More people are dying from addiction than ever before

Whether or not you were a One Direction or Liam Payne fan, his death last week at the age of 31 was shocking and tragic. His battles with addiction were already known and there is no doubt that drink and drugs played a significant part in his death.

The most up to date report suggests that Liam had taken cocaine, crack cocaine, benzodiazepines and ‘pink cocaine’ – a combination of methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA. And so another life is lost to addiction. The latest figures reveal that cocaine deaths are now nearly ten times higher than 10 years ago. More than 1100 people died from cocaine poisoning in 2023. How does it come to this? That so called ‘recreational drugs’ become killers?

Why do people not get help until it is too late?

If we have any health problems we will normally see our GP before they start to worsen and whatever the health issue will be guided by the GP, take their advice and direction and even follow, if necessary, a complicated care pathway involving consultants, hospitals, surgical operations or other forms of specialist treatment in order to get well. But, if we have an addiction, we choose to continue on a downward spiral that has a worsening daily impact on all our life areas such as health, work, finance, social and relationships with loved ones until life is so bad that we may choose to finally ask for help – but sometimes it is too late or we do not properly embrace the help given. Liam Payne had been to rehab and apparently enjoyed a period of sobriety. However, he relapsed. He apparently did the right thing and checked himself back in to an addictions rehab unit in July. However, he did not stay and left 48 hours later with ultimately tragic consequences.

The problem of addiction is usually obvious

Like many addicts, Liam Payne knew he had a problem and that is why he was admitted into treatment in the first place. However, many alcoholics and addicts deny  the extent of the problem and there is also a fear of” how am I going to manage without alcohol, or drugs, or gambling in my life” that keeps people from seeking help earlier and accepting the help they need to make a concerted effort to get well.

There used to be a stigma attached to having an addiction but the stigma, these days is that others know there is a problem and the stigma is associated with not doing anything about it. People have a wider understanding of addiction these days due to media reporting on a number of celebrities or people in the public domain who have an addiction. Addiction can affect people from all walks of life.

People can get well and recover from addiction

Addiction is one recognised medical illness that people can get well from but there needs to be an acceptance that people need professional help in order to get well.  However, many people are too proud to accept help, believing that they have sufficient willpower to control their drinking or using.

What is addiction?

Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterised by compulsive drug use, alcohol, eating or gambling, for example, seeking out and using despite continued and increasing adverse life consequences.  It is also considered a brain disorder because it involves functional changes to the brain’s circuits involved in reward and self-control.  Due to increased alcohol consumption or drug use, the brain will have problems processing daily information, inability to remember recent events and long term memory gaps.  Alcohol will also impact the functioning of the liver whilst drugs such as cocaine can cause irregular heart rhythms which can lead to sudden cardiac arrest; heroin use can lead to death by overdose associated with the mixing of the drug with other substances such as Fentanyl . 

As addictive behaviour progresses then moods alter and mental health issues develop as there becomes a tolerance to the drug and the need for the body to take the drug. Mental changes can include rapid mood swings, depressive episodes and even thoughts of suicide as being the only option as a “way out.” People would see their GP for far less of a health  issue but when they know they have an addiction which disrupts daily life and causes chaos, they choose to do nothing about it except to try and make changes themselves. 

Cutting back or stopping will lead to the body starting to react to the loss of the intake of the drug resulting in the body going through withdrawal. Symptoms include shakes, tremors and cramps, nausea and sleep deprivation. More seriously there is a possibility of dangerous seizures or delirium tremens by day three. There will be an overwhelming urge to drink or use again to make the  withdrawal symptoms go away.  The safest way to medically detox off any drug or chemical substance is within the safe environment of a residential addictions rehab unit or detox clinic with medical care overseen by a doctor attached to the unit. 

Detox is not enough: addiction rehab treatment is needed

However, it is not enough to simply detox off a drug – or to go into a safe environment to, for example, stop gambling.  Addicts and alcoholics need to accept their addiction and that it is not going to go away. They need to be prepared to accept that they need a programme of recovery for life.  Otherwise they never get well and the addiction can ultimately kill. Enjoyment of alcohol or drugs from the resulting high levels of Dopamine has long gone and daily use has become an unpleasant necessity.  Similarly a relapse brings a return of the daily misery and usually an ever greater  amount of alcohol or the drug consumed.   

Recommended treatment for addiction

There is a tried and tested treatment programme that has helped so many people get well over many years. It has been adopted by many support groups and that is the modality of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.  The recommended residential rehab treatment period is 28 days and that enables anyone to have time to break the addictive cycle and far more importantly to work through and get an understanding  and knowledge of at least the first 4 Steps of the 12 Step programme. 

Interestingly, many people will dismiss and question this approach to getting well, even when they are not in a position to do so, and find so many unjustified excuses as to why its not for them even some going to the extreme of having committed to residential rehab treatment and then discharging themselves from treatment early.

One  part of this treatment programme is the concept of “one day at a time,” which is basically just for the next 24 hours: whatever happens in my life I will not use it as an excuse to relapse.  People in recovery also need to have the ability and even humility, especially in the early days, to communicate with others to get support to not pick up a drink or drug or place a bet or even comfort eat.  They were never able to control or manage the addiction on their own and so need to accept the help of others who have been in a similar situation, who understand and are working a solid programme of recovery themselves.

Whatever problems people have in their life, addiction moves to the top of the list. Most problems can be dealt with as soon as the addictive behaviour and thinking changes. 

No one recovers from addiction to be miserable but change takes time and needs to be given a chance. Living in active addiction is miserable and can lead to all forms of health issues – physical and mental. Risky behaviour can lead to accidental death and, if changes are not made, some people take their own lives, being unable to live with the addiction but also unable to live a changed life. 

No one needs to end their life this way.