Author: Catherine Tan

Drug Addiction

What is drug addiction?

Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. These brain changes can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a “relapsing” disease – people in recovery from drug use disorders are at increased risk for returning to drug use even after years of not taking the drug.

Written by: Reynovael Buenavista

Retrieved from: https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/understanding-drug-use-addiction

REASONS WHY PEOPLE TAKE DRUGS

People take drugs because they want to change something about their lives. Here are some of the reasons young people have given for taking drugs:

  • To fit in
  • To escape or relax
  • To relieve boredom
  • To seem grow up to rebel
  • To experiment

They think drugs are a solution. But eventually, the drugs become the problem. Difficult as it may be face one’s problems, the consequences of drug use are always worse than the problem one is trying to solve with them.

Drugs block off all sensations, the desirable ones with the unwanted. So, while providing short-term help in the relief of pain, they also wipe out ability and alertness and muddy one’s thinking. Medicines are drugs that are intended to speed up or slow down or change something about the way your body is working, to try to make it work better. Sometimes they are necessary. But they are still drugs: they act as stimulants or sedatives, and too much can kill you. So if you do not use medicines as they are supposed to be used, they can be as dangerous as illegal drugs.

Normally, when a person remembers something, the mind is very fast and information comes to him quickly. But drugs blur memory, causing blank spots. When a person tries to get information through this cloudy mess, he can’t do it. Drugs make a person feel slow or stupid and cause him to have failures in life. And as he has more failures and life gets harder, he wants more drugs to help him deal with the problem.

Drugs destroy creativity. One told about drugs is that they help a person become more creative. The truth is quite different. Someone who is sad might use drugs to get a feeling of happiness, but it does not work. Drugs can lift a person into a fake kind of cheerfulness, but when the drug wears off, he or she crashes even lower than before. And each time, the emotional plunge is lower and lower. Eventually, drugs will completely destroy all the creativity a person has.

Written by: Steffany June Godilano

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. (2007). Drugs Facts Did You Know? Retrieved October 2004 from https://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/drugs/why-do-people-take-drugs.html

EFFECTS OF DRUGS IN OUR HEALTH

Drugs are chemicals that affect our brain and body. In every drugs, there are different effects in our body. Some effects of drugs include health consequences that are long-lasting and permanent. There are some ways of taking a drug like injection, inhalation and ingestion. The effect of drugs in our body depends on how you used or take it. For example, the injection of drugs directly into the bloodstream has an immediate impact, while ingestion has a delayed effect. But all misused drugs affect the brain. They cause large amounts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate our emotions, motivation and feelings of pleasure, to flood the brain and produce a “high”. Eventually, drugs can change how the brain works and interfere with a person’s ability to make choices, leading to intense cravings and compulsive drug use. Over time, this behaviour can turn into a substance dependency, or drug addiction.

THE EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE ON HEALTH

Substance use disorders are associated with a wide range of short- and long-term health effects. They can vary depending on the type of drug, how much and how often it’s taken and the person’s general health. Overall, the effects of drug abuse and dependence can be far reaching. They can impact almost every organ in the human body.

SIDE EFFECTS OF DRUG ADDICTION MAY INCLUDE:

All drugs – nicotine, cocaine, marijuana and others – affect the brain’s “reward” circuit, which is part of the limbic system. This area of the brain affects instinct ad mood. Drugs target this system which cause large amounts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate our emotions, motivation and feelings of pleasure, to flood the brain and produce a “high”. It’s one of the main causes of drug addiction.

DRUG EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOR

  • PARANOIA
  • AGGRESSIVENESS
  • HALLUCINATIONS
  • IMPAIRED JUDGEMENT
  • IMPULSIVENESS
  • LOSS OF SELF-CONTROL

These effects of drug abuse have serious consequences, like missed work, punishable offenses, accidents and injuries. In fact, alcohol and drugs are partly to blame in an estimated 80 percent of offenses leading to jail time in the US.

Written by: Catherine Tan

Retrieved from: https://www.samhsa.gov/atod

STEPS TO PREVENT ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION

The best tool against developing an addiction is avoiding drug or alcohol use in the first place. But that’s easier said than done. Many people begin using as young as age 13 and are too young to realize the damaging impact addiction will have on their lives. If you are lucky to have recognized the addiction pattern early, then follow these steps to prevent drug addiction.

  1. UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE USE DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
  2. Using addictive drugs (illicit or prescribed) for recreational purposes.
  3. Self-medication
  4. Genetics and Family History
  5. UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DRUG ABUSE AND DRUG ADDICTION

Alcohol and drug abuse and alcohol and drug addiction are defined differently. A person who uses heavily and then can abruptly stop is considered to be abusing alcohol or drugs. But addiction occurs when the body requires drugs to stop withdrawal symptoms.

  • AVOID TEMPTATIONS AND PEER PRESSURE

                You may have heard the expression, “You’re only as good as the company you keep,” and in reality, that statement is true. If you have friends or family members who pressure you to use drugs, avoid them. Make new friends who practice healthier habits, who do well in school, who are motivated at work and who have goals. Remember, alcohol or drug use can turn to addiction rapidly; no one plans on becoming a drug addict.

  • FIND THE SUPPORT YOU NEED

People struggling with emotional distress are at greater risk for developing an addiction to drugs. Work on developing coping skills. If you have events or experiences in you past that affect your feelings, find a reliable and healthy source of support. Don’t try to self-medicate your feelings or physical discomfort.

  • PRACTICE HEALTHIER LIVING HABITS

Exercise, eating well and meditation are excellent ways to avoid using drugs. Quite often, the results you feel from living a healthier lifestyle can help you resist the temptation to use drugs or alcohol to escape.

                Addiction specialists can advise you about addiction to drugs. This information can help you prevent drug addiction. Family-based drug prevention plans are also highly effective at helping children avoid the temptations of drugs.

Written by: Jester Payofilin

Retrieved from: https://www.recoveryconnection.com/prevent-drug-addiction/