Drug Abuse & Addiction: Effects on Brain, Risk Factors, Signs

Many people don’t understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting usually takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Drugs change the brain in ways that make quitting hard, even for those who want to. Fortunately, researchers know more than ever about how drugs affect the brain and have found treatments that can help people recover from drug addiction and lead productive lives. Some effects of drug abuse and addiction include changes in appetite, mood, and sleep patterns.

• Signs and symptoms of inhalant use vary, depending on the substance.
• Those views shaped society’s responses to drug use, treating it as a moral failing rather than a health problem, which led to an emphasis on punishment rather than prevention and treatment.
• These programs include education and outreach to help people understand the risks of drug use.
• We have identified many of the biological and environmental risk factors and are beginning to search for the genetic variations that contribute to the development and progression of the disorder.
• Synthetic cannabinoids, also called K2 or Spice, are sprayed on dried herbs and then smoked, but can be prepared as an herbal tea.

Signs and symptoms of drug abuse and addiction

Some so-called psychedelic drugs also may have therapeutic uses. Substance abuse has many potential consequences, including signs of drug use overdose and death. Learn about the effects of drug addiction on the mind and body and treatment options that can help.

Office on Drugs and Crime

• In the chart, we see death rates in the United States from overdoses of different drugs.
• The term drug abuse is normally applied to excessive and addictive use of drugs.
• As with other chronic health conditions, treatment should be ongoing and should be adjusted based on how the patient responds.
• Most drugs affect the brain’s “reward circuit,” causing euphoria as well as flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine.

A combination of medication and behavioral therapy has been found to have the highest success rates in preventing relapse and promoting recovery. Forming an individualized treatment plan with your healthcare provider’s help is likely to be the most effective approach. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 100,000 people in the U.S. died from a drug overdose in 2021.

What happens to the brain when a person takes drugs?

As with other chronic health conditions, treatment should be ongoing and should be adjusted based on how the patient responds. Treatment plans need to be reviewed often and modified to fit the patient’s changing needs.

Effects of Drug Addiction on the Brain

• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 100,000 people in the U.S. died from a drug overdose in 2021.
• If you’re ready to seek help, you can overcome your addiction and build a satisfying, drug-free life for yourself.
• Treatment approaches tailored to each patient’s drug use patterns and any co-occurring medical, mental, and social problems can lead to continued recovery.
• Other examples include ketamine and flunitrazepam or Rohypnol — a brand used outside the U.S. — also called roofie.
• Teachers, parents, and health care providers have crucial roles in educating young people and preventing drug use and addiction.
• Some effects of drug abuse and addiction include changes in appetite, mood, and sleep patterns.
• Such studies have proved indispensable to the understanding of basic physiology, and drugs continue to be a powerful research tool of the physiologist.

Risk and protective factors may be either environmental or biological. If you’re not ready to approach a health care provider or mental health professional, help lines or hotlines may be a good place to learn about treatment. You can find these lines listed on the internet or in the phone book. Sometimes called the “opioid epidemic,” addiction to opioid prescription pain medicines has reached an alarming rate across the United States. Some people who’ve been using opioids over a long period of time may need physician-prescribed temporary or long-term drug substitution during treatment.

Drug Misuse and Addiction

In either instance, individuals may turn to any of a variety of tranquilizing and energizing drugs, which are used as a means of dealing with problems that they otherwise cannot face. Some situations or stresses are beyond the control of the individual, and some individuals simply find themselves far more productive with drugs than without drugs. An enormous amount of drug support goes on by way of familiar home remedies, such as aspirin, a luncheon cocktail, or a customary evening drink. Few people, however, refer to these practices as “drug support.” There is no clear dividing line between drug support and drug therapy. Only certain people ever have such a consciousness-expanding (psychedelic) experience in its fullest meaning, and the question of its value to the individual must be entirely subjective. For many people, the search for the psychedelic experience is less a noble aim and more the simple need of a psychic jolt or lift.

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What Is Drug Addiction?