Abuse of substances such as alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, prescription medications, and others can cause health issues and serious problems with family, friends, coworkers, job, money, and the law. Yet despite these problems, use of the substance continues. Why? Addiction is a physical dependence on a chemical substance. The dependence leads to unpleasant symptoms, called withdrawal, when a person stops using the substance. People often begin using an addicting substance because it initially gives them pleasure. By the time addiction has developed, the pleasure is often gone. The driving force behind continued use is a need to avoid the unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal. Addiction has a strong hereditary component. Children raised apart from their alcoholic biological parents, for example, have four times the risk of becoming alcoholics than the general population. This means that different people have different susceptibilities to becoming addicted. Why one person can have a drink or two each day and not become addicted to alcohol, whereas another becomes addicted, is a mystery. Conte nt was generated with GSA Content Generator D emover sion!
People with a tendency to become addicted to one substance also have a tendency to become addicted to others. Environmental factors such as physical and sexual abuse, or disadvantaged social status, play an important role in addiction. Even so, people from all walks of life are vulnerable to addiction. While addiction leads to personality changes over time, decordeals.shop there are no specific personality characteristics that predict a person will develop addictive behaviors. The most common addictions involve the use of alcohol, tobacco, shoes other legal and illegal drugs, and other mood-altering substances. The use of these substances may be physically and psychologically harmful to the user, and may also lead to antisocial behavior. Antisocial behavior can lead to crime, which can occur both when a person is high on a substance or fighting withdrawal and needs money to obtain the substance to which he or she is addicted. Depression is unusually common in people who engage in substance abuse. The first stage involves using alcohol to relieve tension.
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It is during this time that a physical dependence on the drug begins. During the second stage, the person becomes more and more preoccupied with obtaining alcohol. He or she may lose control when drinking, suffer blackout, or forget alcohol-related events. In the third stage, behavior and personality changes start to take place. These include aggressive behavior and a complete lack of insight into the problem. Finally, in the late stage, persistent use of alcohol affects the person's physical and emotional health, causing serious deterioration in ability to function. Physical complications can include inflammation of the stomach, inflammation of the liver, permanent nerve and brain damage (forgetfulness, blackouts, or problems with short-term memory), and inflammation of the pancreas. Long-term abuse of alcohol can increase the risk and severity of pneumonia and tuberculosis; can damage the heart, leading to heart failure; and makeup can cause cirrhosis of the liver, leading to liver failure.
Alcohol intoxication is a major cause of motor vehicle collisions and other injuries, often with fatal consequences. Alcohol consumption by pregnant women can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, which can cause mental retardation. Withdrawal from alcohol carries its own risks, including restlessness, agitation, hallucinations, delirium, and seizures. In its most severe form, alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening and require hospitalization. Smoking cigarettes, cigars, or pipes, chewing tobacco, or using snuff can quickly lead to nicotine addiction. About 45 million people in the United States use nicotine in some form. More than half of smokers light their first cigarette within a half hour of waking up, and 30% have never stopped smoking for as long as a week. Most tobacco users wish they had never started; only 5% succeed in quitting on the first attempt, and only 3% to 5% are able to stay away from tobacco for a year. Nicotine is one of the most addictive of all drugs.