Drug addiction is a disease that drastically affects the individual’s brain and behavior. These changes in the brain caused by drugs remain even after the person has stopped using drugs. It should not be forgotten, however, that while drugs are done by an individual, they could have equally devastating effects on their family and friends.
Drugs alter brain chemistry. The “high,” which is essentially a flood of dopamine (the chemical that helps regulate emotions and feelings of pleasure), is the main cause of drug addiction (NIDA, 2020b). Flooding the brain with dopamine interferes with the brain’s performance, particularly with decision-making. This is why cravings for the drug become too intense and drug use becomes compulsive and difficult to stop. Besides this, drugs also disrupt the brain’s communication pathways and therefore affect cognitive function, mood, and behavior (NIDA, 2020b). These changes in the brain are permanent and will continue to affect the individual long after they have quit drugs.
Additionally, drug addiction has an adverse effect on health. Drug addiction weakens the immune system and causes various diseases like heart disease, lung disease, liver damage, as well as seizures and brain damage. Furthermore, as mentioned, drug addiction may cause or worsen mental health diseases. In worst cases, drug addiction may lead to overdose and death.
Unborn babies may also sustain the effects of drug addiction. Aside from poor nutrition, possibly linked to lifestyle choices associated with drug addiction, unborn babies may suffer from premature birth, low birth weight, birth defects, and learning or behavioral problems later in life. Some infants also exhibit withdrawal symptoms after birth and thus require treatment.
The impact of drug addiction is not limited to one individual. The people surrounding the individual are inevitably affected as well. Various research has proven that drug addiction within the family causes “severe and enduring stress” on family members as they often have to cope alone with the drug problem (Barnard 2006). Problematic behavior associated with drug addiction, such as impulsiveness, risky behavior, and aggression, also takes a toll on family relationships, which further causes distress to members of the family.
Children of parents with drug addiction are also more likely to be physically abused and neglected than those children of parents without drug addiction. As Barnard narrates, children are likely left not properly fed, cleaned, clothed, or supervised by their parents during periods of drug use (2006). Likewise, the medical and dental needs of these children are likely neglected as well. Aside from the neglect of children’s basic needs, their emotional needs are also likely neglected as the parent-child relationship is left strained by the parent’s drug addiction. Parents with drug addiction are more likely to be emotionally disengaged and unresponsive to infants (Barnard 2006). Such behavior has detrimental effects on the child’s development later on.
While one of the often-cited symptoms of drug use addiction is changing friend groups or reducing the number of one's friends, another impact of drug addiction is the individual influencing their friends to use drugs as well. This is especially true among adolescents, for whom face-to-face interactions with other adolescents who use drugs have a strong influence on their decision to also use drugs (Branstetter, Low, and Furman 2011). Thus, one of the effects of drug addiction is spreading or encouraging drug use among friend groups, thereby amplifying the problem of drugs further.
This cause and effect paper confirms that there are various risk factors for drug addiction. These factors include emotional, such as stress and trauma; psychological, such as mental health disorders; and genetics and environment. These factors are deeply interconnected and often interplay in leading an individual to use drugs and develop an addiction. On the other hand, the effects of drug addiction are not limited to the individual who used drugs. Family members, children, and friends are also affected by drug addiction. Drug addiction in the family causes distress to the other family members, while friends become vulnerable to peer pressure to try drugs. Perhaps the most adversely impacted are the children of parents who have drug addiction as they are often neglected physically and emotionally. They, therefore, take the toll from childhood, and possibly to adulthood. Understanding the factors that led an individual toward drug misuse and addiction as well as its effect
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