7 Things That Happen To Your Body When You Stop Using Drugs
Contents
Let’s start with the good part.
When you stop using drugs, your body starts to heal.
Healing takes time. Some changes begin within days, while others, like brain chemistry and sleep, can take months.
That's worth celebrating.
However, that is not all that happens when you finally free yourself from the clutches of drug addiction.
The positive side of sobriety is worth the hard work of getting through withdrawal.
Withdrawal from some substances, such as alcohol, benzodiazepines and opioids, can be dangerous. Alcohol withdrawal can become life-threatening, with seizures and severe confusion. Talk with a doctor before you quit so you can do it safely.
If you want to know the changes in your body after a full drug recovery, keep reading.
This may strengthen your resolve.
Why You Should Leave Drug Addiction
Yes, we all know that the answer is going to be pretty obvious. Drugs cause drastic physical, physiological, and psychological changes in the body, and who would want to go through that?
However, you are talking from a sober person’s perspective. Therefore, if you wish to make an addiction patient understand, you have to take a different approach.
Remember all the sleepless nights you are dealing with because your mind is not steady. Are you either anxious, depressed, or extremely delusional about everything?
Recovery can help with that.
No more physical pain when you do not get your ‘dose’ for just an hour, and no more isolating yourself from your own family because you are sure they are going to find out and then judge you.
You can get back that normal life, or maybe something even better if you just give yourself a chance.
No matter how difficult your life seems at this moment, help is available.
You can try the rehab in Orange County by Ocean Recovery and get all the professional nurturing and help needed for the recovery.
You can also call the free, confidential SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357, any time, for treatment referrals near you.
Because let’s face it if you think very carefully. How long does that intense euphoria stay, and how is it even helping you?
Thus, consider getting help and choosing recovery.
Things That Happen To Your Body When You Stop Using Drugs
Beyond the short-lived high, recovery brings lasting benefits, and here is how.
These may help you, or someone you love, find the motivation to keep going.
1. Increased Libido
It might seem like the chemicals in the drugs will increase the sex drive, but long-term use often does the opposite. Many drugs, including opioids and alcohol, can disrupt hormones and lower libido.
Once your body adjusts after stopping, many people notice their sex drive and sexual function improve.
This is your body’s way of communicating that it is back to its normal course and doesn’t need chemicals to feel.
Drugs can also impact your performance during sexual activities, and they aren’t very controlled. Thus, needless to say, you enjoy the activity more when you are not under the influence of drugs.
Under drugs, the whole thing will seem like a blur.
2. Increased Zeal & Productivity
When someone is under the influence of drugs, mental health issues mixed with physical problems can literally exhaust a person.
When you are finally recovered and do not have to worry about
- Getting high.
- Getting the supplies
- Worrying about all the money spent on these substances.
- Or how you are going to hide them from your loved ones.
You have a lot of time and energy to think about important matters. This is why you will find an increase in productivity with your work and academic goals.
3. Natural Mood Hormones
Once you stop abusing drugs, your brain's reward system, including dopamine signaling, gradually begins to rebalance.
This takes time. Low mood, cravings and trouble enjoying things are common in early recovery, and brain scans show the brain can recover at least in part after long abstinence.
Treatment, therapy and healthy routines can support this process.
All you have to do is take this as a rebirth and take extra care of this brand-new body.
4. Sleeping Better
Remember when getting a good night's sleep felt impossible? This is what we are talking about.
Over time, many people in recovery sleep better.
Sleep problems are common in the first weeks or months after quitting, so be patient. Recovery on its own can be a painful process, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
A light that will give you a brand new life.
When you are under the influence of drugs, the anxiety, constant thinking, and sometimes hallucinations turned into nightmares can cause a lot of disruption in sleep.
Some people even have insomnia.
Tell your treatment team if poor sleep lasts, since it can be treated.
5. Better Mental Health
When you recover, you are not just working on your body but simultaneously on your mental health as well.
With therapy and support groups, you learn to recognize your triggers and cope with them in healthier ways.
There is holistic recovery, where you are taught other therapeutic techniques like journaling, yoga, meditation, and even art therapy that can help you express your struggles, pain, and fear better.
So, with recovery, you don’t just have a brand new body but also a brand new mind.
6. Better Appetite
Many drugs suppress appetite or replace regular meals.
The worst part is, with all your lowered inhibitions, you stop taking healthy meals.
Now just imagine what it does to your body?
Once you stop, appetite usually returns, and regular meals help your body repair itself.
7. Better Immune System
Heavy drug and alcohol use can weaken your immune system, making infections more likely.
Injecting drugs also raises the risk of HIV, hepatitis and other serious infections. After you stop, your body gets a chance to recover, and your risk of these infections drops.
Thus, giving up these toxic substances is always the best option!
If You Slip
Relapse is common. NIDA notes that relapse rates for substance use disorders are about 40% to 60%, similar to other chronic illnesses. A relapse doesn't mean treatment failed; it means it's time to adjust your treatment.
After a break, your tolerance drops. Using the amount you used before can cause a fatal overdose. If you do use again, don't use alone, keep naloxone nearby for opioids, and reach out for help.
A New Beginning!
This is a new beginning for you and your body!
Recovery is a second chance. Keep your support network close, and lean on it when things get hard.
Take care of this body and treat it as sacred!
Sources
- Treatment and Recovery, National Institute on Drug Abuse
- Alcohol withdrawal, MedlinePlus
- National Helpline for Mental Health, Drug, Alcohol Issues, SAMHSA
