Cocaine Addiction Signs
Someone who is addicted to cocaine will begin to exhibit very distinct signs of their addiction. Cocaine addiction signs may be subtle at first, but it will soon become very obvious that there is a problem as this will be very evident in the person's mood, demeanor, appearance, and physical and mental health. For friends and loved ones who want to determine if there is in fact a drug problem so as to help the individual with their addiction, this article will describe in detail what cocaine addiction signs to look out for.
It is important to note that someone addicted to cocaine and any other drug will very likely deny wholeheartedly that they are exhibiting any cocaine addiction signs, and will try and convince anyone who is keen to these signs that they are crazy. Addicted individuals will attempt in many ways to draw attention off of themselves and any signs and symptoms of their addiction, so anyone who cares about them and wants to help should remain vigilant. It is crucial to not negate one's feelings or sense that something is wrong, because it is too easy to go into denial or fall prey to the many attempts that will be made to steer them off course.
One of the first things that friends and loved ones can look out for when trying to identify cocaine addiction signs is changes in appearance, primarily any rapid and extreme weight loss. Cocaine is a stimulant and it suppresses appetite, so individuals who are abusing cocaine and addicted to it won't feel the desire that non-addicted people do to eat and nourish their bodies. Their main drive is to use cocaine, so eating becomes extremely unimportant and as a result cocaine addicted individuals typically begin to lose weight very rapidly. This doesn't happen in the normal course of everyday life for someone who is a healthy and drug-free, so it is a key sign to look out for if you think someone you care about is addicted to cocaine. Again, cocaine addicted individuals will probably come up with all manner of excuses to explain away their rapid weight loss when confronted about it, so don't fall prey to this and be vigilant about getting down the real problem if you believe there is one.
Someone who snorts cocaine is susceptible to certain health risks and effects that can be spotted by someone who is attempting to determine if they are in fact abusing cocaine. For example, someone who snorts cocaine regularly will typically develop a chronically runny nose. If the person is constantly fooling with their nose because it appears to be runny or inflamed, and if they have frequent nose bleeds, this may be an indication that they have been using cocaine. Of course this could be a sign of a common cold as well, but if there are other cocaine addiction signs evident at the same time it is something that specifically affects individuals who are abusing cocaine and it is worth checking into. Individuals who have been snorting cocaine habitually over time will also very likely experience damage to their nasal septum, so this is something else that is a tell-tale cocaine addiction sign to be aware of.
Because cocaine is a stimulant it can have devastating health effects, and cocaine addicted individuals put themselves at risk each and every time they use the drug. In fact, cocaine is implicated in the most drug-related emergency department visits in the U.S., and cocaine users typically present to ER's with heart related problems including elevated heart rate and/or blood pressure or having experienced a stroke, heart attack or seizure. These effects caused by cocaine use can cause a fatal outcome, but if they don't they may very well cause permanent heart and/or brain damage.
It is also very common for individuals who abuse cocaine to use cocaine with other drugs, at which time they choose to inject the drugs for a more intense high. For example, some cocaine users may inject heroin and cocaine into their bloodstream at the same time, a combination known as an "eight ball". Injection drug use has many tell-tale signs, and anyone who is injecting cocaine and/or any other drug will typically develop track marks at injection sites which are clearly evident. These track marks where the drug is injected aren't necessarily only on the forearms, and individuals can literally inject drugs anywhere on their bodies including their feet, hands, etc. These injection sites can also become infected and abscess, which is a cocaine addiction sign which is life threatening. So this is definitely something that friends and loved ones should look out for, as this is one of the most obvious cocaine addiction signs.
A general cocaine addiction sign, and truly a sign of any type of addiction, is a person's lack of interest in things which they had prior interest in and a direction of interest in things which are not proactive in their lives. This could also entail a shift in one's attention in regards to friends and relationships. Someone who is addicted to cocaine will generally display a drastic change in interests, or lack thereof, and will focus their motivation and efforts towards people and things which further their habit. Anyone who gets in the way of their cocaine addiction is a sudden enemy, and only those who make it more possible for them to use cocaine become their best friends.
The key to recovery for a cocaine addict is relearning how to be happy without cocaine, which very often includes removing people and circumstances from their lives which cause them stress, anger, sadness, etc. or resolving past experienced which trigger these emotions. Cocaine addiction can be a tough addiction to beat, and it is rarely possible to overcome outside of a drug rehab setting. Even once someone makes it to rehab, it can take some time before they can even become mentally and physically stabilized. But drug rehab is the best chance anyone has at overcoming cocaine addiction, and there is hope for even the toughest cases.