Drug addiction has been a global problem and among the leading causes of death. It is a chronic disorder that involves compulsive consumption of psychoactive substances despite their adverse effects. According to experts, drug addiction is a brain disorder because it changes its circuits' functionality. The dependency creates other forms of reward and hinders proper action towards stress and self-control. The most abused drugs that cause addiction include cocaine, opioids, and alcohol. People consume such drugs excessively for multiple reasons, including reducing physical and emotional pain and boosting performance at work and school. Other factors, such as genetics and environment, dictate the probability of developing a drug addiction, so some people are likely to fall prey while others cannot. Short-term effects of drug addiction include loss of self-awareness, depression, and lack of coordination. The long-term effects include broken relationships, loss of employment, legal challenges, and acquisition of communicable and non-communicable diseases. However, with drug addiction treatment programs, addicts can change, mend broken relationships and become productive people in society. Drug addiction leaves victims in chaotic states as some cannot feed themselves or maintain proper hygiene. Still, they can live better by accepting their loss of control, seeking treatment, and maintaining sobriety.
Drug Addiction Statistics and Types
According to physicians, drug addiction is also known as substance use disorder affecting peoples' brains and behavior, leading to uncontrollable use of illegal and legal medications and substances. Such addictive drugs include cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine. Others are such as benzodiazepines, opioids, and alcohol (Singh & Gupta, 2015). People who use and are dependent on these substances regardless of their harm are known as drug addicts. They develop addiction in various ways, from frequent recreational or experimental usage or health conditions demanding long-term consumption of addictive drugs. Dependency develops because consumers acquire certain rewards or outcomes after consuming the drugs, which cause motivation for further intake. Drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine are known to boost energy to improve performance and control appetite to lose weight. Benzodiazepines are prescription depressants for the central nervous system that help patients deal with stressful thoughts and feelings. People who suffer from chronic pain may develop opioid addiction because they are painkilling drugs, including oxycodone, morphine, and heroin, among others.
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Many people suffer from drug addiction in the United States, and the majority die from a drug overdose and long-term drug-induced health issues. According to numerous surveys, millions of people aged twelve years and above suffer from substance use disorder. Many people have alcohol use disorder, while others are addicted to illegal drugs (NIDA, 2018). Others suffer from both. According to Maisto, Galizio and Connors, “Using multiple substances on one occasion is not uncommon. For example, according to the 2015 NSDUH data, 6.4% of past-month alcohol users used marijuana on an occasion within two hours of their alcohol use” (2019). The research also indicated that five million drug addicts also suffer from co-occurring disorders or mental health problems. Consequently, drug addiction causes an annual loss of approximately seven-hundred and forty billion U.S dollars.
Causes
The primary cause of drug addiction is the mental and physical stimulation that addictive substances create. People experiment on drugs in social situations, such as parties or any other settings, and develop consumption habits when obsessed with the feelings acquired. Continuation of drug abuse habits eventually leads to addition over time, and it occurs with one or more substances. So, addiction occurs due to repeated drug use since it alters the way the brain defines pleasure. The addictive drugs continuously change the nerve cells, also known as neurons, in the brain by interfering with how neurotransmitters communicate (Moustafa, 2020). When these alterations are combined with one's lifestyle, one could develop social, physical, and mental impairments, which last even after drug addiction treatment and recovery. Therefore, drug addiction develops due to the numerous personal, social, and environmental causes, whereby the victim loses control.
Risk factors
Aside from the high frequency of consumption, drug addiction occurs due to multiple factors, which explains why some people are more prone to developing the problem than others. The drug compositions vary, and so the addiction risk and how fast people develop dependency are different. For instance, opioids cause addiction faster than alcohol or marijuana. Other risk factors include environmental and biological influences (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2020). People live in specific environments with components such as family, community or neighborhood, or school. Exposure to traumatic life incidents or aggressive behavior in childhood could cause traumas or other psychological issues that could lead to drug addiction. The behavior of one's family members can determine one's involvement with drugs. Therefore, if a parent consumes drugs and breaks the law, the children are at high risk of developing drug problems. Additionally, parents ignoring their children and providing no support puts adolescents at risk of depending on drugs to overcome negative feelings. Addiction quickly develops among such children and adolescents due to a lack of parental supervision.
When families do not put people at risk of developing a drug addiction, the community or school could socialize. A poor community struggles to make income, and so many members, including adolescents, could result in selling drugs. Persons indulge in substance abuse mostly when experimenting with drugs' effects on clients, and so addiction develops as they continue selling drugs. Influential adolescent drug dealers are likely to influence their friends and peers to expand their customer base as they make the substances available at school (Zaman, Razaq, Hassan, et al., 2015). Consequently, they could easily people with low peer refusal skills into indulgence, and the majority of such students lack social skills and thus consume drugs to please others and avoid struggling in school.
Biological factors, such as gender, genes, and development stage, could also increase the risk of people's dependency on drugs. According to scientists, environmental factors can affect a person's gene expression, a phenomenon known as epigenetics, and increase drug addiction probability. Additionally, people's genetics determine drug addiction's progress, with some increasing and others decreasing the speed (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2020). Those with family histories of addictions and mental disorders are also highly likely to use drugs and get addicted compared to others. Early exposure to drugs also affects the brain's development, making one defenseless against usage and dependency. Another significant risk factor is a method of drug use. Consumption through vein injection and smoking increase the addictive potential of substances because they cause faster access to the brain. Since the effects last a few minutes, drug users repeatedly consume the drugs to recapture the pleasurable feelings, which leads to addiction.
Signs, Symptoms and Effects
Drug addiction is noticeable through multiple signs and symptoms and leads to long-term and short-term effects. Shortly after consuming highly addictive substances such as opiates and cocaine, victims have reduced pain sensitivity, constricted pupils, drowsiness, or agitation. They may experience confusion and problems with coordination and could be unaware of their surroundings. Drug addicts may also have slurred speech and memory or attention problems and could suffer from depression and constipation. These persons may have needle marks on their arms if they consume drugs through injecting or runny nose or sores if they prefer snorting. As the drug addiction progresses, victims seek drugs uncontrollably and thus engage in destructive habit-forming behavior. Such include stealing and prostitution to get money to acquire the drugs.
Persons addicted to drugs lose interest in previously enjoyed activities and thus neglect them, primarily if they do not involve harmful behaviors or consumption of drugs. Instead, these drug consumers become secretive about various matters such as injuries acquired while under the influence and hide drugs. While under the influence of psychoactive substances and bad habits, their undesirable behavior causes relationship difficulties with their parents, spouses, friends, children, and community members (Singh & Gupta, 2015). The most affected people identify the victims’ drug dependence and address it as a problem. As a result, most relationships fail because people cannot tolerate negative or harmful behavior, especially if it puts their safety at risk. Victims also develop problems at work or school due to low productivity or lack of attendance, which leads to loss of employment or expulsion. Work termination leads to financial challenges because drug users lose their income sources while spending their abuse habits. The majority accrue debts and thus indulge in unethical and illegal behaviors to get more money. As drug addiction becomes chronic, addicts develop personal problems such as neglecting personal hygiene and proper eating, and their living conditions worsen, which changes their physical appearance.
When people consume addictive substances for long, they also acquire multiple health problems. Drugs such as opiates, methamphetamine, and cocaine cause seizures, psychotic behavior, or overdose death. Some victims may go into comatose status due to brain damage, especially if they mix with alcohol. Others get infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDs due to needle sharing and unsafe safe. Most engage in dangerous activities such as driving after consuming these substances and thus cause accidents that claim lives. As a result, they face legal issues, alongside others charged with buying, possession, and distribution of illegal substances. Other legal issues may arise from theft charges and disputes over child custody. As family, work, and personal problems become unbearable, and most drug addicts result in suicide because the majority feel unworthy due to low self-esteem and abandonment.
Treatments
Drug addiction victims can change by acquiring treatment and sticking to recovery for the rest of their lives. Addiction treatment varies depending on the dependency level, the type of drugs abused, and health complications. Successful programs may include detoxification, withdrawal, relapse prevention medication, behavioral counseling, and long-term follow-up (Singh & Gupta, 2015). Detoxification is a critical stage at the beginning of drug addiction treatment that involves purging drugs from the body and managing withdrawal symptoms. Such withdrawal symptoms include nausea and vomiting, irritability, and appetite loss. Others are such as tremors and shaking, and fatigue. Withdrawal management requires medication, which is also valuable for preventing relapses and treating various co-occurring mental health problems, including anxiety and depression. Since drug addiction has deep psychological causes, behavioral counseling provides individual and group therapy that helps victims identify the root issues leading to drug dependency. It also facilitates family therapy to repair damaged relationships while providing better and healthier coping abilities since they may encounter triggers during recovery. With long-term follow-up, drug abuse victims can maintain sobriety and prevent relapse. It involves attending online meetings or regular support groups that help in keeping victims on the recovery track.
There are several types of drug treatment programs, and they work according to an addict’s condition and physician’s recommendation upon diagnosis. Residential treatment is provided in certain living facilities away from victims’ families, friends, schools, workplaces, and addiction triggers. They provide intensive treatment that lasts from few days to multiple consecutive months, making it suitable for people with severe drug addiction. Alternatively, people with chronic addiction can benefit from intensive treatment programs provided in sober living communities. In this type of program, recovering addicts live in a sober house that is also drug-free, safe, and supportive (NIDA, 2018). This environment is most suitable for victims without residences or whose homes could trigger relapses. Outpatient treatment is the opposite of residential because it does not require staying overnight at any facility. Instead, addiction doctors create programs that addicts can follow while still attending school and work. They can acquire treatment during the day or evening since the primary goal is relapse prevention. Partial hospitalization, also known as day treatment, suits drug addiction victims that value ongoing medical monitoring but still want to live at home for various reasons, such as parenting responsibilities. The victims must visit a treatment center during the day for approximately seven to eight hours and then return home. However, this type of program is most effective if victims are living in stable environments.
Conclusion
Drug addiction resembles other types of diseases because it disrupts the normal functioning of the body. It causes severe damage to the brain and alters how it perceives stress and self-control, leaving victims with compulsive drug consumption and harmful behavior. Drug dependency leads to harmful long-term and short-term effects due to the toxins constantly introduced into the body. Although this menace occurs develops over time and thus appears involuntary, people can prevent it by basically avoiding drug consumption and abuse. Parents have roles to play in preventing drug addiction by being attentive and sensitive towards their children. Schools should protect students by taking extra measures of eradicating drug usage and sale. Addicts also have multiple opportunities to eliminate it since it is treatable if they acknowledge its control over them. Without proper treatment, drug addiction proceeds and eventually causes death.
References
Maisto, S. A., Galizio, M., & Connors, G. J. (2019). Drug use and abuse . Cengage
Moustafa, A. A. (2020). Cognitive, clinical, and neural aspects of drug addiction . Academic Press
National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). (2018). Principles of drug addiction treatment: A research-based guide. CreateSpace.
National Institute of Drug Abuse. (2020, July 13). Drug misuse and addiction . https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drug-misuse-addiction
Singh, J. & Gupta, P. (2015). Drug addiction: current trends and management. The International Journal of Indian Psychology , 5(1):2348-5396. DOI: 10.25215/0501.057
Zaman, M., Razaq, S., Hassan, R., et. AL. (2015). Drug abuse among students. Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. Retrieved April 5, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273924102_Drug_abuse_among_the_students
