As with the majority of other chronic conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease, drug addiction treatment is typically not curative. However, addiction is curable and may be treated effectively. Recovering addicts are susceptible to relapse for years, if not their entire lives. Combining medications for addiction treatment with behavioural therapy increases the likelihood of success for the majority of patients, according to research. Continued recovery is possible with treatment options suited to each patient's drug use habits and any co-occurring physical, mental, and social issues.
Additionally, substance abuse and addiction are avoidable. The results of studies financed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse indicate that programmes involving families, schools, communities, and the media are helpful in preventing and decreasing drug abuse and addiction. Personal events and cultural variables influence drug usage patterns, but when young people see drug use as hazardous, they tend to reduce their drug use. Therefore, education and outreach are essential for assisting individuals in understanding the potential hazards of drug usage. Educators, parents, and health care professionals have key responsibilities in avoiding drug abuse and addiction among adolescents.
Points to Recall: Addiction to drugs is a chronic condition characterised by obsessive drug seeking and usage despite negative effects.
Addiction can be triggered by heroin, cocaine or any other illicit narcotics. Addiction can result from smoking, alcohol, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medications, and other legal substances.
You can also get addicted narcotic pain relievers (also known as opioids), whether they are purchased legaly or illegally. This problem is now epidemically widespread in the United States. Two-thirds all drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States due to opioids in 2018.
Tolerance is a result of the brain's gradual adaption to the extra dopamine. This decreases the effect on the body relative to how it felt when they first began using the medication. They could also take more of the medication to achieve the same dopamine boost.
A combination of several factors can affect the risk that someone develops a drug addiction. An individual's risk of developing an addiction depends on a combination of genetic, environmental, or developmental factors. As a result, addiction is more likely to occur.
Drug addiction can easily be controlled and treated.
If you continue using drugs, your brain will adapt to it by decreasing the ability of reward circuit cells to respond to it. Even if the person continues to use drugs, this will not stop. As a person's tolerance decreases, the effects they get from a substance are less intense than when they first began using it. The same effect may be achieved by using a greater amount of the chemical. The brain function may be affected and the individual might not be able to perform certain activities like eating or engaging in sexual relationships.
These substances can have a negative impact on cognitive and behavioural functions like learning, judgement, decision making, stress, memory, and behaviour. Many people continue to use drugs despite the fact that they are aware of the negative effects.
Opioid addiction can be a real problem if you are using prescription opioid painkillers or illegally obtained. This problem has become a national epidemic in the United States. Opioids were responsible for the majority of drug-overdose deaths in 2018.
It is possible to initially choose to take a medication simply because you like how it makes your body feel. It is possible to believe that you can control the dosage and frequency of medication. However, medications can alter the brain's functions over time. These changes can be permanent. These bodily changes can cause you to lose control, which can lead to destructive behavior.
Addiction vs. Addiction vs. Tolerance. You might exceed the recommended dose or get a prescription from another person. You might use drugs to reduce stress, feel better, or ignore the reality. Most of the time you can either change your bad habits or quit.
You might initially decide to take a drug just because you love the way it makes yourself feel. It is possible to regret the decision in the future. It could be that you think you have total control over how many and how often you take it. Your brain will be affected if you continue to use medication. These changes in the body may last for a long period. They may cause you to lose your control and drive you to do harmful things.
When a person takes drugs, what happens to their brain?
Most drugs affect the brain's "reward circuit," which floods it with the chemical messenger dopamine and makes you feel good. A reward system that works well keeps a person doing things that are good for them, like eating and spending time with family and friends. Dopamine surges in the reward circuit reinforce behaviours that are fun but bad for you, like taking drugs. This makes people do the behaviour over and over again.
As a person keeps using drugs, their brain changes by making it harder for cells in the reward circuit to respond. This makes the person feel less high than they did when they took the drug for the first time. This is called tolerance. They might try to get the same high by taking more of the drug. These changes in the brain often make the person less and less able to get pleasure from things like food, sex, or social activities that they used to enjoy.