Cocaine is a powerful stimulant that discharges excess dopamine in the brain. This substance, which the brain ordinarily releases as part of the reward center’s functioning, makes a cocaine relapse particularly frightening for the user on the road to recovery. Since using this drug commonly goes hand in hand with binge behavior, a setback may lead to even more consumption, putting men in particular at risk.
Why Cocaine is a Tough Drug to Beat
As quoted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry puts cocaine relapse at nearly 24% in the first year. This figure doesn’t include the 18% of people who reported returning to a rehab program. It’s unclear whether they sought help before or after experiencing a setback. That said, there’s hope. Longer treatment terms set addiction sufferers up for better success rates.
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How the Addictive Properties Make a Cocaine Relapse Dangerous for Men
In some ways, it’s easy to justify a cocaine relapse. It’s no secret that men seek personal satisfaction and validation from their work environment. While it’s true that cocaine use can cause paranoia and subsequent bizarre behaviors, for some, it can increase mental attentiveness, letting you work longer hours and complete intricate projects.
From there, however, addiction’s slippery slope can catch up quickly, especially after a cocaine relapse.
- Higher energy calls for higher doses. The nature of the drug’s high is short-lived. Depending on how you use cocaine, it only lasts for ten minutes to an hour at most. Chasing that initial feeling calls for an increase in dosage.
- Continued cocaine use changes the brain. As the reward center adapts to the artificial stimuli, it heightens the quota needed to release dopamine. As a result, you have to increase the cocaine dose and frequency of use. When the reward center stops responding normally, but you crave the sensation, you associate the drug with happiness and achievement.
- Professional treatment may be necessary. Breaking the cycle requires a high-quality addiction treatment program. Evidence-based therapy helps to change behaviors. Therapy also helps men re-evaluate priorities that take the focus away from cocaine use to shift them to a healthy lifestyle model.
Don’t Wait to Get Help for a Cocaine Relapse
Whether the cocaine relapse caught you off guard, or you slipped up in spite of your best efforts, don’t just give up. During your first trip to drug rehab, hopefully you learned that addiction doesn’t just goes away. Sure, you might’ve stopped using, but the craving stayed with you and eventually won out during a weak moment or lapse in judgment. This doesn’t mean that you’ve lost your will to remain healthy.
If you’re a man who suffered a cocaine relapse, the caring professionals at Serenity Lodge in Lake Arrowhead, California, want to help you get back on track and teach you effective relapse prevention techniques in the process. There’s no room for condemnation; you’re probably doing a lot of that on your own already. Call us today at (855) 932-4045 and get back on the road to recovery.
