When to Call a Drug Abuse Hotline
Choosing to call a drug abuse hotline may seem like a stressful and life-altering decision, but it doesn’t need to be. Anyone who worries about the negative impact of drugs in their life or the life of their loved ones should feel free to contact a local or nationwide hotline at any time.
Judging the impact of drugs on your life can be challenging. Substance abuse may be a problem if you:
- Use drugs every day
- Need an increasing amount of drugs to produce the desired high
- Spend a lot of your day using and recovering from drug use
- Make unsuccessful attempts to limit or eliminate drug use
- Have strong cravings for drugs
- Keep using drugs even when drugs interfere with your relationships, work or school
- Experience physical health, mental health, legal or financial issues from use
- Feel sick or uncomfortable without drugs
People mistakenly believe that they cannot form a problem with a prescription drug, but that notion is false. Several prescription drugs, like pain pills, sleep aids and medications for anxiety, can spark addiction and physical dependence issues, even when used as recommended by the doctor.
If someone is unsure about their need for a drug abuse hotline, they should consider speaking with a trusted support to get their opinion. Sometimes, a loved one has another point-of-view, which can add clarity.
Seeing the drug abuse issues in a loved one is a separate experience. To identify the need to call a drug hotline for a friend, look for:
- A drastic change in their physical appearance while paying attention to their eyes, skin, weight, and teeth
- Differences in their sleep or energy levels
- A lack of self-care and personal hygiene
- Mood changes with depression, anger, and irritability
- Changing social interactions with isolation or spending time with new people
- Increased lying and secretive action
Anyone concerned about their loved one should also look for signs of drug misuse like empty pill bottles and drug paraphernalia around the house.
What to Expect When You Call
Calling a drug abuse hotline may seem like an intimidating process, but it really does not have to be. Most of the time, a friendly and calm operator will answer the call, ask a few questions, explore possible treatments and make a referral to a service provider.
The entire call may only last a few minutes and will not even involve any exchange of personal information. The hotline representative may ask questions about the person’s:
- Age, gender, and location
- The types of drugs used
- The frequency, intensity, and duration of use
- Co-occurring mental and physical health condition
- Support from family and friends
Each question provides helpful information the operator can use to point the person in the best direction for their needs and situation.