What Is Feening for Drugs?
Feening for drugs, also spelled as “fiending,” refers to an intense craving or desire for drugs, typically experienced by addicts. This craving can be physical, psychological, or both, and can be triggered by factors like stress, anxiety, or exposure to drug-related cues. Feening for drugs can lead to compulsive drug-seeking behavior, which can be difficult to control and can have negative consequences on health, relationships, and overall well-being. Effective treatment for substance use disorder typically involves addressing the underlying causes of addiction and developing coping strategies to manage cravings and prevent relapse.
“Feenin” or craving drugs is a common sign of drug addiction. It causes people to involve themselves in risky behavior to get their next high.
Unfortunately, if left unaddressed, feening leads to irreversible health complications — and in many cases — the loss of life. The good news is there is hope for individuals at this stage in their addiction, and with the right support, they can recover.
If you or someone you know struggles with drug cravings, we can help. Zinnia Health offers drug recovery programs like detox and 12-step to help you stop feening and recover without relapse. To find out how, give us a call at (855) 430-9439.
What is Feening For Drugs?
Feen is a corrupted version of the word fiend. Feening is a present participle describing a person who has a strong desire to use drugs. It is the later stage of a substance use disorder called addiction.
When a person is feening, they display multiple signs of drug withdrawal, including physical pain. This results in them aggressively seeking their next hit to stop the pain. They might also feel like an evil spirit is after them.
Drug fiends are also called junkies, addicts, dope fiends, or opium fiends. After using drugs repeatedly, powerful changes take place in the brain. Some of these changes interrupt the way your brain interprets pleasure and pain.
Each instance of drug use floods the brain with dopamine. In addition, the brain learns that getting high equals a fresh dopamine release that results in feeling better. Without this dopamine response, the person feels uncomfortable and incomplete, so the brain urges this person to seek out the same drug again despite the consequences.
Signs and Symptoms of Feening for Drugs?
A person feening for drugs will experience intense cravings that are impossible to ignore. At this point, they will not only have a physical dependence on drugs, but a psychological one as well. This is why the signs and symptoms of feening are a mixture of both.
Physical symptoms of feening overlap with symptoms of withdrawal.
They include:
- Weight loss
- Cognitive defects
- Anxiety
- Poor hygiene
- Large or small pupils
- Insomnia
- Poor hand-eye coordination
- Nausea or vomiting
- Fatigue
- Stomach pain
- Diarrhea
- Tremors
Psychological symptoms of feening include:
- Compulsive thoughts and actions
- Feeling of losing control
- Sudden mood swings
- Paranoia
- Lack of motivation
- Poor attention span
- Speaking faster or slower than usual
The above signs clearly indicate that an individual is struggling with drug addiction and needs the support of an addiction community to quit.
Have you experienced signs of drug feening? If so, there are safe and effective ways to quit with minimal discomfort.
Contact Zinnia Health at (855) 430-9439 to inquire about Medication Assisted Detox and our successful 12-step programs.
When Does Feening Begin?
Feening begins when your brain is so affected by drug use that you can’t function without that substance.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drugs alter important brain areas necessary for life-sustaining functions; including motivation.
These areas include:
- Basal Ganglia — also called the reward circuit, plays a role in motivation and pleasurable activities. Drug use causes this part of the brain to over-activate, resulting in a flood of dopamine and euphoria. However, repeated activation diminishes the dopamine reward causing an individual to use more to achieve their initial high.
- The Extended Amygdala — handles stress and negative emotions. This part of the brain motivates addicts to seek drugs to avoid these negative feelings. In turn, they’re rewarded with a rush of dopamine.
- The Prefrontal Cortex — handles your problem-solving ability and impulse control. Repeated drug use causes this part of the brain to malfunction, resulting in a loss of control and reasoning.
These brain parts work together to keep the motivation/reward pattern going, resulting in feening.
As for the precise moment feening occurs, this varies.
Depending on the type of drug used, the quantity used, and the frequency used, feening can take place at any time.
What Happens if You Give Into Feening?
The stigma surrounding drug feening, often causes individuals to hide their drug addiction. They may try to quit on their own, but due to uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms, they often return to drug use.
Without proper help, they may give in to drug feening. This cycle ends in catastrophic results.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration warns that chronic use of drugs causes permanent mental and physical injury.
These include:
- Anxiety disorders
- Asthma
- Tooth decay
- Bowel decay
- Cognitive decline
- Nerve damage
- Brain damage
- Coma
- Liver disease
- Heart disease
- Lung disease
- Stroke
- Cancer
- Late-stage kidney disease
- Death
The National Institute on Drug Abuse also links drug addiction to hepatitis B and C, HIV, and AIDS. This is due to an increase in risky behavior. These diseases are more prevalent in individuals who use injectable drugs.
It’s also important to note that giving in to feening while pregnant can cause developmental problems in your child.
How to Stop Feening for Drugs?
The only way to stop feening for drugs is to safely detox from the substance and learn ways to overcome addiction.
Drug Detox
Detox is often the first step toward recovery. Your body naturally detoxes by ushering toxins through the digestive system by way of the kidneys and liver. This process can take as little as a few hours or as long as a few weeks, depending on the substance.
If you are feening, you might benefit from a supervised detox program. Residential drug rehab centers offer this program.
This program provides a safe environment for the enrollee to detox from drugs while being monitored and treated for symptoms of withdrawal.
If the individual has an underlying physical or mental health condition, they are also treated for this. Outpatient detox is available for those who cannot enroll in a residential program.
Talk it Out with Therapy
Drug feening causes you to act in ways you normally wouldn’t. This results in incredible guilt and denial. In some cases, it also leads to anxiety and depression.
Speaking to someone can help you process your feelings and gain the strength to quit.
Here are a few evidence-based therapies that help you achieve sobriety:
- Contingency Management: This therapy utilizes positive enforcement, like rewards for remaining sober.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT for short, helps addicts discover what triggers their drug use. CBT also provides ways to avoid these triggers and replace feening with beneficial behaviors.
- 12-Step: Twelve-step programs follow spiritual themes of acceptance, surrender, and involvement in recovery. These therapy sessions are held in a group setting weekly. Successful programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous use the 12-step program to encourage members to stay clean.
- Some people also find yoga, meditation, art therapy, and exercise beneficial in recovery.
Involve a Drug Rehab
Drug rehab offers a safe and drug-free environment for you to recover. Rehabilitation centers like Zinnia Health offer holistic treatments and evidence-based therapies, like SMART recovery and CBT. These programs provide the tools needed to curb your cravings and minimize your risk of relapsing.
If you’re ready to take this step towards recovery, contact Zinnia Health at (855) 430-9439 today. Our lines are open 24/7, and all calls are confidential.