Addictive Pills

Many pills that are commonly prescribed to treat pain, anxiety and other conditions are also highly addictive.  These addictive pills cause the individual to build a tolerance for the medication ultimately needing more and more of the medication in order to produce the same or similar effects as those which were once felt.  It is this tolerance that results in an individual ultimately becoming addicted to pills and suffering from the physical and psychological strongholds of pill addiction.

Types of Addictive Pills

The most common types of addictive pills include opiates, prescription painkillers, diet pills, and benzodiazepines.  Opiates are a unique class of narcotic pain reliever that is derived or synthesized from the poppy seed.  Some of the most common opiates include Oxycontin, Oxycodone, methadone, codeine, and morphine.  When an opiate is completely synthetic it is known in medical terms as an opioid.  One of the more common opioids is called Demerol.

Prescription painkillers are another type of addictive pills.  Although opiates are the most common type of prescription painkiller to cause addiction, other prescription painkillers such as tramadol also have a potential for being abused and for causing dependence.  In most cases, prescription painkillers will not be prescribed for a prolonged period of time in an attempt to reduce the chance of addiction occurring.

Diet pills are also highly addictive pills.  Those who take diet pills are likely to form a physical addiction to the caffeine or other stimulants that are found in the pills as well as a psychological addiction to the effect that the pills have on their weight loss routine.  Psychologically, the individual may believe that they cannot lose weight without the pills, and physically, the individual may feel lethargic or out of energy if they do not have the pills.

Benzodiazepines such as Xanax or Klonopin are prescribed to treat anxiety, panic disorder and some types of seizures but they are also commonly abused and carry a wide potential for causing addiction.  Benzodiazepines, also known as benzos, can cause moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms when the individual stops taking them and this can lead to an individual seeking out more of the drug in order to reduce the negative withdrawal effects.

Overcoming the Effects of Addictive Pills

Depending on the type of pill than an individual becomes addicted to there are many ways that the person may overcome these effects.  The most common methods of treatment for any type of pill addiction include detox, counseling, therapy and aftercare.  Each phase of treatment focuses on helping the patient to heal physically, emotionally and as a whole.  Detox provides a safe place for the recovering addict to overcome physical dependence on the drugs in preparation for the mental or psychological healing that is needed.  Counseling, therapy and aftercare work to heal the patient emotionally.