Drug abuse and effects: What to look for?

Dependency on drugs can have major negative effects on the mind and body of the user. What starts as a regular usage or experimental phase can soon turn into a harmful and frequently deadly habit. It is very important to keep a note of the drug abuse and effects and make correct assessments. Some particular signs would give a hint of deteriorating conditions. Accordingly, they are mentioned hereafter.

1. Physical effects

The effect of drug abuse does appear in both the outer and inner human body. Overuse can show a harmful impact on all the body organs and can culminate in eventual death. One of the effects of excessive drug use is on the immune system, as the drugs make it weaker. So, the affected person is more likely to get an infection or illness. Plus, the chances of strokes or seizures are also ever-present.

Many drugs also impair the healthy functioning of the lungs and the heart. For the latter, infections in the blood vessels, strange heart rates, and collapsed veins are common drug abuse effects.

2. Effects on the brain 

One of the chief areas of anxiety in terms of drug abuse and effects is the user’s brain. Indeed, your brand is the organ that focuses on stimuli and comprehends what you may like. So, addictive drugs generally affect the reward system in the brain. They increase the dopamine secretion in the brain, which thereby gives off pleasurable feelings.

As a result, the brain mistakes drugs as a good thing and motivates the owner to continue using it. After a while, the brain shapes up a tolerance to dopamine. And it wants to increase the dosage to get the previous high back. This is when the abusers start feeling the urge to use more drugs. After an extended period, the brain chemical levels go haywire with prolonged drug use. And that is when the user faces trouble in the core computing aspects like memory, decision-making, learning ability, and judgment.

3. Behavioral effects 

Certainly, drug abuse can affect the behavior of the person. Such problems are common for both long-term and short-term periods. Some common effects include aggression, paranoia, addiction, hallucinations, wrong judgments, self-control loss, and impulsiveness.

As a result of such behavioral changes, the user may face more injuries, get into accidents, miss work, or attempt a crime. In the latter scenario, that can result in jail time. In fact, statistically, many of the accidents revolving around car crashes are caused due to drug abuse.

4. Effects on unborn children 

While drug usage affects adults mainly, there are cases of drug abuse and effects affecting fetuses. Indeed, some women abuse drugs during their pregnancy, and they are harmful to babies. For one thing, the pregnant woman herself would not think correctly and would engage in risky actions at this time. 

Possibly, they would not maintain a good nutrition intake either. So, the baby would weigh less during birth or come out prematurely. There is the possibility of babies having birth defects, behavioral or learning disabilities, and withdrawal symptoms like neonatal abstinence syndrome. 

Overall, there are many ways in which overuse of drugs can harm an individual badly. It does harm one’s mind and body. And in extreme cases, this results in death, either due to developed health problems or accidents. Therefore, it is important to get help as soon as possible or stay away from such situations altogether. Visit http://lighthouse.rehab/ and get the right help.