How to Beat Cocaine Addiction, Starting with These Challenges

Substance abuse recovery is fraught with challenges. With more education, treatment and the right supports, you can manage cocaine recovery challenges and permanently leave cocaine behind.

Why Is Cocaine so Addictive?

The 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimated that 5.5 million people were past-year users of cocaine in 2019, and 1 million people had a cocaine use disorder. One reason those numbers aren’t lower is that cocaine is very addictive. Its very potent high can hook even first-time users.

Using cocaine increases dopamine levels in the brain and prevents the brain from clearing out the dopamine until the drug is completely gone from the body. It only takes about 15-20 minutes for the brain to again absorb dopamine, but this leaves the brain exhausted and unable to produce dopamine naturally. The result is a crash, with cocaine users and addicts needing to use again. Further complicating the issue, addiction can occur even after the first use.

Once someone tries cocaine, the highly addictive drug can ensnare the individual in a short time. This can lead to dependence and then addiction. Long-term cocaine use carries challenges that are unique as well as some common to other abused drugs.

Cocaine addiction has a high rate of relapse. Besides being one of the most-abused illicit drugs in the United States, cocaine is involved in more than 50% of the overdose deaths in this country. It’s often combined with other substances, which adds to the danger of overdose.

Cocaine Recovery Challenges and How to Beat Cocaine Addiction

As with many substance use disorders, cocaine rehabilitation obstacles can involve multiple challenges. Because a large proportion of people in cocaine recovery suffer from another mental health disorder, the challenges of managing two diagnoses can complicate recovery and make it harder.

Physical and psychological challenges also present themselves when someone is in recovery from long-term cocaine use. On the physical side, crack cocaine tends to be more addictive than cocaine. In detox from cocaine, the psychological challenges tend to be more addicting than the physical ones.

Here are six cocaine recovery challenges, with tips for how to beat them.

1. Intense Cravings

Cocaine addiction changes the brain’s key pleasure centers, so, during periods of abstinence from the drug, the memory of the effect the drug has can lead to intense cravings. These cravings may occur long after an individual attempts to quit or completes rehab and may even lead to relapse.

How to Beat It

Medically assisted detox helps ease cravings and urges that occur during cocaine and crack cocaine withdrawal. A 2016 systematic review noted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that acupuncture or relaxation response intervention helped reduce cravings and anxiety. Additional ways to fight intense cravings include:

• Engage in hobbies and interests. Take up a new hobby or stay busy with an existing hobby to help distract yourself from the cravings. Sign up for an arts and crafts class or join a volunteer group. Staying busy provides a healthy coping mechanism and reduces boredom, which is often a trigger for drug use.
• Reach out for support. Sharing your struggles with someone who cares or understands provides comfort and relief. Just knowing you’re not alone sometimes reduces feelings of isolation and helplessness. Support groups also offer an excellent way to share what you’re going through and discover alternative coping strategies to get you through the cravings.
• Plan ahead. Plan ahead for situations or events that trigger cravings and how you’ll manage them. Having a solid plan helps you avoid or navigate the activity that causes cravings.
• Accept that cravings happen. Acknowledge that cravings are a normal part of recovery and will go away with time and effort.

2. Overwhelming Withdrawal Symptoms When Stopping Use

Nobody wants to go through painful or uncomfortable withdrawal when overcoming cocaine addiction. Even those who have previously gone through cocaine addiction treatment and think they can detox on their own can find themselves unable to withstand the often overwhelming withdrawal symptoms.

Side effects of crack and side effects of cocaine after prolonged use vary by individual, but none are pleasant, and few are easy to overcome alone. Indeed, someone addicted to cocaine can experience some serious withdrawal symptoms, including fever and even seizures.

While detoxing from cocaine usually takes only a few days, someone undergoing detox to overcome cocaine addiction often experiences difficult symptoms during that time. These can include:

• Agitation
• Anxiety
• Delusions
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Hallucinations
• Inability to concentrate
• Lack of enthusiasm for living
• Moodiness
• Paranoia
• Sleep difficulties

How to Beat It

Getting professional help through additional treatment at an inpatient or residential drug and alcohol addiction center, entering in-hospital treatment or taking part in outpatient services can help someone safely and effectively deal with cocaine detox and treatment following long-term cocaine use.