Lili Reinhart
Actress Lili Reinhart’s struggles with anxiety peaked as she tried to navigate the world of auditions, hoping for roles and her non-acting life. Her anxiety became so severe it impacted her ability to work and made her physically unwell. She’s also spoken on social media about body image and her experiences in the spotlight, helping others (especially young girls) realize it’s okay to struggle and it’s okay to ask for help.
Kristin Bell
Depression is different than sadness, which actress Kristin Bell highlights after struggling with the condition. She describes it as much more than needing a hug or just “shaking off” the feeling, but rather needing professional help to challenge her thoughts and feel like herself again.
By voicing her experience, she hopes to validate others’ feelings and help them get the care they need. She says, “It’s important for me to be candid about this so people in a similar situation can realize that they are not worthless and that they do have something to offer. We all do.”
Gwyneth Paltrow
Famous for her wellness brand Goop and her skills as an actress, Gwyneth Paltrow has also come out to share her struggles with postpartum depression and how her experience differed widely from common perceptions. Rather than crying everyday and being unable to take care of her baby, she instead felt like a “zombie, unable to access emotions.”
Gwyneth notes, “But there are different shades of it and depths of it, which is why I think it’s so important for women to talk about it. It was a trying time. I felt like a failure.”
Howie Mandel
Comedian and actor Howie Mandel judges America’s Got Talent and advocates for more accessible and affordable mental health treatment. He was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in his 40s, though the condition began early in his childhood. Receiving a diagnosis and beginning treatment validated his experiences and relieved the weight of managing it on his own.
Since his diagnosis, Howie strives to reduce the stigma around mental health conditions, particularly OCD, and help others get the care he needed.
Prince Harry
British royal Prince Harry has talked publicly about the effects of losing his mother, Princess Diana, and navigating grief and trauma in the public eye. He spent decades holding in his emotions and presenting a positive front, which he says strained his relationships and work. Now, he’s more upfront with his emotions and less focused on masking them.
Lil Wayne
Rapper Lil Wayne revealed he struggled with depression and loneliness as a young kid. He also disclosed the bullet wound by his heart, once called an accident, was actually the product of a suicide attempt. Lil Wayne rose to fame not long after the attempt, which he said didn’t cure his depression or loneliness.
But he feels better now than ever before, and wants others to know they can get better. He says, “(I’m) hoping I can help anyone else out there who’s dealing with mental health problems by… being vulnerable. To me, I look at it by being brave and stepping up.”
Why Is Addressing Mental Health Important?
Stigma thrives in silence and misconceptions. Speaking on mental health issues shows what the experience is really like—and that people heal. Celebrities set an example when they share their struggles, championing for vulnerability and community and showing that mental health conditions typically break the stereotypes that lead to stigma.
Destigmatizing mental health conditions can encourage more people to seek help and view their mental wellbeing as a crucial aspect of their overall health. Both are vital components to recovery.
Find Treatment For Mental Health
Imagine your favorite actor or singer telling you they struggle with the same mental health condition you do. Discovering this connection point, and seeing how they’ve navigated the condition, can inspire hope and the willingness to get treatment. People heal in many different ways, and there’s a path for everyone.
College is where you start new things—new classes, new friendships, new relationships, new jobs, and, for some, drugs and addiction. Many young adults experiment with substances in high school or college, which can lead to more intense use in college; potentially, addiction.
College students tend to use drugs most accessible to them. We’ll cover the 7 most common drugs used in college, emerging trends, and how students can find treatment.
Alcohol: The Top Contender
Alcohol ranks #1 as the top-used drug in college1, with well over half of students reporting they drink. It’s easily accessible, cheap, and found outside class in most (if not all) social settings. College parties and campus Greek culture notoriously include alcohol, often consumed in excess by students with a low tolerance.
Parties are a regular part of college culture, occurring on game days, weekends, and… spontaneously. Roommates may drink together on non-party days or go to bars after class. Alcohol is seen as celebratory and a catalyst for meeting friends and garnering social connections. Many students struggle to avoid it, even if they’d like to or hadn’t planned on making alcohol a cornerstone of their college experience.
College students might turn to alcohol for a night out with friends or use marijuana to relax and unwind. Much like alcohol, marijuana is readily accessible on most campuses, regardless of its legal status in the state.
Students may smoke weed to relax after class, to socialize with peers, or because they feel an intense urge to take it. This often signifies an addiction.
Weed use can be more challenging to conceal, since it leaves a distinct odor.
Prescription Pills: A Double-Edged Sword
When used as prescribed, prescription pills can help students navigate chronic pain and mental health conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). College students can also use these medications recreationally.
Use of Prescription Painkillers
Doctors often prescribe opioids for severe pain, typically after a surgery or for conditions like cancer. As an opioid, these medications can also trigger a flood of dopamine2 and sense of wellbeing (especially when not used as prescribed), which reinforces the action. Some college students seek out this effect even after their prescription runs out, or they’re no longer in pain.
Illegal opioids can contain fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid 50x stronger than heroin3. More college campuses are including Naloxone kits to help students reverse an overdose to opioids or fentanyl. But the best way to avoid the risk is only taking prescribed medications as prescribed.
Study Drugs
A grade can determine a lot—if you get accepted into a competitive program, if you meet requirements for a scholarship, and the quality of future jobs. Many college students also want good grades for their own sense of accomplishment. Achieving A after A isn’t easy, which is why some college students (around 4%) reach for study drugs.
A student taking one of these medications would likely have a prescription. It becomes a study drug when they don’t have a prescription or don’t take the drug as prescribed (like doubling their dose or taking extra when they have an exam).
Stimulants: Enhancing Focus or Creating Dependence?
The occasional use of a study drug, like once or twice before midterms, can be a regular practice for some college students. Those with heavy course loads or challenging classes, like pre-med or pre-law students, may feel particularly overwhelmed getting through school on their own strength. They can become reliant, and then addicted, to illicit or prescription stimulants like meth and Adderall.
Some students may turn to caffeine, which is cheaper and more accessible than stimulants. They may take caffeine pills or regularly consume energy drinks. These pills and drinks can have 150-300 milligrams of caffeine each. The recommended daily limit is 400 milligrams, though one person might be more sensitive to caffeine than another. Drinking 3+ energy drinks a day, or having 3+ caffeine pills, puts a student at 450-900mg of caffeine. These high levels of caffeine can lead to heart issues5 and, rarely, death.
Cocaine: The Party Drug of Choice
Media still depicts cocaine as a “luxury” drug used by professionals and rich partygoers. College students’ attitude towards cocaine has become more positive6, leading to more experimentations and mimicking cocaine’s use as portrayed in media.
Cocaine is a stimulant, causing a sense of euphoria and the ability to ‘let loose,’ which students might find appealing at a party—especially when it’s seen as the cool thing to do. But this can lead to addiction and health consequences, along with poor academic performance.
Ecstasy: The Allure of Raves and Euphoria
Ecstasy is a stimulant that can have psychedelic effects, which is why some college students use it at raves and parties for a more ‘trippy’ experience. Ecstasy often goes by the name Molly. It causes a strong feeling of euphoria and inhibition, but taking too much, too often can lead to addiction and other side effects.
Ecstasy use correlates to dehydration and serotonin syndrome7, which happens when drugs or prescribed medications add too much additional serotonin. Young, thrill-seeking college students may be especially at-risk of taking too much ecstasy and becoming dangerously dehydrated, addicted, or sick from serotonin syndrome.
Cannabis vapes often have flavoring too, and offer greater convenience compared to smoking a bong or blunt. Students may find this component especially beneficial, but it makes the likelihood of regular use and addiction, plus negative health effects, much higher.
Students can vape other drugs too, including synthetic drugs.
Synthetic Drugs
Synthetic drugs and designer drugs mimic ‘pure’ drugs with natural origins. For example, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid whose natural origin is the opium poppy plant. Synthetic marijuana, or synthetic cannabinoids, mimic the effects of the marijuana plant.
Some synthetic drugs come from clandestine labs and undergo zero quality control or testing. Manufacturers may market them as ‘supplements’ that are ‘not intended for human consumption.’ College students may purchase and take these drugs not knowing their addictive potential, or how they interact with other substances.
Factors Influencing Drug Use: Peer Pressure and Stress
A theme of stress and a desire to connect with others emerges throughout the college experience. Add in a greater tendency for experimentation and thrill-seeking, and you capture more of the landscape for college students and young adults.
Many students face extreme academic pressures and stress, which can lead to mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. Some students alleviate symptoms by chemically altering their state of mind. For example, a study on college students who vape8 reported a top reason was to “improve depression.”
Without effective on-campus support, students may turn to substances to manage stress. College campuses can help by improving access to their counseling services and educating students on the risks of substance use, and what to do if they need help.
Consequences of Substance Use: Health Risks and Academic Impact
Substance use in college can lead to poor academic performance, below-average grades, lost scholarships, and expulsion. Many colleges have guidelines on substance use and documented consequences, especially as it relates to performance-boosting drugs.
Students also risk health consequences from substance use, including
Uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms
Higher risk of cancer from the carcinogens found in nicotine
Lung and cardiovascular diseases
Skin lesions
Dehydration
Weight loss
Addiction
Organ damage/failure
Treatment Options and Recovery Resources
Campus Resources
College students have a myriad of recovery resources available to fit their needs. For example, many college campuses offer free or discounted mental health care. Most campuses also have infirmaries that can assess a student’s physical health and recommend the next steps in their care. These clinics can also distribute medications and treat wounds.
Importantly, more colleges now have Naloxone kits available throughout campus. This means you have better access to the overdose-reversing medication Naloxone, which is easy to use and effective. If you notice signs of an overdose, including shallow breathing, blue lips, and unconsciousness, call 911 and administer Naloxone as soon as you can.
Off-Campus Treatment
College students can access off-campus recovery resources via public transit, their own car, carpooling, or by using virtual services. Off-campus treatment includes
Residential rehabs, where patients live at a treatment center for 28+ days and receive intensive treatment. Some centers, especially ones specifically for college-aged patients, allow time for schoolwork and attending classes online.
Outpatient care, including day treatment (most intensive), intensive outpatient, and general outpatient (least intensive). These structured programs offer robust care with the flexibility students often need to continue attending school.
College offers a uniquely formative and memorable experience for students. Substances can add dangers and hurdles, but by using available resources, students can find the support they need for a comprehensive recovery.
Addiction often follows a cycle with distinct stages. It’s repetitive in nature since the act of taking addictive drugs releases dopamine, which reinforces the behavior—causing repetition.
As this cycle repeats, the likelihood of addiction grows until it’s realized. Thankfully, treatment works at each stage, whether you’ve just started or have been in active addiction for years.
Stages of The Addiction Cycle
The stages of addiction typically involve initiating substance use, developing dependence, and eventually becoming addicted. This cycle can repeat through relapses, but it can also be broken with the proper support and intervention.
1: Initial Use
Your first time taking a substance counts as the initial use. This could be a beer on your 21st birthday or marijuana between classes in high school. You may consciously decide to take the substance or initiate it due to external factors like peer pressure and a desire to connect with others.
2: Regular Substance Use
After the first use, you may come back to the substance occasionally. These occasional uses can then become a regular part of your routine, like drinking every day after work instead of just during social events.
You may start to plan your day around substance use or start canceling plans that might keep you from it.
Physical dependence shows when you feel sick without taking the substance. Your body starts using the substance to meet a sense of homeostasis, and if you stop taking it, you’ll likely feel sick. In particular, opioids can make you feel highly unwell if you stop taking them4 without a professional detox. Alcohol withdrawals5 can lead to tremors, hallucinations, and seizures.
5: Full-Blown Addiction
At this final stage, substance use fully dominates life. It becomes all you think about and what you feel you need to function. Along with feeling physically sick without it, you’ll experience cravings and urges to use the substance. Obtaining and taking more becomes as necessary as eating or sleeping, especially since addiction affects your judgment and decision-making skills3.
People in stage five may show signs of addiction in other areas of life, like having financial issues, losing their job, and having trouble with their relationships.
The Role of Relapse in the Addiction Cycle
Relapses can trigger the start of another addiction cycle. They can also happen between stages, like tolerance development and dependence formation, when someone tries to stop their use but starts again.
For example, if you’ve been sober a few weeks but meet a friend at a bar you used to go to, the environment could trigger an intense urge to drink that leads to relapse. Overwhelming stress or sadness can also lead to relapse as someone reaches for their old coping tool.
Relapse as a Learning Opportunity
Sometimes, you don’t know about a trigger until it happens. For example, you might unexpectedly realize scenes of drinking or drug use in a movie trigger an urge to take the substance, even though the depiction isn’t real. You might leave the theater feeling frustrated, uncomfortable, and disappointed in yourself—but you shouldn’t.
Now you know to avoid those types of movies. Even if the trigger led to a relapse, you’ve still gained a tool for your future recovery and sobriety. You gain the same learning opportunity from any relapse, regardless of its cause or trigger.
Preventing Relapse
Most people’s ideal recovery journey doesn’t include relapsing. It’s okay if it happens, but it’s also something you can proactively work to prevent. You may practice these skills in professional treatment, like joining a relapse prevention group in rehab. Therapy can teach you how to regulate your emotions and how you respond to them. You can also keep a few strategies in hand to mitigate a relapse before it happens.
Learn a few grounding techniques to distance yourself from the negative emotions caused by a trigger. Here are some examples:
Box breathing. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and breathe out for 4 seconds until you feel your mind and body calm.
Urge surfing. This practice teaches you to “ride the wave” of an urge, showing you you’re capable of getting through them.
Progressive muscle relaxation. You’ll start by tensing your muscles, holding the tension, then relaxing them. People often work from their toes to their head, tensing and relaxing before moving to the next muscle group, but you can take any direction.
Write down the trigger and how it made you feel. For example, you might say, I went out for dinner with a friend and I kept smelling the wine at the table next to us. I really wanted some and felt angry that I can’t anymore.
Stay connected to professional support. Maintain regular contact with a therapist, counselor, or mentor.
Attend peer meetings focused on recovery, like the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings of the 12 Steps or secular SMART Recovery groups.
Stay mindful of your emotional landscape. Stressors at work, relationship conflicts, or big decisions can quickly build up and become overwhelming, even if they happen in the background. Being mindful of your emotions can help you know when you need to practice self-care or seek professional help.
Understanding the Signs and Symptoms of Addiction
Knowing how addiction looks is a key step to finding treatment—and recovery. You can look for these signs in someone you love or in yourself.
Identifying Initial Use Signs
Someone who’s started using substances may show signs of inebriation, like stumbling when they walk, slurring their words, or seeming spaced out. Hiding and spending more time alone can be a sign too, as this would keep other loved ones from noticing some of the more obvious signs.
You might notice your loved one going to bars more frequently or attending parties with drinking or drug use. As another example, maybe your spouse starts having a glass of wine every night after trying some at a restaurant.
Recognizing Symptoms of Escalating Use
As use escalates, you’ll likely notice signs like these:
They’re around less, spending more time procuring substances and taking them. Young adults especially may spend more and more evenings at parties or bars.
Acting secretive or making excuses for why they’re having more of the substance. For example, they might try to subtly refill their wine glass and, when caught, give an excuse as to why.
They start struggling with money, spending considerably less on their usual purchases or voicing their worries about paying bills.
Signs of Tolerance and Dependence
As someone’s substance use increases, so does their tolerance and physical dependence on the substance. Signs of this happening often include consuming more of the substance; more enough for you to notice. For example, one glass of wine might turn into one and a half, and then two in a relatively short amount of time. They may seem the same after two glasses as they did after one—that’s because their tolerance increased.
You might also notice they seem distracted and uncomfortable if they don’t have the substance regularly. As their dependence on it grows, they can feel sick, irritable, and unfocused until they have more.
Indicators of Addiction
Once the cycle reaches the addiction phase, you’ll likely notice all the signs from before grow in intensity. For example,
They spend more time away to find and take their substance and come down from its effects.
Their struggles become more pronounced—money worries turn into missed payments and evictions. Trouble prioritizing work responsibilities deepens to job loss and unemployment.
Their friend group changes, likely to include others who use the substance and can connect them to more of it.
What may stick out most is this: they keep using despite consequences to themselves and others. They lose control of their ability to stop. Their reward system has rewired, combining with their physical dependency to create an overwhelming need for the substance.
Triggers That Contribute to Addiction
Addiction doesn’t happen on a whim. It’s often triggered by something, like the environment you live in, stressors, and mental health conditions.
Environmental Triggers
Where and how you grow up can contribute to addiction. If your environment gives you easy access to substances, is highly stressful, or includes others who use substances (and encourage or pressure you to, too), you’re more likely to develop an addiction.
Emotional Triggers
Mental health conditions, stress, and grief can all trigger the need for soothing and distraction. Drugs and alcohol can serve as a tool for self-medication, providing temporary relief from symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, and others.
Social Influences
Substance use and addiction can become normalized by your social circle and culture. If everyone around you, whether friends or family, uses substances and struggles with addiction, you’re more likely to as well7. These influences can start the first stage of the cycle: initial use. When substance use is normalized and even a way you bond with others, it can progress through the 5 stages more quickly.
Treatment Strategies for the Addiction Cycle
You can break out of the addiction cycle at any stage. Professional treatment aims to treat both the physical and emotional aspects of addiction, helping you detox safely and process the underlying causes for addiction.
Detoxification Approaches
Detox is often the first step in addiction treatment. It’s the medical process of removing drugs and toxins from your body and bringing it back to homeostasis. Detox professionals may use medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to make the detox process safer and more comfortable.
Many rehabs offer detox as part of their residential programs, or you can detox at a hospital. Once your body is free of toxic substances, you can begin the emotional side of healing.
Therapeutic Interventions
Therapy addresses the root cause of addiction in 1:1, group, or family settings. Your therapist will work with you to uncover how your addiction developed and what purpose it serves in your life. Together, you’ll begin to heal past wounds and learn coping tools to use in the future. Common therapies for addiction include
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which teaches you to catch and correct untrue thoughts or beliefs before they lead to distress. You’ll learn to challenge unhelpful beliefs and black-and-white thinking that can make you feel worse.
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) reflects CBT in some ways, but differs in how you respond to emotions and the beliefs you have. It focuses on validating your emotions and experiences and altering how you react to them—like going for a run instead of drinking.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) helps heal trauma and lower the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). EMDR uses eye-tracking as you recount (verbally or in your head) what happened to you. By following an object back and forth and busying your mind, the memories lose their emotional impact and can be easier to process in just a few sessions.
Individual therapy happens with just you and your therapist. You may learn a variety of skills from CBT, DBT, and other approaches during your sessions. You’ll likely explore key issues and develop coping strategies to use once you’re out of treatment.
Group therapy can also use skills specific to CBT or DBT, but in a group setting. For example, you may learn a new way to manage a negative emotion and then practice it with others in your group through an imaginary scenario.
Aftercare and Support Systems
Aftercare contributes to an effective recovery journey8. It supports your recovery after you leave more intensive treatment, like residential rehab. Aftercare can include sober living, ongoing therapy sessions, and continued contact with staff from your treatment center. Many rehabs also have strong alumni communities with events, 12-Step groups, and more to keep patients connected and supported long after they leave treatment.
Importance of Prevention and Early Intervention
Early intervention can be one of the most effective forms of ‘treatment,’ but preventing substance use altogether offers the greatest crop of benefits. Here’s how that can happen.
Preventing Initial Use
Education on addiction and the risks of substance use can encourage people to not take substances in the first place. Open discussions on addiction, especially with children, can teach the realities of substance use. When people know more about it, they can make informed decisions about their use.
Early Intervention Techniques
The earlier an intervention happens, the less likely substance use is to cause addiction8. Studies have shown early interventions from people like doctors, nurses, or counselors during routine appointments can “educate and motivate many individuals who are misusing substances to understand and acknowledge their risky behavior and to reduce their substance use.”
Loved ones can also intervene early and motivate change. This could look like a casual conversation, or something more structured and planned. It depends on your situation and how far their use has progressed.
Breaking The Addiction Cycle
The addiction cycle isn’t a vortex whirlpool-ing you to despair. It can be broken at any point, no matter how many times you’ve spun through it or how long you’ve been spinning. Early intervention, professional addiction treatment, and relapse-prevention strategies offering a mooring line of hope. You can connect with addiction treatment providers on Recovery.com, comparing prices, amenities, treatment services, and more to find the best treatment for you.
Rehabs in California combine addiction treatment with the idyllic setting of a summer vacation. They offer privacy, a change of scenery for those out of state, and coveted year-round warmth, making California a go-to recovery destination.
But how much does it cost?
Average Cost of Rehab
The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS) found the average cost for rehab is $50,469. This price reflects a stay of 30-60 days. Outpatient programs average around $8,000 per person.
Services like medication-assisted treatment (MAT), detox, and sober living contribute to the complete price or can be offered as independent programs. An outpatient MAT program, for example, costs around $7,000. Sober living typically costs $1,500-$2,000 per month across America.
Costs of rehab vary due to factors like treatment staff, amenities, and whether or not they accept insurance. For example, a private rehab with highly experienced staff and luxury accommodations will cost much more than a state-funded rehab.
Rehab Costs in California
California has over 2,000 active treatment centers to serve the nearly 100,000 people seeking treatment in the Golden State annually. It ranks as the 23rd cheapest state in America for residential rehab, with costs averaging out to $56,654 per person for a stay of 30+ days. The amount you end up paying varies widely by your insurance provider and the specific plan you have.
This picture from NCDAS captures average costs across states.
The cost of a California residential rehab typically includes these services:
Detox
Room and board
All meals and food
Therapy sessions in a 1:1, group, and family setting
Holistic therapies like yoga or creative writing
Any amenities (like a pool or weight room) included at the facility
Some extracurricular activities, like hikes, sightseeing, or adjunct treatment services
Alumni services like recurring alumni meetings, help finding work and housing, and ongoing contact from staff
What’s (Usually) Not Included
Some rehabs will offer certain services for an additional cost. Check with the center see what services are included in the total fee and which are add-ons. Potential add-ons include:
Spa services like facials, manicures, and massages
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) when needed, including psychotropic medications for mental health conditions
Psychedelic therapies may come as an extra cost unless the center specializes in this type of treatment and offers it in their primary care package
Private rooms may come as an extra cost unless the center solely offers private rooms
Advanced clinical services like genetic testing, blood analysis, and creating nutritional profiles
Some rehabs will offer all of the above within their total cost of services. Others may charge a set cost for each service and allow clients to add them to their bill.
Benefits of Going to Rehab in California
Recovery Community
California is home to a uniquely supportive recovery community. Its warm weather and coastal vibes have drawn treatment providers to open more and more rehabs, making it one of the most rehab-populated states in America. The density of providers means you have more options to find the best treatment for you.
City or Rural Options
California rehabs offer an urban or rural experience, depending on where in the state you go. For example, you can go to a rehab in Los Angeles or Malibu to experience the city or opt for a rehab near places like Lake Tahoe to connect with nature.
Warmth and Ocean Access
Many rehabs along California’s coast offer beach trips. Some sit right on the shore for easy ocean access at a moment’s notice. Most areas in California also stay warm year-round, even in the winter months. This can be particularly appealing to people from northern states.
A New Environment to Heal
Going to rehab in California takes you to a new environment to focus solely on your recovery. Leaving your current environment can offer a few key benefits, like
Removing you from people or places that trigger substance use
Additional privacy, since you won’t be around people you know from home
Inspiration and motivation from a new setting
Finding Treatment in California
A California rehab could be an ideal recovery setting for you or your loved one. California rehabs offer various treatment approaches, such as evidence-based, holistic, faith-based, or alternative care. They typically accept major insurance plans or government coverage from Medicaid and Medicare. Use Recovery.com to browse California rehabs and see their costs, insurance information, photos, reviews, and more.
