Drug Dependence is a pathological mode of substance abuse: marijuana, cocaine, heroin, crack, amphetamine, ecstasy, and ketamine, speed; which leads to social and work impairment and has serious repercussions on the subject’s physical and mental health. The Statistics of substance abuse will help you now.
As for Alcohol Dependence or Internet Addiction, Substance Dependence also follows three distinct phases:
Tolerance: ie the need for considerably higher doses of the substance to achieve intoxication or the desired effect, the effect is considerably diminished with the continuous use of the same quantity of the substance.
Abstinence: the same substance (or a closely related one) is taken to mitigate or avoid withdrawal symptoms such as tremors, nausea, hyper-sweating, psychomotor agitation, hallucinations, hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system, anxiety. There is a persistent desire to use the substance and unnecessary attempts to reduce or control the use of the substance.
Craving or compulsive use: a great deal of time is spent in activities necessary to procure the substance, to assume it or recover from its effects. In this phase, the interruption or reduction of important social, work or recreational activities due to substance abuse occurs.
Once the addictive mechanism is grafted, the person makes continuous use of the substance despite the awareness of having a serious problem, of a physical or psychological nature, caused or exacerbated by the substance.
There are also three strictly psychological aspects related to substance abuse.
- Obsessively: the person is absorbed by thoughts and continuous images concerning addiction or ideas related to addiction (eg he is absorbed in reliving past addictive experiences or in fantasizing or planning future addiction experiences). These thoughts and images produced by the mind are intrusive, cause inappropriate tension and excitement and cause marked anxiety or discomfort.
- Impulsiveness: the subject experiences restlessness, anxiety, aggression, irritability or agitation when the substance cannot be used; recurrent inability to resist the impulses to implement addictive behavior.
- Compulsiveness: repetitive consumption behavior that the person feels obliged to implement, even against his own will, despite the possible negative consequences. These addicted behaviors or addictive actions are aimed at avoiding or preventing states of distress or to alleviate a very unstable mood (e.g. feelings of impotence, irritability, inadequacy).
Recurrent and compulsive addictive thoughts and behaviors engage the subject most of the time, significantly interfere with his or her normal habits, work (or school) functioning and social relationships.
From a psycho-physical point of view, each individual substance produces different effects on the health of the consumer.
However, all drugs cause serious consequences for mental health: anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, apathy, paranoia, bipolar and personality disorders.
- From the physical point of view the effects of drugs are: damage to the central nervous system, convulsions, irreversible damage to memory, infertility, impotence, cardiovascular diseases, renal insufficiency, lung lesions, epithelial and venous lacerations, infections such as HIV, overdose and sometimes death.
- Consumption and Dependence on Narcotic Drugs lead the person to criminal behavior in order to get the money and the substance. They cause serious consequences on family and intimate relationships, leading to job loss and serious economic problems.
Among the narcotic substances is also included Nicotine, which, although used routinely among the population, has serious side effects on the person’s cardio-circulatory and respiratory system. Nicotine creates psychological dependence and, in the case of habitual smoking cessation, can create withdrawal symptoms.
