Substances. They are a serious issue in many countries around the world, including the United States. Although substances can refer to a particle of water or a mixture of liquid, they generally refer to a specific kind of alleged mental disorder. It’s called substance use disorder and is something that is in line with “addiction.”
For a person who is thinking about trying drugs, there are certain kinds of drugs that are more addictive than others. There is, of course, alcohol, which is a very addictive substance but is used safely by most Americans every year. The same goes for cocaine and similar substances.
A person who is using substances on a regular basis may become “dependent” on them. This dependency can be a physical dependency, in the case of meth addicts or heroin addicts, a mental dependency, like that for gambling and shopping, or other kinds of dependency. There are many reasons for this.
Research suggests that a person’s brain changes in light of an addiction. This happens in the limbic system, where a person regulates their pleasure. When a person uses an addictive substance, their limbic system “lights up” and changes in light of that pleasure. Later, more and more of that addictive substance is needed for the same amount of pleasure.
A person who suffers from addiction may feel like they are out of control. They may allegedly do things like steal from people in order to support their drug habit. They generally do not have strong financial standing because they are too busy chasing the next high.
A person who suffers from addiction may behave erratically, exhibiting different kinds of moods over the course of the day. A person who suffers from addiction may exhibit signs of depression or mania, which are often a result of a physical addiction and the reaction to a substance.
Sometimes, a family member will get involved with a person who is an addict and try to help them by offering them shelter or loaning them money. This is a difficult situation as someone who is actively using may find it difficult to pay that money back, as it will possibly go to support their addiction.
Sometimes, the person who is an addict will become homeless because they are spending so much money and time on their addiction that they lose their jobs and their place of residence. They go on the streets, begging for money and stealing, in order to get their next high.
Sometimes, a family will step in with the individual and do an “intervention”. In this situation, the family will sit around in a circle and tell the individual the pain they feel that this individual is using substances and causing harm in people’s lives. They may share personal stories or speak “from the heart” (whatever that means).
Sometimes, a person who is suffering from addiction may react in a positive fashion and get help. Sometimes they will react in a negative fashion and leave the intervention circle. Many things can happen here and they are all important to some extent. There are some statistics worth noting for this article. They are:
- About 11.5 million Americans age 12 and older misused prescription pain medicine in 2016.
- More than 4,500 individuals died in 2015 from methamphetamine.
- The age group most likely to abuse cocaine is adults ages 18 to 25.
- Close to 35 million Americans are what the survey calls ?regular users? of marijuana.
- Of 20.5 million Americans 12 or older with a substance use disorder, 2 million involved prescription pain relievers.
- During 2016, there were more than 63,600 overdose deaths in the United States.
There are some terms worth knowing as well for the understanding of this article. They are terms that highlight different parts of addiction. They are drug rehabilitation, drug rehabilitation centers, drug abuse, drug abuse centers, drug abuse treatment, drug addiction, drug addition centers, drug addition treatment, drug rehab centers.
Drug rehabilitation is a process by which someone who is suffering from substance use disorder will get help, first by someone taking them off the substance and then giving them a mixture of psychiatric medication and therapy. Drug rehabilitation can be costly but often it turns lives around.
However, many people go to treatment facilities numerous times before they get better.