BY

DESI RIDIA
 Addiction is not just a lot of drug use. It is
actually a different state of being. In addiction,
drugs hijack your brain, your mind, and your life.
They literally change your brain — that is why we
call addiction a brain disease. Once people
become addicted, their focus in life becomes
seeking and using drugs. They no longer seem to
care about any of the consequences that may
result from taking drugs. This is very different
from a person who is a drug user or abuser. A
drug abuser can choose whether or not to use a
drug.
 Drug addiction is a compulsion. When
people become addicted to drugs, their
brains have fundamentally changed.
Addiction is compulsive drug seeking and
use, even in the face of appalling
consequences
How Drugs Work on the Brain Certain drugs make
us feel very good — at least at first— because of
what they do to our brains. Drugs that are
abused change the way our brains work by
disrupting the delicate mechanisms through
which nerve cells transmit, receive, and process
information critical for our daily living. Nicotine,
cocaine, marijuana, and heroin, for example, are
rapidly carried to the brain through our
bloodstream regard- less of whether they are
smoked, injected, or swal- lowed.
Then they stimu-late different circuits in our
brain, one of which is called the pleasure
cen-ter. Continued abuse of drugs, which
unnaturally overstimulates brain cir-cuits,
can change the brain to an addicted state.
The affected circuits can no longer function
on their own, but need outside stimulation to
function. The drug addict no longer has a
choice whether to take the drug or not. We’re
still not sure whether all the changes that
occur in the addicted brain can ever be com-
pletely reversed. We do know that the use of
inhalants literally destroys brain tissues.
 Feeling that you have to use the drug
regularly — this can be daily or even several
times a day
 Failing in your attempts to stop using the
drug
 Making certain that you maintain a supply
of the drug
 Spending money on the drug, even though
you can't afford it
 Doing things to obtain the drug that you
normally wouldn't do, such as stealing
 Feeling that you need the drug to deal with
your problems
 Driving or doing other risky activities when
you're under the influence of the drug
 Focusing more and more time and energy on
getting and using the drug
Signs of narcotic use and dependence can
include:
 Reduced sense of pain
 Sedation
 Depression
 Confusion
 Constipation
 Slowed breathing
 Needle marks (if injecting drugs)
 May have overdosed
 Loses consciousness
 Has trouble breathing
 Has seizures
 Has signs of a heart attack, such as chest
pain or pressure
 Has any other troublesome physical or
psychological reaction to use of the drug
 Environment. Environmental factors,
including your family's beliefs and attitudes
and exposure to a peer group that
encourages drug use, seem to play a role in
initial drug use.
 Genes. Once you've started using a drug, the
development into addiction may be
influenced by inherited traits.
 Family history of addiction
 Being male.
 Having another psychological problem.
 Peer pressure.
 Lack of family involvement.
 Anxiety, depression and loneliness.
 Taking a highly addictive drug.
 Health problems.
 Unconsciousness, coma and sudden death.
 Getting a communicable disease.
 Accidents.
 Suicide.
 Family problems.
 Work issues.
 Problems at school
 Legal issues.
 Financial problems.
 Communicate. Talk to your children about the
risks of drug use and abuse.
 Listen. Be a good listener when your children
talk about peer pressure, and be supportive
of their efforts to resist it.
 Set a good example. Don't abuse alcohol or
addictive drugs.
 Strengthen the bond. Work on your
relationship with your children.
 See a therapist. Drug addiction is linked to a
number of problems that may be helped with
counseling (psychotherapy). You may have
other underlying mental health concerns that
need to be addressed
 Join a support group.
 Seek treatment for other mental health
disorders.
 Treatment programs. Treatment programs
generally include educational and therapy
sessions focused on getting sober and
preventing relapse.
 Counseling. Individual or family counseling
with a psychologist, psychiatrist or addiction
counselor may help you resist the temptation
to resume using addicting drugs.
 The goal of withdrawal therapy
(detoxification) is for you to stop taking the
addicting drug as quickly and safely as
possible. Detoxification may involve gradually
reducing the dose of the drug or temporarily
substituting other substances, such as
methadone, that have less severe side effects
Drugs addiction is state of periodic or chronic
intoxication produced by therepeated
consumption of a drug ( natural or synthetic ).
Its characteristics include an overpowering desire
or need to continue taking the drug and to obtain
it by anymeans a tendency to increase the dose a
psychic and generally a physical dependence on
the effects of the drug and detrimental effects on
the individual andon society .
So don’t ever use and take drugs if we just want
to forget our problems, to celebrate to relieve
pain and to become more confident because it
has greater effect to our health. Drug adduction
is a complex brain disease.