The Effects of Substance Abuse on The Mind and Body

Abuse of both legal and illegal drugs costs the nation more than 740 billion dollars a year, in relation to crime, reduced productivity and demands on the healthcare services. Though not everyone who abuses drugs has an addiction, frequent overuse of drugs often results in the mind and body becoming reliant on continued use. The effects of drug abuse vary from person to person, often varying depending on the age, gender, physiology and psychology of each individual. Some may suffer emotional and psychological effects, others may be affected physically, face financial detriment, or experience failed social relationships as a result of their substance abuse. On the whole, whether side effects of drug abuse are mild, or severely life-threatening, a person’s quality of life will in some way experience a detriment as a direct result of their addiction. Understanding the effects of drug abuse, and how the onset of addiction occurs, is the first step in understanding how to help those who suffer from substance abuse.

Short-term effects

The most commonly abused substances include alcohol, inhalants (such as marijuana), hallucinogens (e.g., LSD, PCP or magic mushrooms), opiates (OxyContin, heroin, etc.) and barbiturates (sedatives). Depending on which substances you use, it will affect your body in different ways. However, you can be sure that all psychoactive drugs will cause some form of chemical change in your body, negatively altering your mental capacity. This means that your cognitive ability, mood, energy levels, spatial awareness and general world perception can all be altered. This often leads to poor decision making and a deterioration in problem-solving skills, as well as impaired motor functioning, which is why people on drugs (including alcohol) will often injure themselves while intoxicated.

Often drugs are used by people who expect to experience positive effects of these substances, such as improved mood, euphoria, or pain relief. While it is true that for some people the effects of drug use can feel positive, this is only a momentary feeling, and the other short-term effects of drug abuse are not nearly as appealing.

For example, alcohol is one of the most commonly abused substances, because as a legal substance it is so easily obtainable. While often mistakenly considered to improve mood in social situations, in reality, alcohol is a depressant, and excessive or continued use will often lead to unpredictable mood swings, a reduction in coordination and concentration, loss of motor control, and impaired judgment. Drinking large amounts of alcohol, or binge drinking, can also lead to dramatically reduced blood pressure and respiration rates, and may result in blackouts. In worst case scenarios, this could also cause blackouts or even death. Where alcohol will only enhance or decrease existing thoughts and abilities, hallucinogens cause mind-altering side effects which alter a person’s perceptions of the world entirely. These short-term effects can vary from hallucinations to paranoia and delusions. Other side effects can include palpitations, increased heart rate, and excess sweating.

Inhalants are also fairly easily accessible, as they have a wide distribution network. As a result, this form of substance abuse is worryingly common amongst teens and adolescents. Marijuana, and nitrous oxide, most commonly known as laughing gas, are two commonly used inhalants, which are abused due to the brief euphoria many people experience. While laughing gas isn’t a common addiction, as the high is very short lasting, marijuana is very regularly abused across the nation. A major issue with marijuana is the onset of delusions, paranoia and other psychological impairments which can occur as a result of usage.

Opiates are used in traditional medicine as painkillers and can be prescribed for pain management, such as in the form of morphine or dihydrocodeine. However, it is illegal to obtain these chemicals without a prescription, and other illicit versions of opiates are also commonly abused. The most common example of this is Heroin. While many people will use this particular substance for its euphoric high, the other short-term effects of this drug are not pleasurable. Some common psychological side effects include apathy, dysphoria, and cognitive impairment. Physically, use of this drug often results in nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, and slowed motor control. Heroin also dramatically decreases breathing rate and can cause blackouts, or worse.

As you can see, the majority of these side effects are extremely unpleasant, and some are even life-threatening. If you are experiencing a dependency, you need to ask yourself whether a momentary experience of euphoria is worth such serious psychological and physiological effects. What is even more concerning, is how these drugs can affect the mind and body in the long term.

Long-term effects

There are some common physical effects of drug abuse. For instance, many people who have experienced alcohol dependency will suffer from uncontrollable shakes, irreversibly reduced motor control which will continue to deteriorate over time, blood poisoning, and organ failure.

No matter what addiction you might have, some form of chemical change in your body will take place. Even gambling, an addiction which, in itself, involves no consumption of substances (though drinking is commonly used in conjunction with gambling) causes a chemical change within the body: as a person wins a bet or experiences a near-miss, there is an increase of the neurotransmitter dopamine within the body (dopamine is also one of the neurotransmitters which are often affected by substance abuse). Dopamine is a feel-good hormone, which keeps the body feeling awake and energized. Low levels of dopamine are associated with depressive slumps and low moods, and this is what drives people to return to an addiction which brings back that feel-good high.

If a non-consumable addiction results in changes within the body, can you even begin to imagine what toxic chemicals could do to your physical and mental state? The long-term effects can be catastrophic to your quality of life. The more you abuse a substance and use it frequently, often at high doses, the more your body builds up a tolerance to the drugs. This will result in various undesired outcomes. The first is that you will require increasingly larger amounts of the drugs to experience the ‘desired effect.’ This means that you may have to increase dosage to increasingly dangerous levels, worsening the effects on your physical health. Not only that, but your body may develop a physical dependence on your drug use. This means that without the drug, your body struggles to function normally, and this is what causes withdrawal symptoms. This is often why addiction develops in the first place.

The onset of addiction

Addiction is characterized by a compulsion to continue a behavior or activity despite the negative consequences, and often physical dependence is a driving force behind this need. The type of physical dependency will vary depending on the type of substance abuse. As mentioned previously, many people depend on drugs and alcohol to raise the dopamine levels and improve their general mood. For many, continued drug use stems from the desire to banish painful withdrawal symptoms. A need for psychological escape from reality is another common reason why people become addicted to drugs, but an addiction only results in a reduced ability to face the real-world head on, and this is why people continue to spiral out of control unless they seek out help.

Getting help with a drug addiction

If you have been affected by drug addiction, there are support networks out there which can help you to recover, such as drug detox in Jacksonville Florida. It can be extremely difficult to reduce physical and psychological dependency on drugs to the point where a person feels they need no longer rely on their addiction. Often, this can be a near-impossible change to implement without support, and severe withdrawal could be potentially life-threatening if not managed correctly. A professional detox program can assist you in safely removing toxic substances from your life, and do so with the right psychological and medical assistance will make the process a lot more manageable and comfortable for you. Find out more here about support centers which can provide you with around the clock care and help you through the initial stages of removing toxic substances from your life. 

Once you have removed your drug dependency, the next step is staying clean. Psychologists and other medical professionals from your program will be able to help you to obtain and implement coping mechanisms and drug avoidance strategies to help you stay away from any negative influences or temptation. Remember that you don’t have to shoulder the responsibility of getting clean alone. Try and find some trusted individuals who you can turn to for advice or help when you are feeling low or are struggling to stay away from past habits. A support group can be a wonderful way to meet like-minded people who have similar experiences to you, and who will be able to offer empathy and support.

The effects of drug abuse on the body can be detrimental, and addiction can also ruin personal relationships, as well as financial security and a person’s purpose in life. If you, or someone you know, is affected by addiction in some way, don’t hesitate to seek help, and make a choice to create a better quality of life for yourself and your loved ones.