Addiction is a severe substance abuse disorder. Having an addiction is uncontrollably using a substance regardless of its adverse effects, especially to your physical and mental health. As a result, addicted patients’ ability to make decisions becomes impaired, and thus they cannot function optimally. Matt Pabis, MD, offices provide East Village addiction medicine to help patients get past their reliance on certain substances causing them problems.
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What Are the Most Commonly Abused Substances?
Although addiction is not limited to drugs only, many patients abuse substances like:
· Alcohol
· Marijuana
· Tobacco
· Cocaine
· Hallucinogens like LSD
· Opioid painkillers
What Are the Effects of Substance Abuse?
The most common issue affecting people with substance abuse problems is distorted thinking. Most brain imaging tests on addiction patients show changes in areas responsible for judgment, decision making, learning, and memory. For this reason, they exhibit differences in behaviors. Moreover, even the most minor changes in the brain’s structure can cause strange cravings and personality changes. Long-term substance abuse can cause permanent changes in how the brain functions.
What Is Intoxication?
The intoxication period comprises intense feelings of euphoria and increased perception. This effect usually occurs immediately after substance use and can last long after the patient has consumed the drug. However, the symptoms vary depending on a patient’s threshold and the amount of substance consumed.
Repeated substance abuse causes a person to build up a tolerance to it. As a result, the patient will require a significant increase in substance use to get intoxicated and feel the effects.
Why Do People Take Drugs?
Some of the reasons why people start taking drugs include:
· Pleasure- Most people become addicted because they end up chasing the high that comes with intoxication.
· To forget problems- Most patients take drugs to feel better, especially in stressful times. Certain substances make the patients forget their problems by giving them a temporary fix that makes them feel better.
· To improve performance- Specific substances can increase perception and sense, enabling people to think more profoundly than they usually would.
· Curiosity and peer pressure- Being around people that abuse drugs will make you feel pressured to try so that you can fit in.
Within no time, a person can become hooked to the effects the drug provides, thus becoming addicted. Most times, the patient may not be aware that they are addicted, and if they are, they might not be able to stop using on their own and might require intervention.
What Are the Symptoms of Addiction?
· Inability to control use- Overreliance on a substance due to intense craving and failure to reduce usage.
· Social problems- Inability to get things done at work and decreased social interactions with friends and family. Moreover, a patient may exhibit reduced interest in doing the things they enjoy but prefer using instead.
· Risky use- Consuming toxic substances in excess regardless of their adverse effects.
· Drug effects- Like the need for more significant amounts and experiencing withdrawal symptoms are signs of addiction.
Repeated substance abuse may also cause other psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety; contact Matt Pabis, MD, to learn more about the available addiction treatments available to help you or your loved one regain control of your life.