Substance abuse often starts as a deliberate decision to use drugs or alcohol for recreational purposes or to alleviate symptoms of mental health issues. However, what starts as a conscious choice gradually evolves into a life-altering addiction, changing a person’s behavior and even leading to long-term health problems.

How Substance Abuse Occurs

Substance abuse refers to the continuous use of an addictive or harmful substance despite its negative effects or consequences. It typically starts as a choice to alleviate stress but can develop into a disorder characterized by difficulty quitting due to troubling withdrawal symptoms, indicating dependence on the substance.

Dependence occurs when the brain is acclimated to the presence of a particular substance and has difficulty regulating when the substance is no longer present. A person with substance dependence will also need more of the substance to achieve the desired effect as tolerance sets in. However, not everyone who abuses a substance becomes addicted to it, though they are at risk of future health and mental health implications, which are often irreversible.

Why this phenomenon exists isn’t well understood, but research has shown that genetic predisposition, social or environmental stressors, and psychiatric conditions all play a role.

Exactly how or when substance abuse occurs depends on the substance itself, but it is also different from one individual to the next. This makes using substances without medical supervision extremely tricky.

United States Substance Abuse Culture

The culture of substance abuse in the United States is influenced by pop culture. Social media influencers, musicians, and actors have glorified substance use and abuse in popular movies, songs, and documentaries. Some have even named themselves after drugs or alcohol.

While drinking has always been a socially acceptable activity amongst partygoers and those who attend regular social functions, abusing alcohol is a side effect of the party lifestyle and social pressures.

In the last ten years, drug abuse has garnered more positive attention. Several popular rappers have written songs that glamorize drug use as a means to deal with socioeconomic and domestic challenges, often promoting them as non-addictive. Consequently, many young listeners facing similar struggles find solace in these influencers, which often leads them to abuse the same drugs in the hope of finding relief.

Substance Abuse Warning Signs

It can be difficult to recognize the signs of substance abuse in the early stages of addiction. People with substance use disorders often try to conceal their addiction, pretending that everything is normal or distancing themselves from those close to them to avoid being noticed when they are under the influence.

As a person becomes more dependent on a substance, they start to experience intense cravings and uncontrollable urges to use more. At this stage, their inhibitions weaken, and they are unable to maintain the façade of normalcy. Instead, they may act erratically and display several of the following behaviors:

• Getting into legal trouble
• Stealing from loved ones
• Disappearing for long periods
• Driving under the influence
• Neglecting responsibilities
• Spending bill money on drugs or alcohol
• Using the substance until they blackout
• Feeling that everyone is out to get them
• Borrowing money more than usual
• Pawning items to fund their substance use
• Engaging in risky behavior to obtain the drug or alcohol

Individuals struggling with substance abuse also display several physical and psychological warning signs, which they might shrug off as feeling under the weather.

They include:

• Bloodshot eyes
• Unexplained weight loss or weight gain
• Poor grooming habits
• Impaired speech
• Impaired motor skills
• Runny nose
• Unusual body odor
• Anxiety
• Lack of motivation
• Irritability
• Mood swings

Continuously using addictive substances can lead to permanent alterations in the brain and even physical disabilities. This may change the person’s behavior or limit their ability to perform everyday tasks.

Common warning signs of prolonged substance abuse include:

• Tooth decay
• Bowel decay
• Short-term memory loss
• Asthma
• Brain damage
• Chronic constipation
• Liver damage
• Heart disease
• Heart attack
• Lung disease
• Cancer
• Immune suppression
• Gastric ulcers

How Does Substance Abuse Affect Your Body and Mind?

The brain contains a series of circuits that work in tandem to send, receive, and process information. Neurons – the brain’s cells – are part of this intricate process. When a neuron receives information, it sends a neurotransmitter to pass the message to the next neuron.

Some addictive substances mimic the chemical structure of a neurotransmitter. However, when they attach to a neuron, they confuse it, causing it to send out abnormal messages. Other substances prompt neurons to send out a flood of neurotransmitters, causing disruptions throughout the brain.

These disruptions affect three key areas of the brain – the basal ganglia, extended amygdala, and prefrontal cortex.

• Basal Ganglia: As the brain’s reward circuit, the basal ganglia plays an important role in motivation and the feel-good effects of pleasurable activities. Abusing substances like marijuana or ecstasy causes this part of the brain to overreact, producing a high or euphoric effect. With time, this circuit gets used to the effect, causing the person to need more for the same high.
• Extended Amygdala: The extended amygdala plays a role in stressful situations, creating feelings of anxiety, paranoia, and irritability. When a person abuses drugs over a long period and suddenly stops, these feelings – fueled by the motivational effects of the basal ganglia – cause them to seek out the drug again. At this stage, the person uses the drug to stave off these unwanted emotions rather than to achieve a euphoric effect.
• Prefrontal Cortex: This part of the brain is responsible for decision-making, planning, problem-solving, and impulse control. When the prefrontal cortex is repeatedly exposed to drugs, individuals compulsively seek out more drugs with less impulse control.

Parts of the brain that control vital functions such as breathing or heart rate are also affected by long-term drug use.

Mental Health Consequences

In some cases, individuals abuse substances to alleviate the symptoms of a mental health disorder. In other cases, they develop mental health issues from long-term substance use. The longer a person uses substances, the more at risk they are for developing a serious mental health issue.

The most commonly experienced mental health complications are anxiety disorder and addiction, though any of the following may occur:

• Bipolar disorder
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD)
• Personality disorders
• Schizophrenia

Anxiety Disorder

According to the National Library of Medicine, research has shown a higher occurrence of anxiety disorders among people with substance use disorders than in the general population.

Anxiety Disorder is characterized by repeated feelings of intense fear and worry despite no perceived threat. Along with these feelings, people with an anxiety disorder experience physical symptoms such as muscle tension, shaking, and sweating during bouts of anxiety.

Other symptoms include:

• difficulty sleeping
• trouble concentrating
• heart palpitations
• irritability
• restlessness
• feeling of doom or danger
• digestive distress
• rapid breathing (hyperventilating)
• shaking or trembling

Although the exact cause isn’t known, withdrawing from drug use during an active addiction can trigger anxiety symptoms. Research has shown that the more a person is exposed to these emotions, the more at risk they are for developing an anxiety disorder.

Addiction

Although people with an addiction are often stigmatized as “choosing” to use drugs – addiction is not a choice.

According to NIDA and SAMHSA, addiction is defined as a relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking despite its harmful consequences. It is the most severe form of a substance use disorder. A person with an addiction requires outside support to withdraw from drugs safely and to avoid relapsing, the latter of which increases their risk of overdose.

The time it takes for a person to develop an addiction isn’t known. However, repeated exposure to an addictive substance drastically increases the odds.

Like substance use disorder, addiction isn’t curable, but it is treatable.

Bodily Effects of Substance Abuse

Substance abuse carries a list of long and short-term physical effects. The severity depends on the substance and how much was used. Most notably, people with substance use disorders are at a higher risk of contracting a serious illness or infection due to a weakened immune system. Others may suffer from chronic abdominal pain due to ulcers or digestive inflammation.

Other physical consequences of substance abuse include:

• Heart failure
• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Lung damage
• Lung disease
• Liver injury

Kidney injury

• Liver failure
• Kidney disease
• Brittle bones
• Nerve damage

Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery at Engage Wellness Acton

Remember, substance abuse doesn’t have to lead to addiction.

If you notice the warning signs of substance abuse in yourself or a loved one, please reach out to Engage Wellness Acton. We’re here to help. Our evidence-based programs have assisted thousands of individuals in rediscovering the joys of living life on their terms, free from addiction. We are dedicated to helping you succeed and are ready to support you on your journey.