Stimulant Addiction: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatments

Stimulants are a broad category of drugs that speed up a person’s central nervous system. This category includes well-known and widely used stimulants like caffeine and nicotine, but also medications like Ritalin and Adderall, as well as illegal drugs like cocaine, bath salts, and methamphetamine.

In small doses, stimulants can improve focus, concentration, and energy, as they increase the activity of neurotransmitters in the brain like dopamine and norepinephrine. Stimulants have physical effects as well, like an increase in heart rate and blood pressure and a decrease in appetite.

Not all stimulants have mild effects. Because dopamine is related to feelings of pleasure and reward, taking a large dose of a stimulant may result in feelings of euphoria. Large doses—largely of illicit stimulants—can have negative effects like increased anxiety, nausea, tremors, seizures, and they can even cause comas or death.

Stimulant addiction occurs when a person becomes dependent on a stimulant. Mild stimulants, like caffeine or nicotine, can be habit-forming, but abuse of stimulants happens more often when people do not use medications as they are prescribed or when they take illegal drugs to get high.

Unfortunately, stimulant abuse and addiction are not uncommon in the U.S. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), in 2020, about 5.1 million people older than 12 abused prescription stimulants in the previous year, while 2.6 million people in the same age group had used methamphetamines in the previous year.[1]

People between the ages of 18-25 are most likely to be involved in stimulant abuse or addiction, and deaths from cocaine doubled between 2015 and 2020, likely because of polysubstance abuse, which is when two or more substances (in this case, cocaine and fentanyl) are used in conjunction.

If you are concerned about stimulant abuse or addiction, you might be wondering what signs to watch for. See the list below for some common physical, behavioral, and cognitive signs of stimulant abuse or addiction:

• Twitching
• Weight loss
• Hair loss
• Changes in sleep or appetite
• Deception or lying
• Excessive energy
• Seeking multiple prescriptions for stimulants
• Rapid thoughts
• Confusion
• Hallucinations or delusions
• Mood swings
• Isolation or withdrawal from friends and family
• Anger or depression

If you notice any of these signs or symptoms in yourself or a loved one, seek treatment. If substance abuse or addiction is left untreated, it can result in physical problems like panic attacks, paranoia, heart, liver, or kidney damage, seizures, or even death.

It can also cause stress on relationships, make it difficult to keep a job, increase aggression or social isolation, and result in loss of child custody.

If you recognize some of the signs and symptoms from the list above, your next question might be: “How do I know for sure that I or my loved one is actually addicted?”

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) lists 11 possible

symptoms that an addict might display. To qualify as having an addiction, a person must display at least two of the 11 symptoms during the same 12-month period.

Some of these signs include:

Using the drug in ways not prescribed (for a longer period or in greater doses than the doctor prescribed them).
Spending considerable time, resources, or money to obtain the drug, use it, or recover from it.
Spending less time on work, hobbies, or social activities that used to be of interest.
Using the drug even when aware of its negative effects.
Increase in tolerance for the drug or withdrawal when attempting to stop using the drug (these symptoms do not count toward diagnosis if one is using a medication like Ritalin or Adderall as prescribed).

Stimulant Withdrawal

Quitting stimulants, whether using them as prescribed or not, can cause withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms include:

• Fatigue
• Paranoia
• Anxiety
• Drug cravings
• Severe depression
• Suicidal ideation

It is important to be weaned off the drug under the supervision of a qualified doctor or psychiatrist.

Treatment for stimulant addiction usually involves a combination of medical detoxification and therapy. Often, a person will undergo detox as part of an inpatient or outpatient treatment program, like the ones at Synergy.

Therapy, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), is also helpful for those who are being treated for stimulant addiction. CBT aims to change a person’s behavior by adjusting their thought patterns.

Experiential therapy is another kind of therapy that is used for treating stimulant addiction. Experiential therapy, like arts and crafts, ropes courses, or pastoral care, helps patients explore their thoughts, feelings, and subconscious urges in order to help them find the triggers that lead to their drug use.