What Are The Psychological Effects Of Amphetamines?
Amphetamines are well-known substances both in medicine and in the field of drugs used illegally.
That is why it is important to know the implications of its use and, among other things, its emotional and behavioral effects. This is precisely the topic on which we will focus in the following lines, in which you will find a summary of the psychological effects of amphetamines
Amphetamines are a group of psychoactive substances used in medical contexts and also as recreational drugs, and which They are characterized by acting in the nervous system as adrenergic agonists that is, its effects on neurons are similar to those of adrenaline, a neurotransmitter naturally present in our body.
Thus, in the same way that adrenaline (also called epinephrine) activates our nervous system, amphetamines are considered stimulant substances that, once we have consumed them, take us to a state of high brain activation in a matter of minutes. That is why in the field of medicine it is relatively common to use some psychotropic drugs based on amphetamines to treat people with psychiatric disorders whose causes are believed to be linked to a lack of adrenaline in certain parts of the Central Nervous System.
Thus, these drugs would act as a kind of partial substitute for epinephrine that, unlike it, has been synthesized in a laboratory and included in drug rations to allow their use in safe treatments.
However, amphetamines exist beyond their use in psychiatry, and unfortunately many people fall victim to their use without medical indication. As we will see, this brings many problems and involves exposing ourselves to serious health risks both in the short and long term.
Main psychological effects of amphetamines
The illegal use of amphetamines, or their use in disobedience to medical indications, can lead to very dangerous situations. These range from the development of psychotic breaks with hallucinations to death from vascular accidents after an overdose. However, even in cases where the body does not experience immediate physical wear and tear after consumption, The consumption of these substances can lead to unwanted psychological effects in the medium and long term and they can be very problematic or even dangerous if there is no monitoring and medical advice. Let’s see it below.
1. Development of addiction
As we have mentioned before, many of the amphetamines have a facet as a psychotropic drug with potential that can be used by psychiatrists and patients, and on the other hand a facet linked to the illegal sale of drugs, with all the dangers and harmful effects for the health that this entails. One of the consequences of this uncontrolled use of amphetamines is the possibility of falling into a strong addiction.
This occurs when The person’s nervous system develops tolerance to this substance introduced from outside the body and it begins to work as if the drug was always there, so you need to take more and more to achieve the same effect.
Thus, when amphetamine is stopped, withdrawal occurs and the person begins to feel bad, feeling the urgent desire to continue using. This predisposition to continue taking the drug is one of the most notable psychological effects of amphetamines, and an element that is attempted to be mitigated when this substance is used in treatment.
2. Greater sensitivity to stimuli
Since amphetamines activate the brain more, People who consume them become more sensitive to the stimuli that come to them from around them Therefore, they are more willing to get involved in different activities and also to be irritable when something bothers them.
3. Increased ability to concentrate
As we have seen, amphetamines make those who consume them feel more active, but that does not mean that everything around them distracts them.
In fact, some substances of this type are consumed precisely because they help people concentrate on their studies or work. What predominates is that psychological effect associated with mental energy the ability to engage people in a psychologically demanding activity for relatively long periods.
4. Insomnia problems
Since amphetamines keep the neurons in the brain highly activated, this complicates the possibility of going to sleep as if it were a much more intense version of caffeine.
5. Increased mood and sociability
Many people turn to recreational use of amphetamines because it gives them more self-confidence and helps them be sociable with others at parties However, as we have mentioned, this carries many risks and could even have the opposite effect to the desired one at key moments, because it also increases the predisposition to confront others due to the altered emotional state.
If you are interested in having treatment to overcome a drug addiction or a behavioral addiction, contact our team of professionals.
In CITA Clinics We specialize in offering assistance and therapy to people with this type of health problems, working from both psychotherapy and medicine and psychiatry. We offer outpatient care and also treatment with short, medium and long-term admissions in our fully equipped residential module located in Dosrius (Mataró), where our patients have access to all types of leisure activities and a quiet environment in which predominates nature.
