Long Term Effects of Addiction
Each drug, alcohol or toxin has its own long term effects as the result of
abuse and addiction. There are a couple of common denominators however when it comes to the long term effects of addiction.
One of these is the fact that these drugs and toxins can store in the fat tissues of the body for weeks, months, and even years after cessation of use. These can account for sometimes uncontrollable cravings for the drug or substance even though it hasn’t been used in sometime.
Strong feelings of guilt and depression are also common long term effects of
addiction due to sacrificing of integrity and values that accompanies the addictive lifestyle.
These three points are common to
addictions of all sorts and are the reason for continued use and relapse.
Drug Rehab Information By State
Each drug of course can and does create its own effects.
With all the substances available today the list of effects can be staggering. There are common denominators to drug
abuse and
addiction however.
Those who start down the path of
addiction begin to accumulate so much damage to their physical and mental selves and their lives that the quality of their lives in general deteriorates. If drug or alcohol
abuse continues unchecked, eventually the person is faced with so many unpleasant circumstances that each sober moment is filled with despair and misery. All this person now wants to do is escape these feelings by medicating them away. This is the downward spiral of addiction.For most addicts, there are only three possible outcomes: sobriety, prison or death.
Many people have a misunderstanding when it comes to detox.
Quite often it is confused with withdrawal.
Withdrawal is the process of ceasing the current drug or alcohol use with enough of the effects handled so as to give the individual a fighting chance at continued sobriety.
Detox on the other hand should involve removing the quantities of drugs and toxins that store in the fat tissues of the body, sometimes for years.
The Narconon Arrowhead New Life
Detoxification Program is done following withdrawal and results in a marked resurgence in the overall sense of well-being for the individual. Many, if not most, of our
detoxification program completions report an end to their drug or alcohol cravings at this point.
Executive Director of Narconon Arrowhead Gary W. Smith reports, ‘Although the number of people coming to us who are abusing pot is a smaller percentage of our total clientele, in the 30 years I have been in the drug
rehabilitation field I have not seen these numbers of individuals literally hooked on marijuana and unable to stop on their own.
We’ve known for a long time that marijuana use can lead to other drugs but it is shocking to see people whose lives are being destroyed by smoking pot just like others we are treating who are addicted to crack or alcohol.
I believe this is happening because the strength of the pot that is being smoked today is probably ten times stronger than the pot of 20 years ago.’
Addiction is a chronic, relapsing condition, characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and
drug use which is accompanied by functional and molecular changes in the brain. In addition to being addicted to methamphetamine, chronic methamphetamine abusers exhibit symptoms that can include violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. They also can display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions. The paranoia can result in homicidal as well as suicidal thoughts. With chronic use, tolerance for methamphetamine can develop. Users may take higher doses of the drug, take it more frequently, or change their method of drug intake. In some cases, abusers forego food and sleep while injecting as much as a gram of the drug every 2 to 3 hours over several days until the user runs out of the drug or is too disorganized to continue. Chronic
abuse can lead to psychotic behavior, characterized by intense paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and out-of-control rages that can be coupled with extremely violent behavior.
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