Drug abuse refers to the negative usage of drugs either for performance enhancement, non-therapeutic effects or just for non-medical effects. By abusing drugs, one usually allows himself to be in a pathological state and while in this state, it is very easy for one to be handed a criminal penalty since the condition makes a person easily engage in activities that may cause physical, psychological or social harm to others.
In many cases, drug abuse occurs as a progression of acute drug use which leads to the development of conditions such as drug-seeking behavior, slowed ability to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli, vulnerability to relapse and many other mental disorders. Despite knowledge of the harmful consequences, abusers of drugs find a rewarding sensation from the drugs due to the euphoric feeling that comes from sustained DA concentrations present in the synaptic cleft of neurons found in the brain. As a result of repeated drug exposure, synaptic changes are forced to occur and this often makes the abuser to persistently crave and seek out for drugs so as to calm himself.
Other conditions that may easily get affected as a result of drug abuse include, Allostasis, Neuroplasticity, Neurogenesis and so on. Allostatis refers to a process of achieving stability through various changes in one’s behavior as well as his or her physiological features. However, as you continue abusing drugs, it is easy for you to diverge from normal levels of change and end up being in a state known as the pathological state. While in this state, your brain can easily get damaged and be rendered non functional. On the other hand, Neoroplasticity refers to a putative mechanism responsible for learning and memory, and involves physical changes in the synapses occurring between any two communicating neurons but when one abuses drugs, this mechanism is often hijacked in the reward system thus letting the motivation be geared towards procuring drugs instead of depending on natural rewards being offered by the body system. Neurogenesis on its part, is a process that allows development of new neurons in the body. As a result of drug addiction, the process always gets affected and tend to decrease in the long run.
Commonly known drugs that often make one to have an addiction include, alcohol, caffeine, cocaine, nicotine, sedatives, hyptnotics, heroin, barbiturates, methadone, codeine among many others. However, each type of drug abused has its own addictive potency level that varies from other drugs. For example, drugs such as alcohol and codeine have a lower addictive potency level compared to drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Therefore, for one to be addicted to alcohol, he or she need to have been exposed to it several times.
To combat drug abuse, various rehabilitation centers have been put in place worldwide. In these centers, help is offered to patients suffering from the vice. Here, professional help such as counseling,medical treatment and many other forms of treatment is offered to patients in small suitable doses meant to help reduce your addiction level to the drug in question gradually. By gradually administering treatment, the patient’s body is slowly allowed to start depending on itself rather than on the drugs that were being abused. Another reason why the treatment is usually administered this way is to avoid making the body undergo serious problems that may occur as a result of withdrawing it from the drug being abused.
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