Cocaine has been a popular drug of choice for decades. It’s an extremely powerful and highly addictive stimulant that can create dependency from initial exposure.

When first experienced, you may have immediate feelings of euphoria and a sense of invincibility, connection with others and a rush of other pleasurable feelings. This can hook you pretty easily because it creates an escape full of the energy an upper provides as the cocaine causes the brain to release extra stores of dopamine into the body.

It’s often experienced as a binge drug because the feelings of the high are short lived and in order to stay up, more cocaine is required. After binging, a crash is experienced and is referred to as the comedown. This is a period of time when the drug wears off and can bring about inverse feelings of restlessness, depression, anxiety and inability to concentrate or sleep.

5 Signs of Cocaine Dependency include:

1. Anxiety Disorder

Most people who have done a significant amount of cocaine, over time begin to develop anxiety along with depression and paranoia. Usually cocaine is a drug that users keep hidden and often pretend they don’t have or are not on, which are huge contributors to anxious feelings and paranoia. The effects that are felt during a comedown start to translate over into normal life and often cause a person to have anxiety and/or panic attacks as a subsequent side effect.

2. Physical indicators

Perhaps the biggest indication that someone may have developed a cocaine dependency comes from being witness to physical factors such as a bloody nose, sniffling all the time, tired eyes, dark circles, nervousness and being hyper or fidgety most of the time.

3. Extreme cravings and increased quantity become a necessity.

For someone that has a dependency on cocaine, they crave it and will usually stop at nothing to get it. This can create selfish habits in social settings especially as they will leave people behind and are seen making constant trips to the bathroom. Not only that, but the habit becomes more expensive because the high from the initial experience becomes harder to achieve without larger and more frequent quantities.

4. Inability to function without it.

People who become addicted to cocaine often find that it is much harder to function in life without it. It makes social settings more fun and mundane tasks easier to perform. Typically, a user will not leave the house without their own supply and if they don’t have it, they will go to great lengths to get it because they feel they need it to have a good time.

5. Exhaustion

Cocaine dependency comes at an exhausting price. Frequent use of the stimulant causes lack of sleep and poor sleeping habits in general. When someone comes off a “coke bender,” they might sleep for days trying to recuperate. Another thing that comes with exhaustion is that a person might be on edge, irritable and easily frustrated or angered because they are always tired and not getting enough sleep.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these signs, there are treatment options available and are strongly recommended. Cocaine dependency can be extremely dangerous, detrimental to long-term health and is a leading cause of death from overdose.

While cocaine doesn’t produce extreme withdrawal symptoms as with opiates, it can be a tough addiction to break and a huge adjustment to make in the life of an avid user. You don’t have to live your life tired, depressed, anxious and on edge. Treatment programs offer a way to find normal life again without the need to be high.

Contact us today to talk about available options and let us help you rediscover your peace.