Drug Abuse – Facts about Drug Abuse and Addiction

The first thing that you should know about drug abuse is the fact that every drug abuser is unique when it comes to the reasons behind their drug abuse or their addiction. Many people use drugs as a means of escaping from problems. They abuse drugs for this purpose, and then they eventually end up becoming addicted. There are many different factors that can influence individuals to this end, including their biology, their social environment and their age. Lifestyle, family and friends can also contribute to the abuse of drugs. Genetic and environmental factors coupled with critical life stages all affect susceptibility to drug addiction.

There are certain effects of drug addiction and drug abuse. Complications of drug abuse, for example, are quite common. Drug addiction is similar to a disease and capable of affecting the brain and how the entire body is able to function. The brain’s communication system, for example, is affected when the chemicals that are present in the drugs reach it, because they are capable of disrupting the information flow process to the nerve cells. Both short term effects and long term effects are experienced as a result of drug abuse and addiction.

Short term drug abuse effects – The chemicals that are present in the drugs are going to invade into the communication system of the brain. These chemicals are then capable of disturbing the way that the brain’s “reward circuit” functions. There are many short term consequences of drug addiction that can be observed in the health of the drug abuser, and so avoiding drug abuse can be quite helpful in helping to overcome these short-term effects of the drug in the body. Some examples of short-term drug addiction include sleeplessness, anxiety, irritability, running nose, vomiting, nausea, muscle pain, headache, depression and dizziness along with memory issues and respiratory problems.

Long term drug abuse effects – There are a number of really serious longer-term effects that can be found in drug abusers because the brain chemicals can be altered and the brain can be seriously altered as a result. These effects can include mild itching and go all the way to coma and even death of the drug addict. The addiction to drugs facilitates an uncontrollable craving, especially when surrounded by people or places associated with the particular drug. High levels of drug addiction can lead to the transmission of infectious disease, breathing disorders, vein and nerve collapse and even death from overdose or other complications in many situations.