The Effects Of Withdrawal On Biological And Social Health

Addiction is a chronic brain disease that often results in some sort of relapse. Addiction is characterized by inability to control drug use which results in problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships. This disease causes compulsive behaviors such as the need to use drugs despite the many harmful consequences that affect the addicted individual and those around him or her. Although for most people, the initial decision to use drugs is a one time lapse in judgement, the brain is easily affected by these drugs if the person decides to use these drugs multiple times. The changes that occur to the brain over time will cause the addicted person’s ability to resist the intense impulses of drugs to be altered causing the addict to often give into the temptation of these drugs. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death. Drug addiction is an issue that many people deal with whether they are the addict or the addict is their loved one; but with a good source of support anyone can over come the challenges and consequences of addiction.

A common assumption that is made is that people who are addicted to drugs are suffering from a lack of willpower or moral fibre. People assume that these people could stop using if they simply tried a little harder. Unfortunately for those who are addicted, it is not that simple. When someone takes a drug regularly, heroin, for example, their brain chemistry becomes altered. The body produces less natural dopamine and begins to require more and more of the drug to feel its effects. Eventually, the body will begin to crave the drug, and going without it will lead to nasty withdrawal symptoms, including vomiting, increased heart rate, and

To understand addiction further, it is important to look at how drugs have neurological effects in a human body. Drugs can be ingested in various ways; while some are taken orally, some are smoked (cannabis) while others are injected directly into the blood stream (Heroin). Once in the body, they mainly affect the reward pathway in the brain, known as the dopaminergic pathway, which in turn gives pleasure. Even though all drugs affect the reward and motivation pathways in the brain, their speed depends on the way the drug has been consumed. Over constant use of drugs, the cognitive functions are impaired as the effects become more prominent in learning, memory

It is believed that certain individuals are predisposed or vulnerable to addiction based on biological, psychological and social influences. The euphoric high produced by many addictive substances is the result of overstimulation of the “pleasure center” of the brain. This is the same area that controls emotions, fear, self-control and overall feelings of wellness. The presence of these foreign chemicals creates a response that the brain will crave as soon as it fades. The brain’s chemistry works against its own health, as it rewires its decision making faculties around the primary goal of finding and taking more of the drug” (1). Many people mistakenly believe that psychological addiction is somehow less serious or real than physical addiction. The psychological aspects of addiction are much more challenging to repair and recover from than the physical addiction. Psychological addiction can last for years or even a lifetime.

The user may increase the amount of a drug taken due to the drug being metabolized too quickly or being removed from the body. A person may compensate their behavior when exposed to a drug overtime such as learning to drive while intoxicated. The impairment is reduced and this is known as behavioral tolerance. Pharmacodynamics tolerance is the main contributor to the need to increase the dosage of a drug in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms. The user does not feel the same effects of a dosage so the dosage must be increased in order to get the same feeling.

The negative impact the drugs and alcohol abuse and addiction has on the overall health of the user must be considered. Every process and system in the body is adversely affected by the over-indulgence of drugs and alcohol. Some of the health problems regularly noted include organ damage, kidney and liver disease, organ failure, congestive heart failure, respiratory depression, memory lapses, brain damage, infection, stroke, heart attack, and overdose.

First of all, chemical dependency or substance abuse is a more specific term for addiction. Addiction is defined as “a compulsive and maladaptive dependency on a substance (alcohol, cocaine, opioids) or a behavior (gambling, viewing pornography)” (Kaiser, 2011, p.113), while chemical dependency specifically pertains to the dependency of a substance. Kaiser (2011) states that there are consequences to chemical dependency, whether it be “psychological, physical, economic, social, or legal” (p. 113). When one overuses substances such as alcohol, opioids, or amphetamines, there is a chance that the body will get used to the chemical effects of the drugs. This can lead to tolerance and eventually withdrawal. Tolerance “represents a cellular adaptation in a pharmacologically active substance so that increasingly larger doses are required to produce

Addiction claims the user through physiological dependence that creates a need for the drug of choice on a very basic level. Through repeated substance abuse, the user gains tolerance for the drug, needing it in larger amounts, and on a more frequent basis, until the body cannot function normally without the drug. Withdrawal symptoms now also occur upon attempting to halt use. This is how substance abuse becomes the disease of addiction.

Wise and Koob state that addiction begins with positive reinforcement, habits, a person feels the “high” of the habit, however, then the tolerance sets in which conditions the brain for negative reinforcements and one increases the use to enjoy the habit (2014). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2012), drug addiction is a chronic brain disease. This disease is complex disease that is treatable, however it is a lifetime of treatment, sending many into relapses over and over again. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)

It must be noted however, that the physical effects of drug use and the damage that it can cause to the body is occurring with the abuse and misuse of drugs and alcohol regardless of whether or not a person suffers withdrawal symptoms when sober. The health risks related to substance abuse and addiction include memory loss, stress on the organs and systems of the body, organ failure, depressed respiratory function, cancer, stroke, heart attack, cirrhosis of the liver, infection, kidney disease, depression, anxiety, and

While there is no cure for drug abuse or dependence, there are three main treatment

Addiction can become more important than the need to eat or sleep. The urge to get and use the drug can fill every moment of a person's life. The addiction replaces all the things the person used to enjoy.

There are two types of drug tolerance that impact how the individual reacts to the drug they took. These are contingent drug tolerance and conditioned drug tolerance. Contingent drug tolerance happens when a tolerance is built up to the effects experienced due to the drug. Conditioned drug tolerance is when the tolerance level is at its highest because the drug was taken in the same place and situation as multiple times beforehand. This phenomenon is also why when drug addicts try to quit their addiction, certain

All types of addictions should be looked at from a philosophical and psychological point of view. Those in the fields of neuroscience, psychology and philosophy often compare their views to show the similarities of addictions whether they be substance induced or behavioral. “Behavioral science experts believe that all entities capable of stimulating a person can be addictive; and whenever a habit changes into an obligation, it can be considered as addiction” (Alaghemandan et al 290). Some addictions can affect people physically. Caffeine and nicotine provide prime examples. The body’s physical state becomes dependent on its effects and causes withdrawal symptoms without use. One of the main differences in behavioral and substance addictions is that behavioral addictions have no apparent physiological or physical withdrawal symptoms. It is not the physical body that is addicted, but the feeling that one gets mentally. The physical body is only affected by the

Tolerance mostly has to deal with the drug the user is addicted to and is more likely depending on the regularity of the use. While taking the drug dopamine levels rise causing a high that cannot be reached without the drug. That high is so spectacular that the user begins to feel lifeless and depressed. In time, the user begins to take larger and larger quantities of their drug. At times, even, the user might experience with other drugs causing them to take more and more different illicit drugs. Drug addicted, due to tolerance, seems like a never ending cycle with the only way of escaping is dying. Statistically, more people in the United States get help before it’s too late. About 2.6 million of the 23.5 million people in the United States get help with their addiction. Roughly 12% of addicts in the United States, which compares to the 30,000 people that die annually in the United States. These numbers are dramatically different, but the number of addicts is enormous. The number of people who actually go to a rehabilitation center for their addiction comes with the awareness of symptoms that will partake and fight against their willpower to stop.