Drug Abuse and its Dangers

Drug abuse occurs when a person begins a consistent pattern of use of a substance beyond what is recommended if the substance is prescribed. If the substance is not prescribed, abuse occurs when the quantity of the substance used is increased to achieve a high that was once achieved at a lower quantity. Drugs most often associated with this term include: alcohol, cannabis, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cocaine, methaqualone, opioids and some substituted amphetamines. The exact cause of substance abuse is not clear, with the two predominant theories being: either a genetic disposition which is learned from others, or a habit which if addiction develops, manifests itself as a chronic debilitating disease. There are many dangers to abuse of drugs including physical and psychological addiction, change in brain chemistry and functioning, and death.

Health effects of drug abuse

Effect on the Brain. 

Your brain is wired to make you want to repeat experiences that make you feel good. So you’re motivated to do them again and again. The drugs that may be addictive target your brain’s reward system. They flood your brain with a chemical called dopamine. This triggers a feeling of intense pleasure. So you keep taking the drug to chase that high.

Over time, your brain gets used to the extra dopamine. So you might need to take more of the drug to get the same good feeling. And other things you enjoyed, like food and hanging out with family, may give you less pleasure.

When you use drugs for a long time, it can cause changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits as well. 

Heart Disorders

Drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine, and ecstasy can present the body with a myriad of cardiovascular problems. These include irregular heart rhythm or even worse–a cardiac arrest that may be fatal. Injection drug use can also lead to collapsed veins and bacterial infections of the blood vessels and heart valves.

Liver Disease

Liver failure falls among the greatest risks for alcohol addicts. Furthermore, liver problems like cirrhosis or liver cancer claim the lives of over 40,000 people annually. Over 20,000 liver-related deaths are caused by alcohol. You may think your alcohol abuse is under control, however, there’s a high probability one will later face the consequences.

 

Danger of Death

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over 19,000 people died of accidental poisoning or drug overdose in the United States in 2004 and by 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 22,000 people losing their lives to death by overdose. It is unknown how many of those deaths were suicide and how many were accidental, but this is an attestation to the severe danger of abusing drugs no matter if prescribed or illegal.

Panic attack 

Cannabis abuse may trigger panic attacks during intoxication and with continued use, it may cause a state similar to dysthymia. Researchers have found that daily cannabis use and the use of high-potency cannabis are independently associated with a higher chance of developing schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Symptoms

• Behavior which resembles mental illness
• If gone too long without drugs or alcohol, you experience symptoms such as nausea, restlessness, insomnia, depression, sweating, shaking, and anxiety.
• It can also leads to depression.
• the feeling that you can't live with out a particular substance, which is not prescribed by the doctor.

Treatment

health therapy such as; behavioral marital therapy, motivational Interviewing, community reinforcement approach, exposure therapy, contingency management. They help suppress cravings and mental anxiety, improve focus on treatment and new learning behavioral skills, ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce the chances of relapse.

Replacement therapies such as buprenorphine and methadone as well as antagonist medications like disulfiram and naltrexone in either short acting, or the newer long acting form can also be used to address the issues of drug abuse.