The abstinence syndrome is the set of physical reactions that appear in a person who stops ingesting some substance to which he is addicted: this can be a psychoactive substance in the formal terms of language, or it can be something else to which he is addicted and the The process by which it enters the body is not that of physical introduction. For instance: alcohol withdrawal, nicotine withdrawal, caffeine withdrawal.
There are times when the body symptom Taking the notion that you can no longer access the substance occurs at any time and place, and others in which the syndrome occurs in certain circumstances where the person used to consume: this is the distinction between late and conditioned withdrawal syndrome , which is also called psychological. In the latter, the physical dependence is not as much as that created by the individual himself.
Of the withdrawal symptoms, the one that can be the most harmful is alcohol (paradoxically, one of the few psychoactive substances that are socially accepted and that does not produce rejection by those who consume them). Sometimes the alcohol withdrawal It produces a set of hallucinations known as delirium tremens, which can lead to tachycardia, hypertension or panic attacks: it is very important to prevent this, in the case of exits from this addiction.
A peculiarity of the withdrawal syndrome is that, even though it has many physical manifestations, It is not considered a disease but rather a conflictive condition in people’s health, since this syndrome appears throughout the process of healing and recovery from addictions and should not be a reason for giving up in the fight against vice, but that is the moment to redouble efforts.
This is not the only case of withdrawal symptoms, since it is the symptoms of the syndrome that make the user feel the same in the case of some drugs. dependency and need to use again.
Manifestation of symptoms
They do not exist general rules for the manifestations of withdrawal symptoms, since they are very related to the levels of consumption that each person has, to understand what they will suffer when that consumption is drastically reduced.
However, it is common for the symptoms to be the inverse of what was sought by the consumption of the substance: thus, when the dependence that is cut is towards depressant substances, the usual manifestation is anxiety, while when a dependency is cut towards stimulating substances, the feeling is of disinterest and apathy.
Treatment of withdrawal syndrome
The treatment Withdrawal syndrome varies from case to case, with some substantial differences between criteria: there are some addictions for which consumption and the progressive reduction of dependence are allowed, while in other cases it is necessary to cut them outright.
When the withdrawal syndrome produces severe depression problems, new substances such as antidepressants may be used to avoid the risk of suicide. However, the most intelligent procedure is to understand the effect that the drug produces and to create the conditions so that it is not necessary to go to it.
Examples of withdrawal syndrome
- Alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
- Nicotine withdrawal syndrome.
- Anxiolytic withdrawal syndrome.
- Cannabis withdrawal syndrome.
- Caffeine withdrawal syndrome.
- Amphetamine withdrawal syndrome.
- Heroin withdrawal syndrome.
- Opium withdrawal syndrome.
- Cocaine withdrawal syndrome.
- Gambling withdrawal syndrome.