Meth Addiction
Posted by Nationwide Drug Intervetions Help | Filed under Nationwide Drug Interventions
Like any other drugs, once abused, meth addiction could result to harmful effects towards the user’s body. Upon entering the brain, meth triggers the quick release of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine which control feelings of pleasure. It is extremely active in mesolimbic reward pathways of the brain which causes extreme euphoria.
It has a stimulating consequence on sex, mood, and energy. Methamphetamine can cause weight loss and appetite suppression. Also, it offers the body with alertness and the ability to concentrate. Like most drugs, overusing meth develops tolerance. Meth tires out the brain’s store of dopamine and destroys the wiring of dopamine receptors. The pleasurable effect of the drug is not eternal. As the user takes in an increasing amount of the drug due to tolerance, negative effects to the body begin to take place. Meth addicts usually elicit poor judgment and harmful behaviors such as committing petty and violent crimes. To maintain the pleasurable effect of the drug, the user is likely to take in increasing doses which in turn results to the damage of body organs, mental disorders, and even death. Long-time users of this drug have been known to develop symptoms of psychosis, like paranoia, aggression, hallucinations, and delusions. In addition, physical effects of meth addiction are diarrhea, palpitations, and dizziness, jaw clenching and facial ticks. Meth can also lead to heart failure since it increases heart rate. consequences include bronchial dilation, dilation of the blood vessels to the skeletal muscles, dilation of pupils and the emptying of the bladder and intestine.
Meth addiction is prevalent in the United States. Statistics show that there are about 1.4 million users of methamphetamine in America and the number is increasing. With the number of meth users increasing, the government is quite helpless. Meth is readily available and cheap. Meth’s main object is the youth most especially those problematic ones; ravaged by broken homes, neglect and little parental influence. A report from the National Association of Countries revealed that meth users comes from the different spectrum of the youth: from high school and college students to white and blue-collar workers.
What is the driving force that makes people to get addictive to meth Methamphetamine is easy to use, cheap, and could work as an energy booster. The attractive part of this drug is that it’s benefits even if temporary are very immediate.
Meth addiction destroys the life of a person. This kind of addiction leads to undesirable and unhealthy behaviors. Moreover, depriving the body from taking in meth would lead to depression, aggression, anxiety, fatigue, paranoia, and intense craving for the drug.
Getting away from this kind of addiction is quite a daunting task. You get the similar feeling from pulling your hair on your head one by one until nothing is left. Imagine the pain. It is not an overnight process. Most of all, things work if it is a forced thing. The person addicted to meth should be first of all, be very willing and determined to battle the addiction and get rid of it for good. The enthusiasm should not come from the people around the meth users. It should only come from the self. After accepting one’s problem, the desire to do something about it should come next. Quite a number of meth-specific program solutions have been developed. The aim of treatment is to train the user new skills that will help cope with the user’s drug cravings and prevent relapses. Meth treatment therapies involve individual and small group approaches. Treatment allows the patient to see beyond the immediate positive effects of drug use and lead them to see the negative effects that inevitably follow. Moreover, recovered addicts are taught to deal with their lives more successfully, increase their confidence and self-esteem, and set positive personal goals.
When you get addicted to something, it is difficult to veer yourself away from that addiction. Addiction is like letting go of a loved one, we know that letting it go is the right thing to do, but we find it hard to do it because we know it would hurt so bad. Before anything else, the determination should start with the self.
