Simply put, sleeping pill abuse is taking a sleep aid against prescription or directions. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 30% of Americans report symptoms consistent with insomnia.
Are anti-depressants addictive? No, they are not addictive in the sense that drugs such as heroin or alcohol are. People who abuse antidepressants don’t have the same cravings that those other substances produce. They don’t generally have addictive behaviors, euphoria or the same negative consequences of other drugs either.
The long-term effects of heroin use occur at the physical, mental, and psycho-social levels. In this post, we’ll examine these long-term effects and present a counterargument against some common misconceptions.
In the past, men reported higher rates of addiction and substance use disorder than women, but in the past few decades women have swiftly closed the gender gap. Today, men and women experience roughly equal rates of these issues. However, women’s rates of progression, experiences, reasons for use, and stigmas can vary greatly from their male counterparts.
Tobacco has always been said to be a gateway into heavier alcohol, drug and substance use among the teens. This was proven in 2007, when a study at Columbia University found that the nicotine in tobacco products poses a significant risk of structural and chemical changes in developing brains. These changes actually put teens at greater risk of developing addictions to alcohol and drugs.
Methylone is a synthetic designer drug that works on the brain similarly to MDMA or ecstasy, as it is nearly identical, in a chemical sense. It is a stimulating synthetic cathinone that increases energy, alertness, and excitability.
GHB and GBL are two closely related substances. Their euphoric effect has made them popular in club and party environments. GHB is also sometimes used as a “date rape” drug because of its profoundly sedating effects.
Most major U.S. public health institutions now recognize addiction as a disease, , such as the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the American Medical Association. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that drug addiction is “a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking, continued use despite harmful consequences, and long-lasting changes in the brain.”
Downer drugs are central nervous system (CNS) depressants that slow activity in the brain and body. These drugs work by increasing the production of the neurotransmitter GABA. This chemical messager functions to reduce the activity of the neurons to which it binds. This action results in effects such as relaxation and drowsiness and sometimes decreased inhibition.
Reverse tolerance, also referred to as drug sensitization, is essentially the opposite of tolerance to drugs or alcohol. Tolerance develops when regular drinking or drug abuse induces changes in the brain’s structure and function, and metabolism adapts to the continuous presence of substances in the body.
