When someone abuses crystal meth, it doesn’t take long for the drug to cause extreme and noticeable changes in them. From their appearance to their mental stability to the simplest of interactions with others, there is a marked change, and the entire personality of the user can flip 180 degrees, essentially changing everything that makes the person who they are.
If you have watched your loved one go from one or two experimental uses of crystal meth to a full-blown addiction and completely change every aspect of his or her life in mere months, you know how devastatingly fast the drug can dismantle someone. Help your family member get back on track in the most efficient and effective way possible: a comprehensive, evidence-based crystal meth addiction treatment program.
Contact us at Axis now and speak to a counselor about the options your loved one may utilize to turn their life around after crystal meth addiction. Counselors are standing by.
Under the Influence
While experiencing the effects of a crystal meth dose, you may notice a number of different things about your loved one. They may:
- Have dilated pupils
- Be extremely personable and chatty
- Be unable to sit still
- Be extremely focused on some minute task or detail
- Pace and compulsively touch their arms, face, etc.
- Talk to themselves
They may seem agitated and out of it or they may be eerily focused and managing multiple tasks at once with a smile and run-on conversation. Their behavior may change from binge to binge, but it is always a stark change from their normal self.
When Crystal Meth Wears Off
When the drug wears off, your loved one’s true personality will not return for a few days. In the aftermath of a crystal meth binge, your family member may be:
- Surly
- Exhausted
- Unable to sleep or eat
- Paranoid
- Restless
- Uncomfortable
Again, the behaviors that your loved one exhibits will continue to be unlike normal due to the effects of the drug.
- Mental Stability
These issues can happen while your loved one is under the influence or hours after their last use of the drug – or both – and they can continue around the clock, worsening as their use of the drug becomes more frequent.Crystal meth is a stimulant substance and the effect of the drug combined with a chronic lack of sleep can contribute to a number of problems, including:
- Erratic behavior
- Irritability
- Paranoia
- Hallucinations
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Relationship Problems
The ways that crystal meth can infect important relationships are almost endless. A number of issues specific to crystal meth abuse as well as generalized to drug addiction can crop up relatively quickly. For example:
- Romantic partners. Many users of crystal meth report abusing the drug in order to enhance sexual intimacy. However, not everyone respects their monogamous commitments while under the influence and this infidelity – especially when unprotected – can harm a significant other emotionally as well as physically.
- Children. Parents who abuse crystal meth will harm their children emotionally and will, in many cases, lose custody of their kids.
- Friends. Friends who develop a similarly intense addiction to crystal meth are preoccupied by their addiction. Those who do not abuse drugs will likely be uninterested in continuing to invest time in someone who is sabotaging themselves with addiction.
- Employer. Even if crystal meth is taken to increase the ability to maintain deadlines or produce work, eventually the backlash will negate any progress initially made. Erratic behavior, inability to be on time, and a slow degradation of interpersonal relationships with coworkers and clients will soon land your loved one on the unemployment line.
Time for Crystal Meth Treatment
In just a few short weeks after their first use of crystal meth, your loved one can look and act completely unlike themselves. You may not even recognize the person in front of you. Your best chance at helping them is to get them into a treatment program that offers:
- Medical detox
- Dental care
- Psychotherapeutic treatment
- A therapeutic team that specializes in the treatment of crystal meth and other drugs of abuse
- Aftercare services and support
What does your loved one need from a comprehensive treatment? How can you help them choose to enroll immediately? Contact us at Axis at the phone number above and speak to a counselor about the different types of treatment interventions and therapies that may be most appropriate for your family member. Call today to get started.
