What Is The Difference Between Opioid Addiction And Opioid Dependence?

0:00What is the difference between opioid addiction and opioid physiologic dependence?

0:08There is a critical difference and I will tell you, I am Dr. Rodriguez from Healing

0:12Sky.

0:13I'm also the medical director of the Delray Center for Healing and today I will explain

0:17this critical difference.

0:20Physiologic opioid dependence is when your body has been exposed to opioids consistently

0:28for an extended period of time.

0:32The body will become dependent on it, meaning the body is used to the presence of the opioids

0:37in the bloodstream.

0:39The body adapts to the presence of opioids in the bloodstream and it becomes tolerant

0:44to them.

0:45It starts to adapt so that it can handle the consistent amount of opioids in the bloodstream

0:51but not have the same sedating effects that you would have when you first take it.

0:57This is a survival mechanism of the body and it is what the body would do in nature

1:03before there was ever a civilized society or any kind of prescribed opioids.

1:07It sees the opioids in the bloodstream as some type of contamination in the food supply

1:14and its primary job is to survive.

1:17So it becomes tolerant to it, it gets used to it and the body can keep functioning with

1:23this contamination in the food supply and the person will not die.

1:28That is the adaptation process that leads to the physiologic dependence and then what

1:34happens is the body has gotten used to the opioids being there in the bloodstream.

1:38Now if they are suddenly taken away, if they suddenly go missing, the body is going to

1:45have a withdrawal syndrome.

1:47The body will get sick, you will feel very sick and this sickness is unmistakable.

1:52It is nausea, it is vomiting, it is diarrhea, it is goosebumps, you feel horrible, it is

1:57pain, your nose is running, your eyes are tearing, you're coughing, you're sneezing,

2:03it is horrible, it is unmistakable.

2:06Initially when you first develop it, it might be a little more subtle and a little softer

2:11but with continued opioid use, whether it be prescribed or not prescribed, this syndrome

2:17will intensify greatly and you can get very, very sick coming off opioids.

2:22Very, very sick and that is a natural consequence of just consuming opioids, whether it be prescribed

2:30or somebody's taking it for fun.

2:33That is something that is unavoidable.

2:35That is physiologic opioid dependence.

2:39Now somebody taking opioids as prescribed will develop physiologic opioid dependence

2:44if they take it long enough.

2:47That does not mean they are addicted because they do not have the behavioral component

2:51of addiction.

2:54Opioid addiction involves the behavioral component.

2:58The person is typically not taking it as prescribed or if they had been taking it as prescribed,

3:05their behavior changes.

3:08It is key that you have a change in behavior.

3:10The person is now taking it for fun, they're trying to get intoxicated or they're taking

3:15much more than prescribed and it is out of proportion to having developed a higher tolerance.

3:23When somebody uses opioids for an extended period of time, they naturally will develop

3:26tolerance and they naturally will need a higher dose.

3:31So increasing a dose because of tolerance is different than increasing the dose way

3:36higher than the tolerance would indicate just to get an intoxication effect, just to get

3:42high.

3:43There is a critical difference.

3:45And the person who's taken way more to get an effect like an intoxication, that is the

3:49person that would qualify as having opioid addiction.

3:54When you have the behavior seeking intoxication, also you have other behaviors.

3:58A person starts to lie about their drug use, they're hiding it, they're stealing to get

4:04money to procure it.

4:07These are behaviors you see with addiction.

4:09It is different than just dependence.

4:12Now, the person with addiction will also have physiologic dependence.

4:17They'll have both the physical part and the behavioral part.

4:21The person who is, let's say, taking it for chronic pain and has no addictive behaviors

4:27at all, they would just have the physiologic, the physical part, the physiologic dependence

4:33to the opioid.

4:34So there is a critical difference.

4:36This is why if you're taking pain medication for any legitimate pain reason, whether it

4:41be an acute pain or a chronic pain, you want to take it as prescribed.

4:44You don't want to abuse it.

4:46You don't want to mess around with it because it can change on you.

4:50Your body's reaction to opioids can change on you and you can develop addiction.

4:55It can happen.

4:57And for some people, it happens more easily than others.

5:00A red flag of that is if you take opioids and you feel great, I mean, not good, not

5:06relieving the pain.

5:07You feel great.

5:08You have energy.

5:10Your mood is up.

5:11You feel amazing.

5:12You're not necessarily high, but you feel absolutely amazing.

5:14You get a rush from it.

5:17That could be a red flag that you are predisposed to addiction for the simple reason that your

5:21body likes it too much.

5:23So you got to be careful with that.

5:24If that happens to you, be extra careful.

5:27Don't take any more than is prescribed or any more than is absolutely necessary to not

5:33risk provoking the development of addiction.

5:36You know, addiction can happen in anybody.

5:38Some people are more predisposed and they can develop addiction more easily and more

5:42quickly with less usage over a shorter span of time compared to people who are less predisposed.

5:49If you have addiction to another drug or to alcohol, you are already severely predisposed

5:56to addiction and can easily cross over and develop addiction to opioids as well.

6:00So be mindful of that.

6:01I hope you find this information helpful.

6:04If you'd like to hear more, you can like, follow, subscribe to my content here on Healing

6:09Sky.

6:10If you want to see me as a client, you can find me at delraycenter.com.

6:14Also please look for my podcast launching in the fall of 2026.

6:17I hope you find this information useful.

6:19Thank you.