Drug Addiction: Symptoms and Cures

Important introduction

As discussed in the previous article, most drug addiction begins occasionally, as a game or a challenge, driven by the (completely wrong) belief to quit when desired. Drug addiction creates short- and long-term disorders that reveal themselves. disastrous for their own safety:

it begins with the occasional administration of a substance, to then move on to habitual intake, up to the moment in which a real addiction and tolerance to the drug is created, in the sense that the individual needs an increasingly higher dose of substance to achieve the same effect. Withdrawal crises are ruinous: stopping the administration of that substance triggers the rebellion of the central nervous system, which requires it assiduously, causing very serious symptoms. The chances of recovery from drug addiction are indirectly proportional to the period in which the drugs were taken: in other words, an addict tends to recover from this terrible condition faster if he has abused drugs for a short time.

Symptoms

Symptoms accompanying drug addiction vary according to the substance of abuse. The table shows a concise list of the most common symptoms associated with the abuse of a particular substance.

Type of substance

Characteristic symptoms of drug addiction

Barbiturates (eg. Phenobarbital, amobarbital) and benzodiazepines (eg. Diazepam, lorazepam)

Difficulty in chewing, uncoordinated movement, confusional state, depression, dizziness, hypotension, difficulty breathing, lethargy, memory lapses

Narcotic analgesics (heroin, codeine, morphine, methadone, etc.)

Change in odors, depression, constipation, slowed breathing, sedation, skin irritation (from intravenous drug injection)

Ecstasy or MDMA and ketamine

Extreme euphoria, decreased inhibitions, increased vision, hearing and taste disturbances, movement uncoordination, loss of consciousness, amphetamine-like effects, inability to choose, memory loss, tachycardia or bradycardia, hypo / hypertension, somnolence

Marijuana and hashish

Need to take drugs daily, hypertension, tachycardia, increased hunger, slowed reflexes, paranoid thoughts, red eyes, memory lapses, impaired vision and hearing, altered taste of food

Stimulants (e.g. cocaine, amphetamine etc.)

Anorexia, increased basal temperature, nasal congestion, euphoria, damage to the nasal mucosa (narcotic powders), depression (withdrawal), weight loss, insomnia, hypertension, restlessness, irritability, paranoia.
Methamphetamine is a very dangerous substance of abuse, responsible for short and long term damage

Hallucinogens (LSD and phencyclidine)

Hallucinations, extreme reduction in perception of reality, tachycardia, tremor, temporary or permanent change in perception of reality, flashback. PCP (phencyclidine) can also cause panic attacks, delirium, depression (abstinence), propensity to aggression, loss of appetite.

Drug addiction in adolescence

The recognition of drug addiction in adolescents is rather complex, given the already problematic period of life: mood swings and adolescent anxieties should not be confused with drug addiction. Contact with parents, dialogue and medical consultation are certainly very useful preventive measures to enter the microcosm of adolescents and understand, at least in part, their world. In the adolescent, particular attention must be paid to various elements, which can be spies on for a possible intake of abusive substances: loss of interest in certain attitudes, problems at school, concentration problems, tendency to spend money, behavioral alterations , neglect of the physical aspect, etc. ..
It should be emphasized once again: these alarm signals do not necessarily lead to the onset of drug addiction, given that the boy is in a phase of transition between adolescence and adulthood; in any case, it is recommended the support of parents and family members.

Care

In most cases, drug addicts do not see a way out of that vortex that has engulfed them; the support of family and friends is very important, but drug therapy is, in general, the most suitable therapeutic approach and , often, completely decisive.
It should be emphasized that the addict complains of a mute cerebral suffering, in the sense that the physical and psychological symptoms are the result of drugs and nothing is intentionally invented or elaborated by their mind. The brain suffering we are discussing must not be understood only during withdrawal crises, but rather must be considered also and above all in the long term: the addict who follows a specific pharmacological and psychological therapy is subjected to a constant desire to fall again in temptation - allegorically speaking - and take substance again.
The chances of getting out of drug addiction (or, as they say in the jargon, of “getting out of it”) depend both on the moment in which the therapy is started and on the cooperation of the addict; for some, recovery from drug addiction is just an "illusion, a mirage that cannot become reality.
Precisely with the aim of converting that dream, that hope into something concrete, numerous detoxification and recovery centers have sprung up: the addict subjected to a similar treatment must fight with all his abilities to overcome drug addiction: willpower it is an indispensable ingredient to get out of that tunnel. The stakes are high: life is at stake.

For further information: read the article on drugs for the treatment of drug addiction