BASIC DESCRIPTION

Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant drug that affects the part of the brain responsible for reward, pleasure, and motivation.  It is either snorted, smoked, injected or ingested orally.  Long-term use of this drug can lead to severe mood disorders, psychological impairments, cognitive impairments, stroke and even death.  So what does this mean to you, and what do you need to know?

Cocaine dependency like all drugs has its own unique set of variables that need to be considered.  Coke is a strange drug.  It has woven itself into our culture beginning in the 1970s as a commonly used party drug and has since found its way into every corner of our culture.  From a migrant worker trying to work longer days, to executives on Wall Street, to the street corners of some of America’s worst neighborhoods, cocaine literally exists in all social cultures, classes and demographics of this country.

What makes cocaine so dangerous is that it is often seen as socially acceptable in many circles.  This statement may seem strange if you have not had experience with this drug.  However if you have, you know that cocaine is often just a question away in a bathroom, at work, or in a club.

Cocaine usually begins as a recreational drug or is used one time as an aid to completing some task.  This, for many, quickly becomes the perfect additive for any event or task.  Just add cocaine and “I’m more fun”  “I work harder” or have “more confidence”.  Users describe feeling “just more on top of life”.  For a while… This can never last as the drug’s very nature is that it requires more and more of the substance to get high each time you do the drug.

Over time it takes a significantly larger amount of cocaine to sustain the high.  This becomes a serious health risk as the user begins to consume more cocaine with each use.  The more cocaine ingested the greater risk of brain damage and even greater physical dependence.  Eventually cocaine becomes so expensive and physically damaging that the user’s life begins to fall apart.

As their life falls apart their ability to deal with it is greatly diminished as their brain has become severely impaired.   During these times, the user can become violent, aggressive, and eventually depressed and apathetic to everything and everyone.

So how do they stop?

As with all other drugs, the person who is addicted needs to come to the realization that they are in fact addicted to the drug and that they need help.  Getting them to realize this without them doing it on their own is often very difficult.  Interventionists have a high rate of success with cocaine addicts who are unable to see that their life is in a state of emergency.

The reason for this is that a good interventionist understands the psychological condition of the person they are talking to in ways that the general population does not.  If the addicted person is unable to see the destructive path they are on, then an interventionist is a good option.  If the addicted person knows that they have a problem and is seeking help, then connecting them to a good treatment center is the answer.

Cocaine addicts do well in treatment models that have a strong balance of social reconditioning, non-psychotropic biological interventions, and strong education in addiction psychology.  It is absolutely essential that the cocaine addict be taught about how their brain and their mood is being affected by the drug.  A program with a good addiction education component is highly recommended.