15 Consequences Of Drug Use (on Your Mind And Your Body)
Drug consumption is usually associated with the youngest or people in a marginal situation; However, psychoactive substances are consumed by people with very diverse profiles and different ages.
Currently there are many types of drugs (which you can learn about in this article “Types of drugs: know their characteristics and effects”), and they produce different effects for our body. But the consumption of these substances is not something recent, since there is knowledge that in ancient times some psychoactive substances such as peyote were already used. Of course, despite its traditional use, its effects are not always benign. In this article we will see the main consequences of drug consumption and we will focus on the most popular substances.
Drugs can produce different pleasurable, exciting and even hallucinogenic effects, but Its consumption also causes serious consequences for the physical and psychological health of consumers, and for their social functioning
Below you can see some consequences that the drug can leave in regular users.
1. Neurochemical imbalances in the brain
A study led by Volkow in 2003 observed, thanks to neuroimaging studies, that with drug consumption permanent neurochemical and functional changes occur in the brains of addicts. The consumption of psychoactive substances causes the massive release of some neurotransmitters such as dopamine or serotonin, which both in the short term and in the long term usually have consequences at the brain level. At a functional level, problems may also arise due to the neurochemical imbalance that occurs, for example in reference to motivation, memory and cognitive control.
Furthermore, as a consequence of drug use, synapses are also altered. Studies suggest that, especially in the case of glutamate, the connections between neurons can be modified. Neuronal loss also occurs widespread axonal damage, neurodegenerative problems, decrease in glial fibrillary acidic proteins and other consequences that directly affect the brain.
Mood alterations are common with drug use. Not only in the long term, but also in the short term, which means that a person can go from being relaxed to feeling irritated and aggressive very frequently.
This is especially notable in the hours after drug use or when craving has a more pronounced effect In the long term, the personality of many people can be altered by the consumption of psychoactive substances.
3. Family, relational and social problems
Problems at the family level are quite common regardless of the type of drugs used. Of course, with tobacco consumption it is unlikely that a family will be separated, but it is due to the consumption of alcohol or other hard drugs like cocaine.
Social problems can also arise when a person is a habitual consumer of these substances, You could lose friends and even your job The person who uses drugs may show a loss of interest in hobbies and other favorite activities. Financial problems are also associated with drug addiction behaviors.
4. Addiction
Addiction is one of the consequences of drug consumption, and it is what leads people to consume these substances again, which cause an initially pleasant effect on the nervous system. The drugs significantly affect the brain reward system which is involved in pleasurable behaviors (for example, sex) and that the brain ensures that we repeat it again due to its survival function.
In the case of hard drugs, this addiction can cause a person to do whatever they can to get the substance they want. for example, stealing or having sex for money or a fix.
5. Cardiovascular problems
Cardiovascular problems are common with prolonged consumption of the vast majority of drugs, since these substances alter the normal functioning of the heart While some drugs cause very high activity of this organ, others do the opposite. In both cases, a variation in blood pressure occurs. Abusing drugs can lead to heart attacks, blood vessel infections and other cardiovascular problems.
6. Defects in pregnancy
Drug use in pregnant women has been linked to premature and underdeveloped babies, because the abuse of psychoactive substances deteriorates the health of both the mother and the child. Scientific studies show that maternal drug abuse is related to withdrawal symptoms in the baby, birth defects, learning and behavioral problems, among other negative consequences.
drug use can cause both acute and prolonged erectile dysfunction This was verified by the Andalusian Institute of Sexology and Psychology. For their study, the researchers verified the sexual consequences of 1,007 men, with the participation of 28 treatment centers for drug addicts spread throughout Spain.
The majority of these subjects had used cocaine alone (50.92%) or combined with alcohol (11.14%) or heroin (8.65%). The rest of the subjects consumed: alcohol (12.54%), heroin (4.97%), cannabis (2.38%), stimulant drugs (1.73%), depressant drugs (0.43%), and combination of 3 or more substances (7.24%). The results seem to confirm that men who have been users of addictive substances present erectile dysfunction in a higher percentage (20.84% more) than men who do not take drugs.
8. Weakening of the immune system
Studies show that most drugs weaken the immune system. Many drugs such as opiates that work as pain relievers, cannabis, etc.; cause a series of negative reactions in the immune system, which causes consumers to be more susceptible to diseases and infections of all kinds This can manifest itself with simple colds or with more serious problems. Some studies suggest, for example, that cannabis use causes increased susceptibility to cancer.
Behaviors associated with drug consumption can also cause other diseases, for example, AIDS or Hepatitis in the case of injecting heroin, and lead to reckless behavior that can cause other types of harmful consequences such as accidents.
9. Respiratory problems
Drug use causes increased risk of respiratory diseases such as pneumonia Side effects of some drugs include chest and lung pain or respiratory depression. Additionally, the use of drugs such as tobacco or cocaine can cause serious lung health problems.
10. Antisocial behavior
Drug abuse, as I have already said, causes users to stop practicing activities they previously enjoyed, in addition to having problems at work such as poor performance in their tasks and even abandonment or dismissal.
In the case of young people, performance in school or dropping out of school is a more than obvious manifestation of the consumption of this type of substance. Likewise, there is a close relationship between antisocial disorder and use of these substances as concluded by a study by Suelves and Sánchez-Turet.
Isolation can be a direct consequence of drug use. On the one hand, young people can isolate themselves from family or work, and in serious cases such as heroin use, the drug addict can isolate themselves on a social and even personal level, ceasing to worry about their physical appearance and hygiene. Consumers can live by and for drugs
12. Anxiety and insomnia
It is very common for people who frequently use drugs to suffer anxiety and sleep disturbances In fact, some individuals recognize that they are unable to go to bed without consuming marijuana once they become accustomed to consuming this substance before falling asleep. Drugs such as ecstasy or cocaine can alter the quality of sleep, generating nighttime anxiety or nightmares.
13. Other psychological disorders
Anxiety and insomnia problems are some of the psychological problems that drug users can experience. In other cases, in addition, they may suffer more serious disorders such as schizophrenia or paranoid disorder Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, which is a brain disorder due to a lack of vitamin B1 (also called thiamine), is often associated with alcoholism.
14. Overdose
Drug consumption is dangerous and can cause irreparable damage to the health of the subjects who use these substances. There are many cases in which the doses consumed are excessive, which causes serious problems for the person. In some cases, overdose can simply cause a bad time, cause nausea, vomiting, headache and even hallucinations (depending on the type of psychoactive substance).
15. Death
The symptoms of overdose that I mentioned in the previous case are the least serious, but, in other situations, overdose can lead to hospitalization, coma, and even death The data from the Report on the Situation of Drug Addiction in Spain sent by the Government Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs to the Joint Congress-Senate Commission, concludes that in Spain there are, every year, around 800 deaths due to drug overdoses. illegal.
