Pre-Addiction: What it is and Why it Should Be Taken Seriously in Addiction Treatment

• What is Pre-Addiction?
• Why the Concept of Pre-Addiction is Important to Treatment
  • Change is Needed
• Detox With Briarwood

Someone seeking addiction care may have already suffered several painful losses in their lives. An addict can rob someone of their happiness, job, friends, and family, and can impair their autonomy. Identification of “pre-addiction” as an early indicator of addiction could boost greater awareness of the risks associated with early-stage substance use disorder.

If you or someone you love needs more than detox, Briarwood Detox Center also provides austin tx drug rehab.

The belief that someone must experience “bottom” before treatment can work is erroneous. Damage is already done by the time treatment is available, and the road to recovery is significantly more difficult. Furthermore, the best time to seek help is as soon as possible. Unfortunately, when someone seeks assistance early, society—family and friends, coworkers, healthcare systems—fail to perceive their problems as significant. They may even outright dismiss or deny an issue exists because it hasn’t reached notable severity yet.

Supporting the rebranding of mild to moderate substance use disorder as a common behavioral health issue might normalize and further destigmatize harmful substance use. This may also raise awareness of its health risks, without requiring the professional interventions needed to treat addiction. However, interventions should confirm that the pre-addiction label does not lead to a stigma of the individuals to whom it is applied. This will be challenging, in particular, if drug use is decriminalized. Unless drug use is decriminalized, the fear of disclosure will be challenging to the concept of screening for and medically treating substance use.

Ready to talk to someone now? Briarwood Detox Center's admissions team is here 24/7, and every call is confidential. Call (866) 710-7710.

Change is Needed

Whether it's reworking the concept or a fresh standpoint, it's crucial to recognize addiction as a condition with a past. A chronology of rising substance use. Especially if environmental and personal historical circumstances and genetic risk factors have contributed to the issue. Those in the early phases of a substance use disorder will have the power to contain its progression. If they know more about the potential negative ramifications of substance use it will urge them to make a change.

We need to prioritize giving people with substance use disorder the opportunities to prevent their disorder from worsening. If the tools necessary for prevention were made more widely available and accessible to those affected, perhaps the statistic of fatal overdoses and high rates of substance abuse could be reduced.