When life knocks you down, it isn’t easyfindinga silver lining and getting back on your feet again. It is challenging but not impossible; a conscious effort is what it takes to get your life back on track.
However, some choose the easy way out; one of those ways leads to drug addiction.
Addicts seek drugs because they are not only easily accessible, they provide instant relief. Drug addiction takes time to develop; it usually starts with recreational use in social situations.
With time, the drug use becomes frequent, either with exposure to prescribed medication or stealing it from a friend or relative who uses it for medicinal purposes.
The risk of addiction is always high but how fast you become an addict varies from drug to drug. As you become addicted, the craving to get high exceedingly grows.
It eventually makes your body incapable of functioning properly without drugs which has adverse effects on the body. One of these effects includes mental health issues.
Mental health issues arise from the frequent use of drugs that alters the brain’s normal communication pathway between chemical messengers and neurotransmitters.
The prolonged use of drugs leads to developing compulsive behavior and also impacts the mood.
If you are concerned about the health of your loved ones, there are ways to guide them to the right path.
With the help of various facilities and support groups like Delphi behavioral health group,the course of your loved ones’ life can be changed for the better.
To better understand drug addiction, let’s look at how it impacts mental health.
1. Paranoia
Although people know that drugs are mind-altering substances, they do not fully understand how drug addiction impacts an individual’s mental health.
One of the severe outcomes of drug addiction usually results in paranoia, which is the lack of trust in others.
It is mainly accompanied by the feelings of suspicion in addicts that someone is intentionally mistreating them or wants to hurt them. When there’s substance abuse over a prolonged period, the feeling of being in danger occurs frequently.
An addict exhibits signs of paranoia by staying away from others, projecting hostile behavior, and feeling victimized.
Drugs like cocaine cause feelings of paranoia which is likely to amplify with long-term abuse. Besides feeling suspicious, drug addicts also experience the fear of being caught.
Living with an individual exhibiting these signs is challenging; however, creating strong personal boundaries or cultivating a compassionate attitude is the first step toward gaining trust.
2. Memory
One of the lesser-known facts about drug addiction is that it impacts an individual’s memory. Memory loss is a significant marker of drug addiction.
When drugs enter your system, they bring physical changes and alter the brain’s chemistry, affecting its function.
The brain is that significant organ of our body that regulates how we behave and what we remember.
One of the outcomes of drug addiction is that it weakens the areas of our brain concerned with memory.
The hippocampus is the brain’s vital area that helps process memories regarding the object’s location and recent events.
Damage to this brain arealeads to the inability to form new memories.
Drugs in the system change the number of neurotransmitters in our brain that are also concerned withprocessing memories.
These neurotransmitters navigate the connection between neurons that get weakened from drug abuse, impacting the ability to consolidate memories.
Addicts frequently blackout,interruptingthe brain from completing the memory formation process. This interruption results in the inability to recall incidents, leading to short-term memory loss.
3. Depression
It is a common mental illness co-occurring with drug abuse. It is common knowledge that to escape from guilt or despair, people abuse drugs.
So, why exactly do people become depressed? The feelings arise after the effects of drugs have worn off,or usually, addicts find it difficult to cope with the consequences of drug addiction on their lives.
While most addicts believe that using drugs will help mask feelings of depression, it only exasperates the symptoms.
Hopelessness, lack of motivation, and sleep disturbances are among the symptoms of depression experienced by drug addicts.
These symptoms aggravate when an individual attempts to quit drugs without professional help. In some cases, a person experiencing depression can become addicted to drugs which have psychological implications andimpact every aspect of life, from work to personal relationships.
Drugs are an easy route for addicts to feel better, but the reality is that as soon as the effects of a substance wear off, it leaves them feeling bluer than before.
This leads to the beginning of a vicious cycle of dependency that later has serious consequences.
4. Stress
It is the body’s natural response to the events or changes occurring outside. These changes impact the mind and body, like increased heart rate or lack of concentration.
Every individual has ways of coping with stress; some engage in fun activities, whereas others resort to drugs.
Stress increases the odds of a person seeking drugs to calm themselves down which unknowingly transitions into drug abuse with time.
Drugs like opioids or benzodiazepines alter the brain’s functioning by increasing the release of GABA,which slows down the stress response, making these substances an easy target for abuse.
Drugs serve to mitigate stress and provide temporary relief. However, symptoms of stress double when the drugs are no longer in the system or the person is experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
5. Loneliness
Feeling left out or, more precisely, lonely is common in drug addiction. While people usually feel lonely, to curb this feeling, they turn to drugs.
However, instead of helping people cope with the feeling, drug addiction only leads to more isolation and loneliness.
Since drugs provide instant gratification and pump up energy, people often use drugs for social occasions.
Unfortunately, those already suffering from loneliness abuse drugs tomaintain healthy interpersonal relationships.
As the roots of drug addiction continue to solidify, it becomes challenging for an addict to interact with other people, pushing them further into the dark pit of loneliness.
To wave off this feeling, the compulsion to use drugs overshadows any sensible thought because, for addicts escaping from reality is far better than facing it.
Conclusion
There is no definitive answer to why people take drugs. It might start with the need to feed curiosity, relieve stress, or avoid social isolation.
While drugs offer immediate relief, they have long-term side effects that impact every aspect of an individual’s life.
Drug addiction affects mental health as the relief you look for no longer exists with time. New problems start,making it impossible to break down the vicious cycle and head towards recovery.
Different drugs cause depression, anxiety, and stress making it difficult to live a normal life. If you want your loved ones to live a healthy life, you must take every step to save them from the shackles of addiction.
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