Drug Usage: It Abuse and Addiction
People from all walks of life can experience problems with their drug use, regardless of age, race, background, or the reason they started using drugs in the first place. Some people experiment with recreational drugs out of curiosity, to have a good time, because friends are doing it, or to ease problems such as stress, anxiety, or depression.
However, it’s not just illegal drugs, such as cocaine or heroin, that can lead to abuse and addiction. Prescription medications such as painkillers, sleeping pills, and tranquilizers can cause similar problems. In fact, next to marijuana, prescription painkillers are the most abused drugs in the U.S. and more people die from overdosing powerful opioid painkillers each day than from traffic accidents and gun deaths combined. Addiction to opioid painkillers can be so powerful it has become the major risk factor for heroin abuse.
When drug use becomes drug abuse or addiction
Of course, drug use—either illegal or prescription—doesn’t automatically lead to abuse. Some people are able to use recreational or prescription drugs without experiencing negative effects, while others find that substance use takes a serious toll on their health and well-being. Similarly, there is no specific point at which drug use moves from casual to problematic.
Drug abuse and addiction is less about the type or amount of the substance consumed or the frequency of your drug use, and more about the consequences of that drug use. If your drug use is causing problems in your life—at work, school, home, or in your relationships—you likely have a drug abuse or addiction problem.
If you’re worried about your own or a loved one’s drug use, learning how drug abuse and addiction develops—and why it can have such a powerful hold—will give you a better understanding of how to best deal with the problem and regain control of your life. Recognizing that you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery, one that takes tremendous courage and strength. Facing your problem without minimizing the issue or making excuses can feel frightening and overwhelming, but recovery is within reach. If you’re ready to seek help, you can overcome your addiction and build a satisfying, drug-free life for yourself.
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Risk Factors for Drug Abuse:
Teenagers may try a drug because his/her friends are doing it, but her use may spiral out of control due to depression, anxiety or other life circumstances. Understanding the key risk factors for drug abuse can help parents and educators identify young people who may need extra concern or care. Some of the risk factors are : 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
✔️ Academic failure or lack of academic motivation
✔️ Alienation from peers or family
✔️ Anti-social behavior, including early aggressive behavior
✔️ Early first use of drugs
✔️ Drug availability in the community
✔️ Improper parenting – having parents who are distant, uninvolved with their children, poor monitors of their children’s activities or who have not established or enforced clear rules with their children
✔️ Long work hours
✔️ Loss of control/external locus of control – feeling that their lives are beyond their control
✔️ Low socioeconomic status
✔️ Parent or sibling alcohol/drug use
✔️ Parental divorce, remarriage or other homelife transitions
✔️Sensation-seeking behavior
There are also biological factors that can increase an individual’s likelihood of drug abuse. While these circumstances are impossible to change, awareness of their presence can help parents and educators target at-risk young people for selective intervention.
Biological factors include: 👇👇👇👇👇
✔️ Genetic predisposition toward addictive behavior
✔️ Mental illness (specifically, those with ADHD, depression or anxiety, as well as other mental illnesses)
✔️ How the body metabolizes the substance (those with a higher natural tolerance may ingest more to achieve the drug’s effects, thus raising their likelihood of addiction)
✔️ Gender – men are twice as likely to have drug abuse problems
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Why does addiction occur?
Addiction alters the function of reward circuits in the brain. Drug use is often voluntary in the first instance. The development of a full addiction occurs through a variety of circumstances.
However, the brain changes during a substance-related disorder in ways that can take a long time to bring back to a healthy state. A person whose brain’s reward circuitry has not altered as a result of addiction experiences positive feelings in relation to generally rewarding behaviors, such as exercising, being with family, or consuming delicious food. These should all make a person feel good. This might motivate a person to repeat these behaviors and regain that positive feeling.
Substances produce a euphoric feeling by triggering large amounts of dopamine in certain regions of the brain responsible for the feeling of reward. Addiction occurs when the act of using a substance takes over these circuits and increases the urge to consume more and more of the substance in order to achieve the same rewarding effect.
A substance use disorder eventually no longer causes the same rewarding feelings that it once caused. However, if the person abstains from using the substance, they begin to feel symptoms of withdrawal, which can be extremely unpleasant.
The person often finds themselves using the substance just to feel “normal” — which generally means preventing the discomfort of withdrawal symptoms.
Using drugs and alcohol to moderate mood can also impair the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, a section of the brain that manages executive decision-making. This part of the brain should alert a person to the harmful consequences of such behavior, but addiction impairs its ability to carry out this function.
A combination of these three mechanisms and the risk factors for addiction can lead to the development of an addictive disorder.
Another clear contributor to addiction is the type of substance a person takes. For example, opioids are highly addictive as they target receptors in the brain directly claims.
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What makes addiction grow worse?
Many people metabolize drugs in different ways. Some people, for example, do not require much alcohol to reach the point of intoxication. Others can seemingly drink vast quantities without feeling intoxicated. This often relates to a combination of age, gender, body weight, and other factors.
As part of regularly consuming large amounts of a substance, the body may become accustomed to its effects and metabolize it more efficiently. The person may require increased amounts of the substance to achieve the same effect that smaller amounts of the substance used to create.
Medicine generally refers to this phenomenon as tolerance. When tolerance increases alongside the need to take a substance to avoid withdrawal symptoms, it often indicates the onset of an addictive disorder. If a person does not receive treatment, it can lead to dangerous consequences.
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Signs of Drug Abuse or Addiction.
Unfortunately, media representations have painted many misleading caricatures of how a person suffering from substance abuse disorder appears or behaves.
Often, people do not acknowledge that they have a problem, and friends or family members are the first to notice something has changed. If you are worried that you or a loved one is suffering from an addiction, uncertainty makes it hard to proceed. However, there are some telltale signs and symptoms to help you identify any potential issues.
This symptoms can be broken down into two headings. ( Physical and Behavioural)
🅰️ Physical Signs of Drug Abuse
1. SMALL PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS:
Side effects can include slight alterations to physical appearance that may start to become noticeable. Bloodshot or red eyes and pinpoint or dilated pupils are all telling signs of many types of drug abuse. Also, pay attention to skin texture and complexion. Frequent abnormal puffiness and flushed or washed-out color can also indicate ongoing abuse of drugs or alcohol.
Many forms of drug abuse come with small behavioral changes that might be dismissed as “tics.” If you notice any of the following, it could be signs of a hidden condition: 👇👇👇👇👇
👉 Persistent itching in a specific area of the body
👉 Impulsive pulling down of sleeves to hide marks
👉 Slurred speech
👉 Frequent sniffling
While these are not definitive signs, if they are accompanied by secretiveness or defensiveness, they could provide helpful clues as to whether something is wrong.
2. OVERALL APPEARANCE:
Long-term abuse of drugs can result in drastic changes to physical appearance. Many drugs have appetite suppressing or other altering side effects, meaning abuse often results in visible weight changes.
These rapid changes to body composition, such as sudden weight loss or weight gain, or lack of interest in personal grooming, especially if it declines without explanation, can also point to substance abuse and can be cause for concern.
3. PARAPHERNALIA:
It can be an obvious indicator if you find equipment in someone’s room or among their things. Some common items include:
👉 Cigarette wrapping papers
👉 Pipes
👉 Syringes
👉 Rolled up banknotes
👉 Cut-up straws
👉 Soiled cotton swabs
👉 Lighters
👉 Burnt spoons or bottle caps
👉 Bongs
👉Razor blades
👉 “Cutting” surfaces like mirrors or glass
Not all drugs require anything to use them, but you might see other items that point to misuse. For example, medicine bottles from more than one doctor can be a sign of prescription drug abuse.
People can use eyewash to hide the effect of bloodshot eyes – and while this is not a definite indicator, abnormal amounts can be a clue. Depending on many factors, someone struggling with addiction might go to great lengths to hide the physical signs or treat the symptoms with total apathy.
🅱️ Behavioral Signs of Drug Abuse
When substance use takes hold of someone’s life, new priorities and feelings will control how they behave.
This results in rapid or noticeable changes from what was previously considered “normal” for this person. Daily routines and activities get rearranged or abandoned, and relationships with friends and loved ones come under stress. If you or someone you know is turning into someone unrecognizable, it could be a consequence of drug abuse.
Some changes to watch for are 👇👇👇:
1. STRUGGLING WITH LIMITS:
This can manifest as urges to take a prescription drug at a higher dose than prescribed or continuing after the health problem it treats has ended. Addiction makes it hard to follow even self-prescribed rules. If you have set yourself a self-imposed use limit but cannot stop yourself, this is a concerning sign.
2. LOSS OF INTEREST:
Substance dependency takes over the mind’s reward system. Take note if someone is becoming complacent in realms they used to take great pride in or apathetic towards the people or hobbies they usually cherish.
It may mean they are funneling their energy toward feeding the impulse of using drugs. Frequent failure to show up or follow through on plans, lack of enthusiasm, or dulling of talents can all indicate an underlying struggle.
3. MOOD SWINGS:
Many substances, especially when used heavily, impair the user’s ability to manage emotional input. This can appear as sudden misery, extreme upset, irritation, or anger in situations when they could previously handle their moods well. If a normally calm and collected person seems hyper and manic, or an optimist is dealing with sudden waves of depression, it could be a sign of drug abuse.
5. DEFENSIVENESS:
Withdrawn behavior and responding with hostility or wariness when uncomfortable topics arise can be a sign of defensiveness. A person trying to hide addiction may redirect the conversation with arguments or even aggressive mood swings, and distraction methods are also a defensive sign.
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Tips to overcome drug addiction
👉 Surround yourself with supportive people. One of the most important things you can do to stay sober is to find friends who are sober, too. While it may be hard to cut off unhealthy relationships of your past, hanging out with people who support your need to stay clean will pay off in the long run.
👉 Find new hobbies. Staying busy is the best way to keep your mind off your desire to use. Not only that, but establishing an interesting and rewarding hobby can also help you find joy and purpose in your life, and replace your old unhealthy habits with new drug-free activities.
👉 Exercise. Working out is good for the body and the mind. As your physical health improves, you’ll also experience the “natural high” of endorphins, which can elevate your mood. And an exercise routine creates a structure to your days, helping to reduce your risk of a relapse.
👉 Volunteer Finding a worthy cause to support while in recovery allows you to help others while helping yourself. Giving back to the community can help you discover a sense of purpose, build healthy connections and friendships, and feel good about the contributions you’re making to society.
👉Eat well. The food you eat has a serious impact on your wellbeing. By making sure you consume a healthy, well-rounded diet, you’ll keep yourself in shape – both physically and mentally. And if you’re feeling good, then you’re less likely to turn to drugs for a mood booster.
7th ,March 2022
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Thanks for reading ❤️
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