Drugs and alcohol are made of a variety of harmful chemicals that have many troubling effects on the body and brain. When a person consumes drugs and alcohol, chemicals make their way to the brain impacting how a person feels, thinks, and behaves. When someone is under the influence of drugs and alcohol, they tend to overreact in situations, create unnecessary drama, suppress stress, become dehydrated, neglect responsibilities, end up with vitamin deficiencies and have incoherent conversations.
Drugs are linked to a wide variety of effects on the brain specifically, including the following.
Impaired Short and Long Term Memory
It doesn’t take much for harmful and poisonous chemicals found in cocaine, alcohol, and, Xanax, just to name a few. The more you take drugs, the more impact it will cause. Substance abuse is proven as a cause of short and long term memory loss. A person who is intoxicated or high may experience a complete loss of memory the day or night before while using drugs and alcohol. This can be scary for anyone who may wake up and have little to no recollection as to what happened, or what was said during the time of being intoxicated. It certainly never makes for a good impression when socializing with other people not to mention the anxiety and panic that’s to come due to moral regret, physical aches, and pains, and fear of what’s to come from the choices made while under the influence.
Decision Making Process
Drug and alcohol make it difficult to think clearly and make smart choices. They make the user feel brave and a bit invincible; a misleading side effect of drugs and alcohol causing a person to act in such a way that is not authentic with who they truly are. It is more likely that the user will end up making poor decisions that oftentimes lead to dangerous and harmful situations that are found to be regrettable later. Those under the influence of drugs and alcohol are likely to experience balance problems, blurry vision, and slow reflexes.
Poor Judgement and Mood Disorders Including Anxiety and Depression
Since alcohol is a depressant that leads to relaxation, it slows down the user’s reaction time leading to loss of physical coordination, poor judgment, and sleepiness. A mood disorder is one of the effects of longer substance abuse. The frontal lobe is specifically responsible for reasoning and judgment.
Inability to learn
Drugs and alcohol interfere with the normal traffic pattern that neurotransmitters use. Chemical structures in drugs normally imitate and fool receptors locking and altering activities of the nerve cells. The alteration can cause neuro messages to go in the wrong direction and can also reset how the brain reacts, processes and retains information as well as effects the way you learn, think, focus, and remember. Other issues caused by substance abuse include disruption of nutrients that are needed by brain tissue, cause of killing brain cells including neurotransmitter receptors and the deprivation of oxygen to brain tissue.
Our brains are wired to help us repeat experiences that specifically make us feel good, the pleasure sensors specifically. Addictive drugs and alcohol target the reward system of the brain. Chemical dopamine goes into the brain and triggers a feeling of pleasure. That’s why many people use and abuse drugs and alcohol when coping with difficult issues in life such as grief, stress, loneliness, or boredom. They use addictive substances to escape the pain (current conditions causing discomfort or trouble), a chemical imbalance, unresolved issues from the past, or untrue beliefs they continue to tell themselves.
How to Contact Passages Addiction Treatment Centers:
Call Passages Addiction Treatment Centers today if you or a loved one is battling an addiction to drugs and alcohol. Our admissions department is available 24/7 and can be reached directly by calling our toll-free number at (888) 397-0112. We look forward to speaking with you soon.
