Signs of Substance Abuse Common Drug Abuse Symptoms and Effects

The nasal passages quickly absorb the https://ecosoberhouse.com/ through nasal tissues, producing a high that’s nearly as fast-acting as injecting or snorting the drug. Once inside the brain, coke interferes with neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers in the brain that nerve cells use to communicate. Cocaine blocks reabsorption of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine back into the nerve cells. The chemical buildup that results from this process leads to feelings of a blissful high.

• When someone is on opioids, they may feel an enhanced sense of pleasure, diminished physical pain, sleepiness, and relaxation.
• Clients who attend our center follow personalized treatment plans that include counseling, resilience building, and medical detox.
• The material references offered solely in an educational context.
• These drugs can produce a “high” similar to marijuana and have become a popular but dangerous alternative.
• Substances such as alcohol, marijuana and nicotine also are considered drugs.

You look in other people’s medicine cabinets for drugs to take. You have a new set of friends with whom you do drugs and go to different places to use the drugs. You may have bloodshot eyes, bad breath, shakes or tremors, frequent bloody noses, or you may have gained or lost weight.

Dilated or constricted pupils and red eyes

These are complicated questions with complicated answers. One of the most challenging aspects of addiction is that it is aprogressive disease. Early warning signs can be hard to spot, and unhealthy patterns can develop into a full-blown substance use disorder if not addressed. If you suspect your loved one is using drugs, it is crucial you contact help right away.

An signs of drug use person will sometimes also experience the opposite effects when the drug leaves their system. If someone keeps “off-hours” – be that oversleeping or staying up for extended periods – relative to their usual habits, it can be a sign of growing chemical dependence. Drug addiction can lead to a range of both short-term and long-term mental and physical health problems. Physical addiction appears to occur when repeated use of a drug changes the way your brain feels pleasure. The addicting drug causes physical changes to some nerve cells in your brain. Neurons use chemicals called neurotransmitters to communicate.

Signs and Symptoms of Different Types of Addiction

During the detox process, medications are often tapered down until the patient becomes no longer physically dependent on addictive substances. Dual diagnosis treatment occurs when a specialist simultaneously treats addiction and a mental health disorder within one person. Because the addiction and mental health disorder within a dual diagnosis is occurring at the same time, one can increase the severity of the other. Substance use isn’t caused by weak willpower or a lack of morals. That explains why some women may smoke cigarettes irregularly only for pleasure, while others need them daily to function. People can abuse almost any type of prescription drug.

When you’re wondering how to tell if someone is using drugs, physical signs can be your first indicator, followed by behavior and psychological changes. Common physical signs include lethargy, bloodshot eyes, runny nose, irregular sleep and weight changes. Click on any substance below to find out some characteristic signs and symptoms of abuse and addiction to that substance. Benzodiazepines are a prescription medication used to treat anxiety, insomnia, seizures, alcohol withdrawal, and other conditions. These drugs are among the most highly prescribed in America. Benzodiazepines are mainly available in tablet or capsule form, though some are manufactured as injectable liquids and syrups.

How to Help Someone with a Drug Addiction?

When you observe any of these changes in appearance, behavior or feeling in your loved one, do your best to get them professional help immediately. If you or a loved one are struggling with a substance abuse issue, please contact our admissions team today for a free and confidential assessment. Opioids can cause slurred speech, the same as alcohol. A person can appear drunk, even if they do not smell like they’ve been drinking. On the other side of the spectrum, uppers, and hallucinogens like LSD can cause a user to speak rapidly, or repetitively.

• Most people are not going to be very public about their drug use, especially if it’s to an illegal substance.
• You may not recognize the red flags, even if they are right in front of you.
• Vaping rates, whether nicotine or THC, have increased tremendously in the last few years among teens.Vaping is not harmless.
• This disrupts normal functions and may cause a deficit in memory.
• Substituted cathinones, also called “bath salts,” are mind-altering substances similar to amphetamines such as ecstasy and cocaine.
• Of course, drug use—either illegal or prescription—doesn’t automatically lead to abuse.
• Suffering from just substance abuse problems is hard enough.

If a normally calm and collected person seems hyper and manic, or an optimist is dealing with sudden waves of depression, it could be a sign of drug abuse. Not all drugs require anything to use them, but you might see other items that point to misuse. For example, medicine bottles from more than one doctor can be a sign of prescription drug abuse. If you start using the drug again, talk to your health care provider, your mental health provider or someone else who can help you right away. Once you’ve been addicted to a drug, you’re at high risk of falling back into a pattern of addiction. If you do start using the drug, it’s likely you’ll lose control over its use again — even if you’ve had treatment and you haven’t used the drug for some time.