Cocaine is a powerful and highly addictive drug, used for its intense but short-lived high. Thousands of people in the UK use cocaine.
Known as a ‘party drug’ or ‘rich man’s drug’, cocaine is expensive. However, occasional use can quickly spiral into dependency. It can damage your physical and mental health, relationships, and finances.
If you or a loved one has a problem with cocaine, this page explains:
- The stages of a cocaine addiction
- Signs and symptoms to look out for
- How it affects your brain and body
- Both the short and long-term risks
- How to get treatment and support
What is cocaine addiction?
Cocaine addiction is when a person becomes physically or mentally dependent on cocaine. Casual use can swiftly escalate to you feeling unable to function without it, despite the harm it causes to your life.
Stages of addiction
- Occasional or social use: For example, trying cocaine out at parties, nights out, or festivals (this can still harm you).
- Regular and risky use: You start to use cocaine regularly to feel in control in certain situations, and may need larger doses to feel the same effect. You continue to use, despite negative effects.
- Addiction and dependence: Your life is controlled by your cravings for cocaine. You can’t stop, even when you want to.
Understanding these stages can help you recognise where you or someone else may be in their addiction, and when to get support.
Cocaine addiction signs and symptoms
Cocaine can affect every part of your life, from how you behave around other people to how your addiction changes how you spend money.
The signs aren’t always obvious at first, but can often build over time.
Physical
Physical symptoms of cocaine addiction may include weight loss or loss of appetite, problems with the nose (such as a runny nose, nosebleeds, or decreased sense of smell), and difficulty sleeping.
Psychological
Psychological symptoms can include mood swings, paranoia, or trouble concentrating. After the intense euphoria and energy of a cocaine high, a person may seem unusually tired, low, or depressed.
Behavioural
Behaviour may also change. A person may become withdrawn or secretive, avoid family or workplace responsibilities, spend time with new friendship groups, or sell possessions to fund their drug use.
These are some signs and symptoms of cocaine addiction. But what effect does cocaine have on your body in the long and short term?
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Short-term effects of cocaine
Cocaine can create an intense burst of energy and confidence. As a powerful stimulant, it can also suppress your need to eat and sleep.
However, as it wears off, the pleasurable sensations of vitality and self-worth give way to feelings of depression, anxiety, and exhaustion. Over time, cocaine use can take a heavy toll on your body and mind.
Effects may appear in minutes, depending on the dose and method.
Common short-term effects include:
- Intense feelings of euphoria and energy
- Increased alertness and talkativeness
- Loss of appetite and reduced need for sleep
- Rapid heart rate and raised blood pressure
- Heightened confidence or sense of ability
Possible negative short-term effects:
- Anxiety, restlessness, or paranoia
- Dilated pupils and sweating
- Nosebleeds or runny nose (if snorted)
- Shaking, muscle twitches, or dizziness
- Sudden “crash” with exhaustion or low mood
In rare cases, even a single use can lead to seizures, a heart attack, or sudden death. It can also cause headaches and lack of coordination.
How cocaine affects your brain
Cocaine interferes with the brain’s reward system and chemistry.
It leads to a build-up of dopamine – the chemical linked to pleasure and motivation – in your brain, leading to an intense feeling of euphoria. Normally, dopamine is recycled in the brain, but cocaine blocks this.
Over time, most addicts develop tolerance. This means that higher quantities of cocaine are needed to achieve the same level of pleasure.
Even if someone hasn’t taken cocaine for a long time, the memories of the euphoric feelings can cause extreme cravings for the drug. This can make cocaine addiction or dependence particularly difficult to stop.
Long-term effects and risks
With ongoing use, cocaine can cause serious damage to health.
Mental health risks:
- Anxiety, irritability, or restlessness
- Mood swings and depression
- Paranoia or hallucinations
- Risk of developing psychosis
Lifestyle and social impacts:
- Strained or broken relationships
- Financial difficulties from funding the addiction
- Poor work or academic performance
- Isolation from family and friends
Binge use of cocaine can lead to serious cases of irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This can lead to full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the user can experience auditory hallucinations.
Health complications of cocaine use
Cocaine can affect almost every system in your body. It can lead to long-term damage and an increased risk of life-threatening conditions.
Cardiovascular risks:
- Irregular heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Heart attack or cardiac arrest
- Increased risk of stroke
Neurological risks:
- Headaches and dizziness
- Seizures
- Long-term brain changes affecting memory and concentration
Respiratory and nasal risks:
- Nosebleeds, runny nose, or loss of smell (from snorting)
- Chest pain or breathing difficulties
- Respiratory failure (in severe cases)
Other risks:
- Weight loss and malnutrition
- Nausea and vomiting
- Dangerous effects when mixed with alcohol
Treating cocaine addiction
Deciding to get treatment for cocaine addiction is a brave step.
Getting in touch with a rehab centre could help you get back on the road to recovery and living a life without addiction to cocaine.
At Rehab Clinic, we can help you access approaches such as:
- Detoxing from drugs in a safe, supportive environment
- Therapy, including CBT, to address the causes of addiction
- Group sessions, helping you build resilience and network
- 12-step programmes, getting you ready for long-term recovery
- High-quality aftercare, giving you the support to stay clean
We offer free advice for addictive disorders, and our team will be happy to signpost or talk to you about turning your life around.
Get help today
If you or someone you love is struggling with cocaine addiction, they don’t have to go through it alone – with support, recovery is possible.
We can help you get in touch with a drug rehab centre in your area:
- Immediate, confidential support from trained professionals
- Residential rehab clinics across the UK and beyond
- A safe, comfortable environment where you can focus
- Tours of our centres so you can see facilities before treatment
FAQs
How do I know I have an addiction to drugs?
- Continuously taking drugs that are no longer needed for a health problem
- Building up a tolerance against them
- Feel shaky, depressed, stomachaches, intense sweating, headaches and more intense symptoms when the drugs wear off
- Even when drug addiction is hurting your loved ones, you still can’t stop
- You spend time thinking about how to get drugs, when to take it, how good it feels.
- Having a hard time giving yourself limitations to drug use
- Losing interest in extracurricular or social activities that don’t involve drugs
- Losing priority over personal & professional responsibilities
- You borrow or steal money to pay for drugs
- Having trouble to get along with loved ones and colleagues. They complain about your actions or how you’ve changed.
- Sleeping and eating too much or too little
- Drug addiction reflects on your physical appearance. Bloodshot eyes, bad breath, tremors, blood nose, or you may have gained or lost weight.
- You have a new set of friends with whom you do drugs and go to different places to use the drugs.
What treatments are available for drug addiction?
- Drug inpatient detox
- Drug home detox
- Drug rehab
- Intervention
- Counselling
- Group Therapy
- Rehab facilities
Where is cocaine addiction treatment available?
We have clinics all across the UK to help you on your journey to recovery. Click here to find rehab centres & facilities near you.
How much does cocaine addiction treatment cost?
For more information on how much drug addiction treatment costs, please click here.
How can I get started with drug addiction treatment?
The best way to get started is to give us a call at 0800 118 2892 for free advice and assessment. Let us help you or your loved one figure out the best treatment plan, so you can get started on your journey to recovery.
Self-help tips for dealing with the initial stages of drug addiction
- Keep track of the volume of your drug use to have a better understanding of the role of drug addiction in your life.
- Consider the impact of your drug use to the things that matter most to you, such as your partner, your children, your career and your health.
- Consider getting advice from a person you trust about your drug use.
- Remind yourself of the reasons why you want to change for the better.
- Analyse your attempts at recovery. What worked and what didn’t?
- Set specific, measurable goals, such as time and limitations you’ve made to recover from drug addiction.
- Consider to open up to your loved ones that you’re committing to recovery and seek for their support.