Important introduction
As analyzed in the previous article, most drug addiction starts occasionally, either for fun or for challenge, driven by the (totally wrong) belief to stop when desired. Drug addiction creates disorders in the short and long term that prove disastrous for one's safety:
Symptoms
The symptoms that accompany drug addiction vary depending on the substance of abuse. The table shows the synthetic list of the most common symptoms associated with the abuse of a particular substance.
Type of substance | Characteristic symptoms of drug addiction |
| Barbiturates (eg. Phenobarbital, amobarbital) and benzodiazepines (eg diazepam, lorazepam) | Difficulty in chewing, uncoordination of movements, confusion, depression, dizziness, hypotension, difficulty breathing, lethargy, memory lapses |
| Narcotic analgesics (heroin, codeine, morphine, methadone, etc.) | Odor alteration, depression, constipation, slow breathing, sedation, skin irritation (from intravenous drug injection) |
| Ecstasy or MDMA and ketamine | Extreme euphoria, reduction of inhibitory brakes, increased alteration of sight, hearing and taste, uncoordinated movement, loss of consciousness, amphetamine-like effects, inability to choose, memory loss, tachycardia or bradycardia, hypo / hypertension, sleepiness |
| Marijuana and hashish | Need to take drugs daily, hypertension, tachycardia, increased hunger, slow reflexes, paranoid thoughts, red eyes, memory lapses, impaired vision and hearing, alteration of the taste of food |
| Stimulant substances (eg cocaine, amphetamine, etc.) | Anorexia, increased basal temperature, nasal congestion, euphoria, damage to the nasal mucosa (narcotic dust), depression (abstinence), weight loss, insomnia, hypertension, restlessness, irritability, paranoia. Methamphetamine is a very dangerous substance of abuse, responsible for short and long term damage |
| Hallucinogens (LSD and phencyclidine) | Hallucinations, extreme reduction of the perception of reality, tachycardia, tremor, temporary or permanent modification of the perception of reality, flashback. PCP (phencyclidine) can also cause panic attacks, delirium, depression (abstinence), aggression, lack of appetite. |
Drug addiction in adolescence
The recognition of drug addiction in adolescents is rather complex, given the period of life that is already problematic in itself: mood swings and adolescent anxieties must not be confused with addiction to toxic substances. Contact with parents, dialogue and medical consultation are certainly very useful preventive measures to enter the microcosm of adolescents and understand, at least in part, their world. In the adolescent particular attention must be paid to various elements, which can be lit spies of a possible intake of substances of abuse: loss of interest towards certain attitudes, problems at school, concentration disorders, tendency to spend money, behavioral alterations, neglect of physical appearance etc ..
It is good to stress this once again: these warning signs do not necessarily lead back to the beginning of drug addiction, given that the boy is in a phase of transition between the adolescent age and adulthood; however, the support of parents and family members is recommended.
Care
In most cases, drug addicts do not see a way out of the vortex that swallowed them; the support of family and friends is very important, but drug therapy is, in general, the most appropriate and often completely resolving therapeutic approach.
It should be emphasized that the addict complains of a mute brain suffering, in the sense that the physical and psychological symptoms are the result of drugs and nothing is invented or intentionally processed by their mind. The cerebral suffering we are discussing should not be understood only during withdrawal symptoms, rather it should be considered also and above all in the long term: the toxic that follows a specific pharmacological and psychological therapy is subjected to a constant desire to fall again in temptation - allegorically speaking - and taking the substance again.
The chances of getting out of drug addiction (or, as they say in the jargon, of "getting out" of it) depend both on the moment you start the therapy and on the cooperation of the addict; for some, healing from drug addiction is just an illusion, a mirage that cannot be turned into reality.
Precisely with the aim of converting that dream, that hope into something concrete, numerous detoxification and recovery centers have arisen: the drug addict subjected to a similar cure must struggle with all his abilities to overcome drug addiction: the willpower it is an indispensable ingredient for getting out of that tunnel. The game is high: life is at stake.
For further information: read the article on drugs for the treatment of drug addiction
