Aa
EVERYONE LETS GET SOME VIEWS:
This issue is driving me nuts: CHEM-DEPENDENCE--VS--ADDICTION.
I used/booze off and on most of my life because it was the party...but when the opiates got me, I went up the latter to more and a mix to match...So I did not think of addiction until I no longer could control myself and could not give them up do to fear of w/ds. As most I feel we came to a Chem Dependence.The drugs got me up and going........but what in the world is the difference between the two...I read and listen to people but ?????
I used/booze off and on most of my life because it was the party...but when the opiates got me, I went up the latter to more and a mix to match...So I did not think of addiction until I no longer could control myself and could not give them up do to fear of w/ds. As most I feel we came to a Chem Dependence.The drugs got me up and going........but what in the world is the difference between the two...I read and listen to people but ?????
Best Answer
As I posted in another column, this is perhaps a corny example, but it is the best way I have to put it:
I take Vicodin.
I take Ambien, a sleep drug.
Vicodin Addiction: If I don't take Vicodin, my body and mind start to suffer withdrawals. After I pop some pills (actually I have tapered down to one pill now), I feel all normal, again. The withdrawal symptoms vanish.
Ambien Dependence: If I don't take an Ambien nightly I do not physically suffer. There's no "feed me" screams going on inside. But, I am dependent on Ambien to get to sleep. If I don't take Ambien, I'm staying up all night. When I take an Ambien, I am asleep in 20 minutes.
Sidenote: I am glad I am not addicted to Ambien. Can you imagine: taking an Ambien every 8 hours because my body and mind suffer WD symptoms if I don't poop an Ambien every few hours. I might as well stay in bed 24/7.
I take Vicodin.
I take Ambien, a sleep drug.
Vicodin Addiction: If I don't take Vicodin, my body and mind start to suffer withdrawals. After I pop some pills (actually I have tapered down to one pill now), I feel all normal, again. The withdrawal symptoms vanish.
Ambien Dependence: If I don't take an Ambien nightly I do not physically suffer. There's no "feed me" screams going on inside. But, I am dependent on Ambien to get to sleep. If I don't take Ambien, I'm staying up all night. When I take an Ambien, I am asleep in 20 minutes.
Sidenote: I am glad I am not addicted to Ambien. Can you imagine: taking an Ambien every 8 hours because my body and mind suffer WD symptoms if I don't poop an Ambien every few hours. I might as well stay in bed 24/7.
Oops, please strike "poop" and insert "pop" in the second-to-last sentence :)
Unless "poop an Ambien" somehow makes more sense to you. ;)
Bonus Tip: if you are pooping Ambien, please consult your doctor.
Unless "poop an Ambien" somehow makes more sense to you. ;)
Bonus Tip: if you are pooping Ambien, please consult your doctor.
Hi guys just so you know I have been here awhile. I am days away from 6 months. I did see the thread jordan that is why I posted this...What nurse girls make akot of since on what we talk about at the meetings....So yes I do agree with it....Yes ron I am 3-4 days behind you...Ha! ha!
god bless us all
vickie
god bless us all
vickie
No difference at all. Addiction...substance abuse..it's all the same. Each is as bad as the other. If you have to ask the question...there's a problem either way...
In my NA book in the chapter "Who is an Addict" what grabs me is: "It's our reaction to the drugs, not how much we use."
Yes open mind it does say that huh!! I know I became an addict there is just a reason why I posted this. I wanted to here from other people. Some people will not say the word ADDICT...or even know they have a on going disease and if they play with fire they will get burned......and Andie I do not have to ask the question I just wanted to hear what other people thought about this..Dependent vs Addiction...
Thank all
vickie
Thank all
vickie
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Addiction: Substance Abuse Community
Is treating glaucoma with marijuana all hype, or can hemp actually help?
If you think marijuana has no ill effects on your health, this article from Missouri Medicine may make you think again.
Julia Aharonov, DO, reveals the quickest way to beat drug withdrawal.
Tricks to help you quit for good.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
I respectfully disagree, there IS a difference. There ARE a lot of areas where the two are similar and even interwine for some people, but there is a big difference between someone who is just physically dependent on a drug and someone who has the mental dependency aspect.
Someone here once described it very well, and very simply...dependence is PHYSICAL, addiction is MENTAL. That does pretty much describe the difference in a nut shell.
The way I look at it is...a person who is dependent but not an addict doesn't display those maladaptive behaviors that an addict does. There's no "romancing" the drug, no mental NEED or desire to take them. People who are not addicted would not seek the drug out other than for their pain (or whatever a med is Rx'ed for). Even when they KNEW that skipping doses would lead to w/d...they still really don't have that mental need for the medication. A physical one, sure, because of course they don't want to have to experience w/ds. Besides the w/d, they can just walk away from it, and never look back, never having a need or interest in tsking those pills again...whereas an addict has to struggle with those desires and cravings for the rest of their life.
The mental and behavioral aspect of an addiction is what differentiates the two. The two terms are often used interchangeably, where is where a lot of confusion comes from, IMO.
Both are issues that need addressed, but even that is appraoched differently. A person who is dependent doesn't need the aftercare, doesn't need to explore why they are taking the meds...they just need help getting off of them when the time comes.
I think this is a great discussion, I feel strongly that there needs to be more awareness and understanding about the differences between the two. I think people who are just dependent need to be sure they're not being treated as if they have an addiction. Like,I personally strongly disagree with Suboxone being used for someone who is only dependent. ACTUALLY, Sub docs should NOT be treating them, as there is very specific criteria a patient has to meet in order to be accepted for sub treatment...and some of those criteria involve the addictive history and behaviors...which would not be present in a person who is only dependent. I never saw any patients like that in the clinic I worked for. The doc I worled with took those criteria seriously. One of the guidelines is (or used to be) that a person had to be abusing drugs for at least 12 months...she was adamant about that, unless a person was very close. If a person had only been abusing opiates for a couple months, she told them that sub treatment was not appropriate for them.
And, lastly it shouldn't be about one (dependency vs addiction) being "better" or "worse" than the other (as we see a lot of times in people's attitudes), they're just different. Apples and oranges.