Effects of drug abuse on the mind and body by Options Okanagan Treatment Center in Kelowna, British Columbia treating opiate addiction and recovery.
To some, the idea of drug abuse is subjective. They don’t feel as though it’s abuse if they’re able to get to work every day. Or they don’t feel it’s abuse if they’re budgeting their money for it. Yet in general, drug abuse is defined as the desire for increasing amounts of a drug, to the detriment of something else. It doesn’t matter if you’re managing your drug, it matters only if you’re putting aside some aspect of your life in order to make time and money for that drug.
Drug Abuse And Its Effects On The Body
Because of the nature of drug abuse, a person may not realize they have a problem until it’s too late. It’s easy to look at someone else who has a more noticeable problem with a drug, and say that you’re not abusing the drug because you’re not that bad. However, just because another person may be worse off than yourself, doesn’t mean your drug abuse won’t have an affect on your body. Even minor amounts of drug abuse can cause problems such as weight loss, sleep changes, and decreased cognitive and memory abilities.
Depending on the drug in question, some other physical problems include, but are not limited to:
1) Vital signs acting in an abnormal way, such as increased blood pressure, or respiratory problems.
2) Pain in various areas of the body, such as chest or lung pain, or joint pain.
3) General and random feelings of nausea, vomiting, and other digestive problems.
4) Sudden changes in body temperature, such as feeling cold even though the weather is warmer.
5) Depending on the drug intake method, it’s easy to pick up blood diseases.
6) Due to decreased blood flow, you might experience impotence.
7) A weakened immune system, resulting in becoming ill more often.
Drug abuse doesn’t just affect a person on a physical level, however. Drug abuse also has a psychological component. The longer a person abuses a drug, the more they come to depend upon that drug. It doesn’t take long before a person is re-arranging their life in order to fit in the drug. They may be able to hold on to their job and their family and still use their drug of choice, but they’ll begin putting aside hobbies and past times that they previously enjoyed in order to make time for their drug intake. Alternatively, they may begin to spend money on the drug instead of other things that once occupied their time.
The psychological effects don’t end there, however. Many drugs cause a subtle, or notable, mood altering affect. The longer a person abuses their drug of choice, the harder it becomes for them to maintain a good mood without their drug of choice. Their mood becomes dependent upon having their drug, and they lose the ability to maintain their mood or keep it stable without intake. In addition, a person may simply become grumpy and easily annoyed without the pleasurable effects of their drug of choice.
Options Okanagan Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers in Kelowna, Salmon Arm and Vancouver, British Columbia – Men and Women are recovering and healing from Alcohol and Drug Abuse at our treatment center here in the Okanagan right now.
Our unique and distinctive Drug and Alcohol treatment program allows men and women to come in from Calgary as well as Edmonton as we offer airport pickup.
Numerous clients come to us from Calgary and Edmonton and other locations in Alberta and even other provinces for Opiate addiction treatment, meth drug treatment, many other drug and alcohol addictions for rehabilitation because of the uniqueness of our treatment center.
Our Treatment Location:
Options Okanagan Drug Treatment Center
551 Sherrydale Crescent, Kelowna, British Columbia, V1V 2E6
Toll Free Phone Number : 1-855-335-0331
