What Is Drug Addiction?

First, let us know what alcohol and drug abuse mean. Substance abuse means illegal drugs taken. Its also when you take alcohol or medicines prescribed in a large quantity or in a wrong way. Substance abuse is not the same as addiction, many people with substance abuse dilemmas can quit or change their unhealthy routine.

So, What Is Drug Addiction?

Addiction is a disease that affects your brain and system of behaving. When you start taking drugs it becomes quite tough to stop the urge of taking them even though our brain tells us how harmful it is. Drug addiction also in alcohol, nicotine,opioids, painkillers, and other legal substances and not only illegal drugs such as cocaine ,heroine .At the start you may use the drug just once and feel you can control the urge of taking it but as time passes you get addicted to it and it becomes difficulty for your body to leave it. These physical changes can lead to damaging behaviors and last longer than you think.

Abuse and Addiction

Abuse is when you take illegal or legal substance in wrong ways. Substance Abuse can be gotten rid of and change your unhealthy behavior but this doesn’t make it safe. You may take drugs to make you feel good or reduce stress or avoid reality and take double doses or use someone elses precreption.

ADDICTION,on the other hand cannot be controlled by you once you start it even if it becomes harmful for your life.The urge of filling up your body with drugs just does not stop even if its hurting your loved ones or affecting you financially or emotionally.

Effect on Your Brain

Your brain wont stop there you will repeat this as it makes you feel good,as we know our brain is wired in such a way that we want to repeat the things we enjoy doing.It doesn’t understand the pros or cons of something. 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.

As time passes the bran gets accustomed with the dopamine and suggests the brain to take of the drug to fell the same amount of pleasure,and other things life family,friends and even food will not be able to satisfy the same amount of pleasure.

The increase in production of dopamine will affect the other chemicals and circuits present in the brain.This will hurt your: decision making,leaning ability,judgement,memory and so on.This will lead you to take drugs beyond you control.

Who’s Most Likely to Become Addicted?

Every persons body and brain works differently.Some love the pleasure of drugs the first time they try it while others hate it and never try it again.Not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted But it can happen to anyone and at any age.

Signs of Addiction

You may have one or more of these warning signs:

• An urge to use the drug every day, or many times a day.
• You end up taking more drugs than what you planned and for longer than you thought you woud.
• You find yourself with the drug everywhere and at any time, even if you cant afford the drug you end up buying it.
• You find yourself caring for no one including your loved ones and even if it affects your professional life.
• Not having it for even one day makes you sick
• You don’t take care of yourself or care for your appearance.
• a change in groups of friends.
• Most of your time is wasted in getting,using and recovering from the effects of drugs.
• You spend most of the time being alone and experience drop in school performance.

When to get help

Treatment consists of self care

Treatment consists of support groups, counselling or medication to prevent relapse. Counselling psychology and family therapies are helpful.