Mental problems associated with alcohol and drug abuse and dependence
Alcoholism is the excessive use and dependence on alcohol by users all the time. Someone who is alcoholic can’t perform any duty without drinking. Drug abuse is described as the use of a medical substance in any other form other than the prescribed by the medical physician. In most cases people tend to drink alcohol for other reason other than enjoyment to make it as a daily need. The drug use is supposed to be prescribed by the medical physician but in several cases people tend to use these drugs for personal pleasure. This two major behaviour result to many healthy complication among the users. This work will focus on the major mental proplems associated with alcohol and drug abuse and dependence.
According to the human biology all the drugs and alcohol usually target the brain system either directly or indirectly and end up filling the circuit with chemical dopamine. The dopamine is actually a neurotransmitter which is found in the brain region which normally regulates motivation, Emotion, movement as well as the feelings of pleasure. Drugs and alcohol seems to over stimulate the brain system here which usually produce natural behaviour results to the production of euphoric effects which usually teach the substance and alcohol users to repeat the same thing. At this juncture, the repetition of the same thing several times now bring the major mental problems that are discussed below (Fisher, 2009).
The first mental problem associated with both type of abuse is addiction. Addiction can simply be defined as a chronic deterioration of the brain disease which is characterised by a neurotic drug use and seeking regardless of the earlier harmful results. This addiction is considered as a disease because drug or alcohol use automatically changes the structure of the brain and how it actually works. The addiction changes have been predicted to be long lasting and usually produce much unsafe and frequently self-destructive behaviour (Alameida, 2006).
Bipolar disorder is also another mental associate with substance abuse as well as alcohol use. In recent epidemiological surveys which has conducted over the last ten years have shown that alcohol and drug abuse are the leading cause of bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is also referred to as manic depression or simply as mania. The diagnosis bipolar disorder disease is associated with following symptoms which are very common. The patient is usually in a state of feeling extreme irritability or euphoria. In all occasion the patients show decreased need of sleep and many unrealistic beliefs. Racing thoughts, rage and impaired judgment are also predicament of mania. In advanced stage it is also associated with rapid speech, increased energy as well as impulsivity (Jansen, 2004).
Another major mental disorder associated with the substance abuse and alcohol is the anxiety disorder. However, alcohol abuse according to the epidemiological survey conducted was shown to cause lesser anxiety disorders compared to drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and heroine. It is also vital to recognise that there is a difference in alcohol induced depression and anxiety disorder. They are differentiated by identifying the cause and the result of disorder. The of anxiety disorder tend to occur on withdraw from alcohol and last for days or weeks. Common symptoms of anxiety behaviour include; the feeling of restlessness, exaggerated worries and tension, feeling on edge and racing hearts. Other symptoms experienced occasionally include; dizziness, insomnia, headache and poor concentration.
Depression is also another mental problem greatly associated with substance abuse and alcoholism heavy drinking is usually directly associated to depression, however there is always a debate of which precede the other. This usually happen when the individual patient can reach the substance or the alcohol he/she happens to daily been using. The major symptoms associated with depression include; the feeling of worthlessness and hopelessness, weight loses, lose of concern in daily activity, changes in sleep pattern. The patient also lacks the ability to feel pleasure and the concentration is at stake. Physical pain, anger and reckless behaviour to are much associated with depression (Alameida, 2006).
Nerve damage is also a problem caused by the abuse of alcohol and drugs but its more specific in alcohol use. Heavy and excessive drinking of alcohol is usually associated with a nerve damage condition referred to as Alcoholic neuropathy. This health condition is known of producing sharp painful needle like feelings or numbness in its extremities. The disease can also produce muscle incontinences, erectile dysfunction as well as general muscle weakness. This disease can affect all part of the body part the mental system is mostly affected. Heavy intake in alcohol is attributed to toxicities of the nerve cells especially the the central nerves system which is mainly comprised of the brain.
Dementia is mental condition which usually results from abuse of substance and alcohol. As people are aging is a normal expectation according to medical physicians to have people brain shrink at a rate of about 1.9 percent per decade and old age. However, it has been discovered that use of stimulant and alcohol accelerate the rate of shrinkage resulting to memory capacity loss as well as many other symptoms associate d with dementia. Addiction to alcohol and drugs has been shown to reduce the ability of people to make judgment, plan, solve problems as well as loss of ability to initiate other executive functions. This other executive functions are those high abilities which usually assist human to maximise his function (Jansen, 2004).
Seizures are caused by epilepsy which is a mental problem which causes a patient to occasionally lose power and go down for a moment. Recent research conducted by the University of California has shown that heavy drinking can cause epilepsy which then triggers out seizures even to individual who have no history of the epilepsy disease. Such activities usually cause interference to the reactions of the medications that used to diagnose convulsions (Fisher, 2009).
Insanity is the also one of the major mental problem associated by abuse of drugs. According to the current statistic of extreme insanity among people in unite states have shown that drag abuse is the key lead to insanity among people. The statistics did also show the male gender leading as many of the individuals in mental facilities are men. This is a result that males are more dominate in drug abuse than females in every society. Most of the insanity is brought about by long exposure to heavy stimulant such as opium, cannabis and cocaine. Major symptoms of insanity are the unpredicted mind and abnormal behaviour.
In conclusion, alcohol abuse and substance abuse are associated directly with many mental problems. The exposure time is the key determinant of the damages the abuse is likely to cause to the individual concern. Alcohol and drug abuse also cause other heath problem such as cancer, liver cirrhosis, anaemia and may others.
References
Alameida, M. D., University of California, San Francisco., & University of California, San Francisco. (2006). Factors associated with alcohol use and its consequences. (Dissertation Abstracts International, 67-5.)
Fisher, G. L., & Roget, N. A. (2009). Encyclopedia of substance abuse prevention, treatment, & recovery. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Jansen, M. A. (2004). A Promising future: Alcohol and other drug problem services improvement. Rockville, Md: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration, Office for Substance Abuse Prevention.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2003). Drug abuse: Meeting the challenge. St. Petersburg, Fla: Modern Talking Picture Service.
