Sometimes we take drugs to help us cope with difficult emotions or experiences.
Over time we may find the drug no longer helps us to cope in the same way, and we may find we are struggling to cope with the effects of longer-term drug use.
If you notice this is happening for you, Derby Drug and Alcohol Service can help.
Nutrition
When you are taking drugs on a regular basis it can make it easy to skip meals or to miss out on healthy meals. Try planning and preparing a week of meals in advance.
Drugs can change our appetite. The use of some stimulants can cause a decrease in appetite which can lead to weight loss. The use of other drugs, such as cannabis, may result in increased appetite and weight gain. These side effects will depend on a variety of factors including other medication or other drugs that you may be taking.
Eat a healthy meal at least one hour before taking drugs, to reduce the risk of nausea.
Carry healthy snacks with you – nuts, seeds and bananas are a great source of quick vitamins and essential nutrients. Make sure you are aiming for a good mix of calcium, protein, iron and healthy fats.
Try to pack lots of vitamins into your diet and take vitamin supplements if needed.
When the effects wear off people may find themselves binging on high-fat, low-nutrient foods. Poor nutrition can lower your immune system leaving you more prone to coughs and colds.
Look after your physical health
Attending to our physical health can involve the things like physical exercise, nutrition and getting a good night’s sleep, but it can also include making sure we are seeking medical help when we need it or looking after ourselves when we are sick. It could mean getting regular health check-ups and tests.
Look after your relationships
One of the reasons we may take drugs is because others in our social circle are taking them or it might make us feel that we are more connected to others. Drugs can increase feelings of empathy and improve our connection with others, but they can also cause problems with our relationships.
Some drugs can make us feel less sociable and disconnected from others, some can make us feel paranoid or more aggressive. Part of taking care of our wellbeing this might include attending to the important relationships in our life. You might find you need help with this such as through counselling.
Staying away from drugs
Think about what the challenges might be and what we can put in place to manage the challenges. It might be useful to consider who will help/ who might hinder this process for us.
Track patterns of use and identify strategies for managing triggers. It can be useful to remove temptation – delete and block contacts for dealers. If you usually take benzos with certain people, hold off seeing them for a bit. If you always end up taking them after you have had a few beers, avoid drinking.