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Word of the Day: Relapse
11 Comments 
Relapse… If you keep up with the SBB you know by now that addiction is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that takes hold in some people who abuse drugs. You may also know that some people can quit their drug use. But often a person will return to using drugs after they have quit. This is what NIDA Scientists call a relapse.
Why does it happen? Addiction changes the wiring of the brain to cause uncontrollable craving and compulsive drug use–despite the consequences. For someone with an addiction, going without the drug for periods of time can make that person feel so anxious and stressed that they need the drug just to stop feeling bad.
A person who is addicted to a drug usually needs professional treatment to quit drug use. This can include medication or “talk therapy,” or a combination of both. It also helps to have support in the family and the community. While quitting drug use is possible, addiction is a long-lasting disease, and treating it takes time-and just because someone gets treatment and stops using a drug does not mean that these strong cravings go away for good, especially when certain cues are present. These cues vary from person to person and can trigger a relapse.
Imagine that your best friend is addicted to cigarettes and says she smokes to relieve stress, but that she recently quit because her boyfriend hates the smell of cigarette smoke. Since she has connected cigarette smoking with stress relief, the next time your friend faces a stressful situation, like a fight with parents or final exams, she will most likely crave a cigarette, increasing her risk of a relapse. Her use of cigarettes, which led to an addiction to nicotine, has also caused her to associate “relaxation” with cigarettes.
Not everyone will relapse once they have quit drug use; it depends on the person, their genes, their environment, and many other factors, including personal commitment and family support.
For more information on addiction and today’s ”Word of the Day,” check out the myths about drug abuse or the Brain and Addiction page on the NIDA for Teens Web site.
[...] Word of the Day: Relapse [...]
They should call this the Lies for Teens site. Since this whole website is devoted to demonizing substances and not the root cause of drug abuse. The problem is not the drugs. Drugs are a symptom. Perhaps if we didn’t waste BILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR, lying to our nation about the “dangers of pot”, we could instead actually provide real funding for higher education, and get people out of poverty…Nah that would make too much sense. Lets just keep incarcerating depressed Americans. YEA!
If one is going to relapse on smoking one should at least try electronic cigarettes. They work like a charm.
and i dont like smokers
I’m new to this blog and my daughter is going for her Masters in social work. I’m going to recommend to her that she check it out, there’s a lot of valuable information here, which I’ll also share with my readers.
wow
smokers are so bad to kiss goodnight
@Truth–actually we do more than just say “drugs are bad.” That’s way too easy and simple-minded. Instead, the mission here has to respond to a way complicated problem and a really complex disease–addiction. So yeah, in many ways “drugs are a symptom,” and demand a comprehensive approach. That includes making people aware of what causes addiction, trying to prevent it, and when that doesn’t work, getting people into treatment rather than going around the revolving door of the prison system. Thanks for your post.
back to were i was from yesterday smokers should know that it is bad to kiss someone you love even if you love them very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with Truth!!
Actually it was my fear of experimenting with drugs on myself that kept me safe until my problems including PTSD overwhelmed my cognitive uneducated fears I tried pot, and many other things until I realized the my lack of fear towards dangerous substances was a severe issue in itself. Like the girlssays in “True Grit” “Why would I put a theif in my mouth to steal my brains?” Doing research on yourself and self reporting the results is somewhere between assisnine and insane.