Drug consumption is dangerous. Even if done for longer periods of time, it can take a major toll on your physical and mental health. This guide will go over the ten ways it can affect you.
If you or someone you know is dealing with drug dependency or addiction, visit The Heights Treatment website to find out more information on how you can get the help you need. Many people feel that they need their drug of choice to get through the day. What they may not realize is that they are taking on unhealthy habits that will cause them to pay the price later on.
Let’s take a look now at the following 10 ways consuming drugs will affect your physical and mental health.
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Your immune system will weaken
After a long period of drug dependency and addiction, your immune system starts to weaken. This will cause you to get more sick frequently. Not only that, you also face the risk of contracting infections.
You may get sick almost constantly. If you are working or in school, you may miss out. This can eventually lead to you losing your job or flunking out of school.
Your brain functions won’t be the best
Your brain is responsible for memory, decision making, and attention. With regular drug use, this will dampen those functions. This can also make life much more challenging to live.
You’ll have a hard time remembering things. You may have a shorter than usual attention span. And you may have a hard time making decisions (or make reckless ones without thinking them through).
It can trigger underlying mental health issues
You may have an undiagnosed mental health disorder that had occurred prior to drug dependency or addiction. If you are using drugs, you may start feeling increasingly paranoid. You may experience extreme mood swings and other issues.
These mental disorder symptoms can be amplified through drug use. You could be diagnosed for both a mental disorder and addiction (which is known as a dual diagnosis). In the event of a dual diagnosis, it’s important to have a treatment plan that will take care of both issues.
It will be a detriment to your cardiovascular health
Drug use can cause issues with your circulatory and cardiovascular health. This includes but is not limited to collapsed veins, blood vessel infections (common for those who inject drugs), abnormal heart rates, and the increased risk of heart attacks.
Even if you quit drug use, the after effect may remain. The damage may never be reversed. If this is one good reason to quit drugs and get help, this may be one of them.
Don’t do further damage to your body any longer. The consequences may be life threatening no matter if you stopped using drugs or not.
Increased risk of other health issues
Regular drug use will increase your risk of experiencing a number of health issues. These can include but are not limited to stroke, heart attack, seizures, confusion, and even brain damage. An opioid overdose, while mostly fatal, can lead to brain damage if one were to survive.
The effects of brain damage can make life very challenging. They may lose many of their normal functions. Some may even be at the point of a vegetative state. If this isn’t your wake up call to quit drugs and get help, we don’t know what is.
It strains the liver
Regular drug use can lead to strain on the liver. It can get to the point where it can get damaged badly. Liver damage can also be a real possibility.
With liver damage, it can also cause your body’s ability to filter toxins to be less than ideal. In turn, this can also cause various illnesses. Your liver is one of the most important vital organs in your body.
To have significant damage done to it can shorten your life. Your quality of life deserves to be better. Such drugs like opioids can cause liver damage when long-term use happens.
Don’t take your life for granted. The effects of drug use can be lifelong, even if you’ve quit years before.
Lung disease can develop
If you smoke certain drugs, you may increase your risk of developing lung disease. You may have a hard time breathing. You may climb stairs and feel quickly out of breath.
It can get to the point where you may need to be on oxygen around the clock. And it may stay that way for the rest of your life. Even if you are forced to quit drugs to live longer, you’ll find yourself living with the health consequences of drug use forever.
Do your body a favor and quit while you can. If you have done this for a long period of time, quit anyway. Then, make a choice to visit your doctor to see what kind of damage it has done to your body.
Constant nausea and stomach pain
You may deal with constant stomach pain and nausea. This can get to the point where it can lead to changes to your appetite. You may eat less and you may lose weight as a result.
Unfortunately, the changes in your body will not look pleasant. You may have a gaunt appearance. You may look underweight and unhealthy.
High risk of cancers
Regular drug use can lead to a higher chance of developing cancers. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. You may not even notice it until it has developed in the later stages.
You can quit drug use now. At the same time, you can also take the steps to watch out for any signs of cancer. The sooner you catch it, the better it can be treated.
Increased risk of depression, suicide risks, etc.
The mental effects of drug use are plenty. You may deal with increased instances of depression. Then there are the mood swings affecting you, your friends and family.
You’ll also be facing the risk of increased thoughts of suicide. It can even get to the point where you may attempt suicide on a regular basis. If you are noticing these signs, it’s important to get the mental help you need as soon as possible.