The word “addiction” brings to mind different images for different people. It can be difficult for someone suffering with an addiction or potential addiction to identify with the term “addict.” And it can be especially trying for a young person.
Teens commonly associate addiction with movie images, or people they’ve seen at the absolute lowest, worst point of their addiction. Many have ideas about what an addict looks like: desperate, homeless, suicidal, criminal. With these ideas in mind, it’s hard for them to understand how their drug or alcohol use is a problem — after all, their consequences seem less extreme.
Drug addiction has become a worldwide problem, especially in teenagers. Many young people become dependent on different types substances and stimulating medicines that comes hand-in-hand with narcotic effect. The life of addicts becomes spoiled in all aspects, as they lose contact with their family and live in a different world. They spend lots of money on drugs, and then look for ways to earn money illegally. If we compare the health problems, there are many dangerous effects of drugs. The most disturbing thing about drug addiction is that people in different countries of the world are becoming addicted to all kinds of drugs. There are different types of street drugs such as – cocaine, meth, marijuana, heroin etc. The term drug not only means medicine, but fatal narcotics with different specifications. These drugs have their evil effects on mind and body cells of the addicts. The addict becomes dependent on the drug to a great extent that he/she cannot stop using it. Despite of having full knowledge of its effects on health, addicts use it on a regular basis. The drugs that may be addictive target your brain’s reward system. They flood your brain with a chemical called dopamine. This triggers a feeling of intense pleasure. So you keep taking the drug to chase that high.
Over time, your brain gets used to the extra dopamine. So you might need to take more of the drug to get the same good feeling. And other things you enjoyed, like food and hanging out with family, may give you less pleasure. When you use drugs for a long time, it can cause changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits as well. They can hurt your Judgment Decision making Memory Ability to learn, Together these brain changes can drive you to seek out and take drugs in ways that are beyond your control.
Drug addiction is a compulsive disorder that leads an individual to use substance habitually to achieve desired outcome. Millions of people in the world are suffering with drug addiction and the number is expected to increase in the coming years. If the person is using drugs for a longer period, the outcome may change. For example – early experimentation with drugs is rooted in curiosity. However, as the frequency of substance becomes frequent – the body starts to depend in it to function properly. The most common signs and symptoms of drug addiction are – obsession with a particular substance, loss of control over the usage of drugs, abandoning the activities which you used to enjoy, etc. Drug addiction may have long term impact on life and one may develop severe symptoms such as – fatigue, trembling, depression, anxiety, headache, behavior changes, poor coordination problems etc.Drug addiction isn’t about just heroin, cocaine, or other illegal drugs. You can get addicted to alcohol, nicotine, opioid painkillers, and other legal substances. Abusing drugs can leave you feeling helpless, isolated, or ashamed. Young people are more likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol than adults, and these habits could follow them into adulthood. Research has shown that people are more likely to develop an addiction if they start abusing drugs at a young age. If you’re worried about your own or a loved one’s drug use, learning how drug abuse and addiction develops—and why it can have such a powerful hold—will give you a better understanding of how to best deal with the problem and regain control of your life. There’s a fine line between regular drug use and drug abuse and addiction. Very few drug abusers or addicts are able to recognize when they’ve crossed that line. While frequency or the amount of drugs consumed do not necessarily constitute drug abuse or addiction, they can often be indicators of drug-related problems. If the drug fulfills a valuable need, you may find yourself increasingly relying on it. You may take illegal drugs to calm or energize yourself or make you more confident. You may start abusing prescription drugs to relieve pain, cope with panic attacks, or improve concentration at school or work. If you are using drugs to fill a void in your life, you’re more at risk of crossing the line from casual drug use to drug abuse and addiction. Drug abuse may start as a way to socially connect. People often try drugs for the first time in social situations with friends and acquaintances, A strong desire to fit in to the group can make it feel like doing the drugs with them is the only option.
Prevention
Drug Abuse Prevention Starts with Parents, Drugs, including tobacco and alcohol, are easily available to children and adolescents. As a parent, you have a major impact on your child’s decision not to use drugs.
Most likely, children in grade school have not begun to use alcohol, tobacco, or any other kind of drug. That is why grade school is a good time to start talking about the dangers of drug use. Prepare your child for a time when drugs may be offered.
Talk with your child about the negative effects alcohol and drugs would have on their brains and bodies and their ability to learn or play sports. As part of your regular safety conversations, talk about avoiding tobacco, alcohol, and drug use .Be clear and consistent about family rules .It does not matter what other families decide; your family rules show your family values, correct any wrong beliefs your child may have.
Help Your Child Make Good Choices and Friendships, A good sense of self-worth and knowing what is right and wrong will help your child say “No!” to drugs and other risky behaviors. Help your child by Noticing efforts as well as successes. Praising for things done well and for making good choices, Encourage positive friendships and interests.
Check to see that the friends and neighbors your child spends time with are safe and have values similar to yours. Find ways to get your child involved in sports, hobbies, school clubs, and other activities. These usually are positive interactions that help develop character and lead to good peer relationships. Look for activities that you and your child or the entire family can do together. Help your child learn the importance of being a responsible individual and what it means to be a real friend. Children need to learn that doing something they know is wrong is not a good way to “fit in” or feel accepted by others. Remind your child that real friends do not; Ask friends to do risky things like use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. Reject friends when they don’t want to do something that they know is wrong. Help Your Child Learn Different Ways To Say “No!”
Teens should feel comfortable sharing anything with their parents, including questions about drug or alcohol use. This starts with parents opening up communication about substance abuse, telling their children where they stand and showing them that it’s not a bad topic to talk about. Remember what you teach your children’s they learn that so it’s important for every parent to talk about the negative effects of drugs use with their children’s to keep them away from all this. Teens should also try to avoid bad companies where they find that they might get involved in drugs abuse, A strong desire to stay away from drugs is enough to keep your life stable and healthy from such things.
At last I request all the youths to stay away from drugs because once you get involved in all this then it will be very much difficult for you to leave drugs, think about your parents, about your future these drugs are not going to give you anything. The best prevention to stay away from drugs is your mindset ,God has blessed us all with brain to think and differ between good and bad so its our sole responsibility not to indulge ourselves in these bad kind of activities and aware your loved ones too.
Writer Mohammad Momin khan is a Social activist, Student and can be reached atmomink396@gmail.com
