Her oxycontin abuse started with a prescription from her doctor.It’s difficult to struggle with oxycontin abuse. It can be just as hard for a person’s family and friends to understand. Those who become addicted to oxycontin go through a baffling transformation. They are sometimes a shadow of the person they once were before addiction kicked in. For both the person who is addicted as well as their loved ones, there are a lot of questions about how addiction happens. The first thing to understand is that there is no “typical” person who suffers from addiction. It can strike at any time. There’s no age limit on who can become addicted to a narcotic pain medication like oxycontin.

Oxycontin Abuse in Teens

Each year, more and more teens are experimenting with harder drugs than ever before. It wasn’t long ago that the worst drugs teens tried were marijuana and alcohol. However, now opiates have become a much bigger problem in the United States. No matter what a child’s upbringing, each teen is susceptible to oxycontin abuse. The primary part of the brain involved with the disease of addiction is the prefrontal cortex. This portion of the brain doesn’t fully develop until a person is in their late 20s. Some of the responsibilities of the prefrontal cortex, which explains a lot about teenaged behavior, include:

  • Impulse control
  • Emotional regulation
  • Fear modulation
  • Ability to feel connected with others
  • Logical decision making

Due to a lack of impulse control, teens are much less likely to fully think through the consequences of their actions when trying the drug for the first time. The reason many teens become addicted can be due to their lack of emotional regulation and feeling of being disconnected from others. Drugs like oxycontin can get rid of a teen’s social anxieties or feelings of depression. When a teen’s young mind begins connecting drug use with solving their life problems, they become dependent on the substance.

Oxycontin Abuse Stemming from Injuries

Many people begin using drugs to get a euphoric feeling or as an escape from their reality. Others get hooked on oxycontin after an injury. This medication affects people in different ways, and some people develop oxycontin abuse because the medication has a different effect on him or her when used. Eventually, the person is no longer trying to treat their pain, but trying to get the euphoric feeling from the medication. This can evolve into prescription drug abuse and a full-blown addiction if not caught soon enough. Older people are also more likely to be prescribed the medication for injuries, so it’s possible for senior citizens to become addicted as well.

Finding Help for Your Oxycontin Abuse

In order to overcome an oxycontin abuse, a person must realize that they can’t recover on their own. The disease of addiction is too powerful for most people to deal with if they don’t receive the help they need. Beaches Recovery in Jacksonville, Florida, specializes in opiate addiction treatment, and we use proven methods to help people recover. Each of our clients go through individual as well as group therapy where they’re able to discover the sources of their addiction and new ways to deal with life without having to use drugs.

Beaches Recovery is also JCAHO accredited, which means we work with a wide range of insurance companies like Aetna, BCBS, Humana, VA CCN, and Magellan. If you’re interested in beginning a new life free from active addiction, we’ll help you take the first steps. Call us today at 8666050532 to speak with one of our addiction specialists and get started.