You might initially decide to take a drug simply because you like the way it makes your feel. You may regret making that decision. It is possible to believe you can control how much you take and how often you take it. Repeated use of medications can alter how your brain works. These changes can last for a considerable time. They can cause you to lose control, which could lead to negative activities.
Addiction is characterised by a lack of capacity to stop. Absolutely not if doing so endangers your health. No, not when it puts you or the people you care about through financial, emotional, or other troubles. Even if you want to quit taking drugs, you can discover that the desire to get and use them takes up all of your waking hours.
Keep these facts in mind: Drug addiction, a long-term disorder, is marked by obsessional drug seeking and use. Even though the negative effects of drug abuse are difficult to manage, it is often characterized as obsessive.
The brain changes caused by long-term drug addiction can make it difficult for someone who is addicted to drugs, to stay in control and resist their urges to use. Addiction to drugs can also lead people to relapse.
Someone who has relapsed will use drugs again even though they stopped trying. Relapses indicate that therapy needs to be continued or changed.
Don't Wait; Get Help Now. Talk to your doctor if you feel like your drug use is getting out of hand or causing you trouble. It might take some time to get over a drug addiction. Even though there is no cure, therapy can help you quit taking drugs and remain clean in the long term. You can talk to a therapist, take medication, or do both as part of your therapy. Talk to your doctor or nurse to figure out which treatment will help you the most.
Your brain's reward system is the target of drugs that could make you addicted. Your brain is constantly receiving large amounts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter. This causes me to feel pure happiness. In an effort to recreate this feeling, you continue to take the medication.
Dopamine will eventually be absorbed into your brain. To get the same effect, you may need to take more dopamine. You might find that things you used to love, such as eating and spending time in your family, no longer make you happy.
Long-term use of drugs can cause changes in the brain's circuitry and other chemicals. These drugs can impair your judgment, ability to make choices, memory, and ability learn. Combining these brain changes can make it difficult to resist the temptation to search for drugs and use them in ways that you don't understand.
Tolerance vs. Abuse and Addiction: Drug abuse is defined as the use of legal or illicit drugs in inappropriate ways. You might take more tablets than usual or borrow someone else's prescription. You may take drugs to feel better, relieve stress, or escape reality. However, you can typically adjust your bad habits or quit using completely.
Addiction is defined as the inability to stop. Not when it jeopardises your health. Not when it causes you or your loved ones financial, emotional, or other troubles. Even if you wish to quit, the need to get and use drugs might consume you at all hours of the day.
Addiction differs from physical dependency and tolerance. Withdrawal symptoms occur when a drug is abruptly stopped in situations of physical dependency. Tolerance occurs when a substance's dosage becomes less effective over time.
Your brain will adjust to the increase in dopamine. For the same effect, you might need more of the medication. It is possible that the things that used make you happy such as food and family time might not make your heart happy anymore.
You might notice a change in how other chemicals and circuits of your brain function if you are on drugs for a long period. They could impair your judgement, ability make decisions, memory and ability to learn. It can be difficult to resist the urge of looking for drugs or to use them in ways you are unable to control when you have all these changes to your brain.
Who is most prone to developing an addiction? Different people have different brains and bodies. Different people respond to medicine in different ways. Some people love the feeling of being able to take another dose after they have tried it for the first time. Some people are unable to do it again and hate it.