Anyone who dabbles with occasional cocaine use and turns it into a habit has crossed the line into cocaine addiction. This is because cocaine is a “lifestyle drug,” in that it is very much about the user’s perception of themselves while they are using it.

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There is an element of glamorization that goes beyond other drugs when regarding cocaine. People who use it feel like they are hip, cool, and really living on the edge. They feel that other people are not strong enough or smart enough to live this life that they are living. This is the mindset of cocaine addiction. It is the reason why the psychological addiction with cocaine runs so deep.

In reality, cocaine is not as physically addicting as most other drugs. This can be evidenced by a lack of withdrawal symptoms when the user stops taking the drug. With most chemicals, such as alcohol or opiate based drugs like painkillers or heroin, people who stop taking the drugs go through unpleasant and sometimes even violent withdrawal symptoms. But this is not really true with cocaine. Any withdrawal symptoms are going to be very mild or almost nonexistent, even for a heavy user. The withdrawal is psychological.

More likely to be experienced is the emotional loss of giving up the lifestyle that I mentioned earlier. Cocaine addicts who are attempting to quit might complain that life is now boring or not worth living anymore without the lifestyle of cocaine use. This is because they were addicted to the lifestyle of addiction as much as they were to the drug itself.

For example, the need to get more cocaine is part of the lifestyle. Calling people or dealers and meeting up with them is part of it. Staying up all night and partying due to the drug is part of the lifestyle. Chopping up lines of coke and the rituals involved with either smoking it or snorting it are all part of the lifestyle. Using the drug with other people and the bonding that comes from doing so is part of the lifestyle. It’s all about the partying and the night life and the people. It is a lot to give up all at once when someone makes an effort to get clean.

Overcoming this addiction to lifestyle is a real challenge in the long run, and that is why I advocate creative recovery. The addict must create a new life for themselves in order to stay motivated and be content and move forward with their life. It is too much to ask someone to give up a life of glamor and partying (even if it is just perceived glamor) without offering them anything in return.

Creative recovery is the prize for staying clean. It takes time in order to get there, but after building a new life in recovery and finding new things to be passionate about, we can replace our passion for that old lifestyle with new purpose in our lives.

The only hitch is that it does not happen overnight. The addict has to give it time in order to make it through early recovery. Action leads to good things if we only give the process of recovery a chance.