What You Need to Know about Substance Abused Drugs

Drug abuse occurs most among adolescent and young adults who are looking for new sensation and hope that these substances will increase their mental functioning and develop an ability to understand themselves better. According to a California rehab facility, many people take drugs incorrectly because they are very unhappy or discontented with their life.

Substance or drug abuse differs among cultural group, ethics, and socioeconomic, and is broadly defined as excessive self-administration of a drug that could result in addiction, physical dependence, and even harm to the individual’s health. A cancer patient who takes large doses of opiates to control pain, for example, is not considered to be a drug abuser. However, an otherwise healthy person self-administering large doses of opiates is.

Categorizing Abusive Drugs

Central Nervous System Depressants – These include alcohol, marijuana, narcotics (opiates), and Analgesic like pentazoacine (Talwin), sedation, hypnotics, antipsychotic and antianxiety drugs

Central Nervous System Stimulants – These include cocaine, amphetamines, and caffeine among others.

Mind-Altering or “Psychedelic” Drugs – These include lysergic acid, diethylamide, and mescaline.

Characteristic of drug addiction include compulsive drug use, drug craving, and drug seeking. Addiction is physical dependence.  A person who takes a drug for a while may not be able to stop taking it without experiencing dangerous physical effects that may even end in death.

Symptoms of Drug Withdrawal

Withdrawal is the physical side effects, such as nausea and consciousness, which results when the drug is discontinued. Not all drugs cause addiction. Many people find that they very much want to go on using a particular drug even though they are not physically dependent on it. They will not be ill if they do not get the drug. But if they can get it, they find it difficult or impossible not to take it. These people are psychologically dependent on drug.

Tolerance is another problem relating to drugs. Psychological dependence is an intense desire or craving for the drug when it is not available. 

Many people who take drugs and associate a great deal with others who take them become very careless about their personal appearance and physical health. They do not get enough sleep or proper food and they are likely to suffer from infectious illness.

The best way to treat a drug abuse victim is to bring him to a California rehab facility where the right programs, treatments, therapies, and approaches are done by professional counselors. Pax House is a residential California drug treatment center that helps drug abuse victims recover from their problems. For more information, visit http://www.paxhouse.org.