Help, My Spouse has Prescription Drug Addiction!

Whether we like it or not, prescription drug addiction is real and it’s affecting a lot of people all over the world, especially our loved ones. The problem here is that it’s very hard to identify when a person gets addicted to the prescription drugs. The worst part is that making them stay away from these can be extremely difficult.

How to Tell if They Have a Prescription Drug Addiction

It’s up to you to figure out if they use a certain prescription drug way too often. Usually, the prescription drug addiction appears when your spouse follows a treatment for other symptoms. If the treatment needs to be performed for a very long time, this will allow the addiction to set it. That doesn’t mean people will get addicted, but taking the medication over and over can set the stage for it. You will have to keep in mind the fact that the prescription drug addiction does set in pretty fast if the drug does make your spouse feel well.

While prescription drug addiction isn’t the same as standard drug addiction, it’s rather similar to a degree. It will make your spouse feel the need for that drug much more often and that can be increasingly problematic most of the time. So, it’s important to focus on results and to do all you can in order to win. The outcome can go two ways but knowing that you have put in effort to help is better than none.

Related: General Basics on Prevention and Treatment of Opiate Overdose

Be mindful about your prescription drug intake as it can lead to an addiction.

Steps on How to Deal with It

The first thing you want to do here is to opt for a safety plan. Keep in mind that many addicts can be abusive, although that doesn’t happen all the time. The idea is to have a safety plan and a place of refuge in case things are going south for some reason.

Then you have to find support from other people. The necessary support will not be very hard to find, usually the family members and friends would be the best option here. You can also opt for religious officials, therapists or support groups. Here are 5 tips on how to help your loved ones break opiate addiction, a common prescription drug addiction.

Of course, you need to document yourself about the substance that your spouse is addicted to. The best thing you can do is to opt for relevant sources that can deliver you access to relevant information. Yes, the internet does have some fake info on prescription drug addiction too, so you want to avoid that.

Having family and friends that are understanding and encouraging can be beneficial to the healing process.

Help Your Spouse as Much as Possible

Don’t enable the behavior of your spouse. Try to avoid encouraging their behavior. Not taking them into account or ignoring can be ok. You should also talk with your spouse when they are sober and ask them to go to an addiction treatment center. Yes, prescription drug addiction can be problematic if it’s not treated properly, so doing the most you can is the best case for them.

It’s also important to take care of your kids during the process and to try to guide your spouse towards the best possible treatment. It can take a bit of time to deal with the prescription drug addiction of your spouse, but it can be done for sure!

If all else does fail (which it may for some), seeking professional medical attention is the best move. Speak with a physician that specializes in suboxone treatment and they will be able to administer the proper medication that can help combat their prescription drug addiction.