AJOS, CARLTON JOVE V.

1 – ALPHA

V. CHAPTER 12

DRUGS

- Few people deny the hazards of drug use, while many teens are inquisitive about
drugs. they must stand back from drugs because drugs affect our health, cause
academic failure, and jeopardizes safety. Drugs are used for a protracted period
of your time in many countries. Drugs can quickly take over our lives. Friends
and acquaintances have the best influence on using drugs during adolescence.
Drugs are chemicals that change the way somebody's body or mind works.
Drugs don't seem to be good for health as they need many side effects and
damage our brain, heart, and other important organs. The drug could be a
depressant that slows down the functions of the central system. several illegal
drugs are marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine, LSD, crystal meth, and heroin. Drugs are
consumed in numerous ways, by inhaling, taking orally, injecting, applying on
skin, and smoking. When an individual is obsessed with a drug, the drug
becomes so important that the person cannot manage without it. Drug use
distracts attention resulting in academic failure and poor social skills. Stress
plays a significant role in drug use and a continuing habit. It also creates a
problem in our family, school, and with our friends. The person’s reflexes will
become slower; they'll have trouble working and doing things that require any
physical and mental coordination. Despite knowing the harmful effects of
medicine, people spend a lot of money and consume them to forget their worries
and sorrows and to hunt happiness. Once someone is addicted, it's very hard to
prevent shooting up. Drugs get us involved in many illegal activities like crime,
theft, etc. It results in statutory offense and accidents. youth use drugs due to
curiosity, peer pressure, boredom, financial problem, and for pleasure.
DRUG ABUSE

- Drug abuse is the recurrent use of illegal drugs, or the misuse of prescription or
over the counter drugs with negative consequences. the 2 terms, abuse or abuse
is defined because of the use of chemical substances that cause an increased
risk of problems and an inability to regulate the utilization of the substance.
Although drugs and habit do differ from addiction it sometimes is often mistaken
for each other. Addiction may be a chronic, often relapsing encephalopathy that
causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the
addicted individual and people around him or her. Although the initial decision to
require drugs is voluntary for many people, the brain changes that occur over
time challenge an addicted person’s self-control and hamper his or her ability to
resist intense impulses to require drugs. Most often, a private who regularly
abuses drugs, whether or not they are doing not meet the factors for a diagnosis
of addiction, has already lost control over their drug use. Drug and drug abuse
may result in broken families, destroyed careers, death thanks to negligence or
accident, force and physical abuse, and ill-treatment. misuse is commonly seen
in adolescents and adults, whether or not they are unstable or not. mental state
and misuse are more commonly called a dual diagnosis. Often, the treatment for
this particular diagnosis is harder to treat than if each condition were treated on
its own. Early treatment of dually diagnosed disorders maybe a prevention
strategy to finish future problematic behaviors. the mixture of misuse and
psychological state maybe thanks to many alternative factors. many folks often
deny the association between drug abuse and psychological state and believe
that one can’t trigger the opposite.
DRUG DEPENDENCY

- Drug addiction or substance dependency is defined because the compulsive use

of a substance to function normally, despite its negative or dangerous effects.
Suddenly stopping the drug results in symptoms of withdrawal. the precise
explanation for substance dependence isn't known. Although, somebody's
genes, the action of the drug, peer pressure, emotional and environmental
stress, anxiety, and depression can all be factors. somebody's vulnerability to a
drug also depends on individual traits. Physiology, psychology, and social and
economic pressure are all factors in addiction potential. Drug rehabilitation may
be a process of medical and psychotherapeutic treatment for substance
addiction. The goal is to urge the patient to finish his or her habit. Psychological
dependency is addressed in many rehabilitation programs by attempting to show
the patient new ways of living a drug-free life. it's hard now and then to inform if
an individual is abusing drugs, especially is that the abuse is in its beginning
stages. The symptoms of habit, how the person talks and acts, are different for
various drugs. Stage one is the beginning of casual use, presumably in social
situations like parties. during this stage, there is also no obvious change in
behavior. This doesn't mean that the addiction has not already begun. Stage two
consists of more frequent use because the person is actively looking to urge
high. The user usually establishes a source to stay getting the drugs. a scarcity
of motivation is noticeable during this stage. Stage three, all the user can give
some thought to is getting high. Daily use of medicine, depression, and suicidal
thoughts are common. within the end, stage four, the user needs more of the
drug to urge high and feel okay. Physical signs like coughing, sore throats,
weight loss, tiredness, and irritability are extremely common.
ADDICTION

- Addiction refers to the harmful must consume substances that have damaging
consequences on the user. Addiction affects not just the body but also the
person’s mental state and soundness of mind. Addiction is one of the foremost
severe health problems faced around the world and is termed as a chronic
disease. A widespread disorder ranges from drugs, drunkenness to gambling,
and even phone addiction. addiction, also called substance–use disorder, refers
to the harmful and excessive intake of legal and illegal drugs. This ends up in
many behavioral changes within the person similarly as affects brain functions.
dependency includes abusing alcohol, cocaine, heroin, opioid, painkillers, and
nicotine, among others. Drugs like these help the person feel good about
themselves and induce ‘dopamine’ or the happiness hormone. As they still use
the drug, the brain starts to extend dopamine levels, and therefore the person
demands more. dependency has severe consequences. a number of the signs
include anxiety, paranoia, increased pulse rate, and red eyes. they're intoxicated
and unable to display proper coordination and have difficulty in remembering
things. an individual who is addicted cannot resist using them and unable to
function correctly without ingesting them. It causes damage to the brain, their
personal and professional relationships. It affects mental cognition; they're
unable to form proper decisions, cannot retain information, and make poor
judgments. they incline to have interaction in reckless activities like stealing or
driving under the influence. They also confirm that there's a relentless supply and
are willing to pay lots of cash whether or not they're unable to afford it and have a
tendency to own erratic sleep patterns. habituation also causes an individual to
isolate themselves and have either intense or no food cravings. They stop taking
care of their hygiene. They are unable to converse and communicate properly;
they speak fast and are hyperactive.
REASONS FOR ABUSING DRUGS

EXPEREMENTING

- Most often, people start experimenting with drugs thanks to the influence of such
factors as depression, anxiety, tumultuous case history, and childhood abuse.
The risks related to drug experimentation vary from one drug to a different one.
Potential dangers and risks of drug experimentation are best understood by
examining the consequences of a drug being employed (Harrington, et al. 2011).
Most drugs, like tranquilizers heroin, or alcohol have a sedative effect on the
user, which slows down brain and body activity. These drugs cause drowsiness
and affect brain coordination if taken excessively, and become fatal if taken in
large quantities. Another major risk of using sedatives is an addiction, which
makes users become physically captivated with the drugs they take, so after they
attempt to quit, they experience serious withdrawal symptoms and severe pain
(Lyons, 2003). Stimulants drugs, like cocaine, amphetamine, ecstasy, and crack
stimulate the brain and supply individuals with energy; however, the identical
drugs cause panic attacks and anxiety. Other drugs commonly taken by
youngsters are LSD and cannabis. These usually cause hallucinogenic effects by
changing the way personal sees, feels, tastes smells, or hears (Cohen, 2003).
Excessive use of those drugs causes users to suffer from disturbing
hallucinations, which results in dangerous, erratic behavior and mental instability.
The risks related to drug experimentation rely on various factors, like quantity,
frequency of use, combinations used, and therefore the way a particular drug is
taken. Far more than sedatives results in fatal overdoses. Stimulant and
hallucinogenic drugs on the opposite hand result in psychotic behavior and the
loss of the sense of reality. Besides, constantly increasing doses leads to drug
tolerance: the user must take more of the narcotic substance to realize the
required effect. High tolerance levels also prompt overdose and even death—this
especially refers to heroin. Most of the cases of drug overdoses that are reported
involve combinations of tranquilizers, opiates, and alcohol
FAMILY HISTORY / GENETICS

- Family structures in some a part of the Philippines became more complex—

growing from the normal relatives to single‐parent families, stepfamilies, foster
families, and multigenerational families. Therefore, when a loved one abuses
substances, the effect on the family may differ per family structure. Treatment
issues like the economic consequences of drug abuse are going to be examined
as will distinct psychological consequences that spouses, parents, and
youngsters experience. As youth abuse alcohol and illicit drugs, they'll establish a
unbroken pattern of behavior that damages their legal record, educational
options, psychological stability, and social development. Drug use (particularly
inhalants and solvents) may cause cognitive deficits and maybe irreversible brain
damage. Adolescents who use drugs are likely to interact primarily with peers
who use drugs, so relationships with friends, including relationships with the
other sex, is also unhealthy, and therefore the adolescent may develop a limited
repertoire of social skills. When a youngster uses alcohol or drugs, siblings within
the family may find their needs and concerns ignored or minimized while their
parents react to constant crises involving the adolescent who abuses drugs. The
neglected siblings and peers may take care of themselves in ways in which aren't
age‐appropriate, or they may behave as if the sole thanks to get attention is to
act out. This unfortunate modeling can set in motion a dangerous combination of
physical and emotional problems. If adolescent substance use is met with calm,
consistent, rational, and firm responses from a responsible adult, the effect on
adolescent learning is positive. If, however, the responses come from an
impaired parent, the hypocrisy are going to be obvious to the adolescent, and
therefore the result's likely to be negative. In some instances, an impaired parent
might form an alliance with a young adult using substances to stay secrets from
the parent who doesn't use substances. Even worse, sometimes in families with
multigenerational patterns of abuse, an attitude among family unit members is
also that the adolescent is simply conforming to the case history.
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

- Prescription habit is after you take a drug for a reason apart from why the doctor
prescribed it. Experts estimate that quite 18 million people ages 12 and older
have used prescribed drugs for nonmedical reasons within the previous year.
With access to pharmaceuticals, people are ready to treat a mess of diseases
and illnesses. These drugs help house pain, inability to sleep, depression, and
far more. daily, we are increasingly living in a world where there's better living
through chemicals. However, what most don't seem to work out is that the tide of
pain, illness, and ultimately death being caused by the pills people take a day.
Most keep drugs during a special place in their minds, where they see them as
harmless. Sadly, this is often not the case, and in some cases, our
pharmaceuticals are often even as harmful as illegal drugs. medicine abuse may
be a lesser-known problem that continues to ceaselessly expand. While the
general public takes medications for the intended use, many aren't. Not only
does this result in major health issues, but people who require prescription meds
are reduced from the abusers. Medications are easily accessible and in vast
quantities- the right recipe for addicts. prescription abuse could be a growing
issue resulting in addiction and overdose; doctors should be better trained before
prescribing medications and patients should have more thorough processes
before obtaining their requested amount. Misuse of prescription medications
eludes the sight of most people and has for dozens of years. What people often
fail to appreciate is that while these drugs could appear safe, they'll pose a threat
to human life. Many consumers fail to read or concentrate on the drug labels
upon use.
LONELINESS

- Loneliness could be a prevailing experience that is especially familiar to

adolescents and young adults. it's a subjective experience that is influenced by
one's personality, life experiences, and situational variables. Loneliness or
depression may end up using alcohol or drugs to house those feelings. Turning
to the “comfort” of alcohol or drugs becomes how of handling feeling alone,
unloved, rejected, and confused – it’s the simplest way to numb that pain.
Substance use helps avoid confronting their problems, delivering a false sense of
security. it's positive feedback because when the drugs and alcohol don't seem
to be present, all the emotions they were unable or unwilling to accommodate
come racing right back. once they don’t find ways to address the initial emotion, it
just keeps building and building. People using substances to deal with loneliness,
depression, stress, and anxiety avoid coping with the fact of their situation and
their feelings; they often sleep in denial, guilt, and fear. they'll feel trapped and
unable to flee things and that they often hurt those around them because they, in
turn, are hurting and angry. And loneliness also disrupts sleep, increases anxiety,
suicidal thoughts, and risk of self-harm. As loneliness fuels addiction, addiction,
in turn, causes loneliness. because the addiction worsens, many folks damage
relationships and lose friends, creating even stronger feelings of loneliness and
isolation. Without support, it's incredibly difficult to address those feelings without
drugs or alcohol – that the circle continues. Therefore, loneliness is both a control
and a reason for addiction. Fighting loneliness can have the effect of fighting
addiction too, as positive relationships impact your life in a very significant way.
Support groups and treatment will help to interrupt the cycle of addiction, but
lifestyle changes may also bring positive changes and greatly improve the case.
PEER PRESSURE

- The power of peer pressure doesn’t apply equally to any or all forms of peers.
Studies and surveys find close friends hold more sway over behavior compared
to acquaintances or strangers. More people reported trying alcohol at gatherings
with close friends instead of large parties full of strangers. Peer pressure still
exerted control in scenarios with fewer close friends, but the connection of
friendship empowered the effect. When discussing peer pressure, the stress
usually falls on teenagers. Students’ social circles include similarly minded and
similarly aged people. The uniformity created within these groups ends up in a
stronger peer pressure effect. Experts generally agree that, in relevancy alcohol,
college-age kids are most in danger for peer pressure influencing them into
substance use. Peer pressure works the identical way with drugs like alcohol.
Alcohol use is more acceptable and popular than illicit drug use, whether or not
it’s underage. Illicit drugs are more heavily linked to criminality and
consequences coming from outside the group. The perception of consequences
can interrupt peer pressure’s ability to push someone into an extreme activity,
which could reduce the possibility that individuals give in to pressure to
undertake more extreme drugs. Certain types of peer pressure not only cause
hazardous short-term behavior, but they will plant the seeds for long-lasting,
detrimental habits.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL CAN MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD

- Illegal substances are plaguing today’s society with their false promises of the
next social station and having a pleasant time. Today, drugs and alcohol are
being abused by underage young adults, and for the foremost part, it's getting out
of control. In today’s society, these young adults are losing their virtue in life and
getting reckless with their abuse of drugs and alcohol, but many groups of
adolescents don't seem to be tormented by such horrible activities. In today’s
society, many teenagers and underage adults are losing their morals. Young
adults and adolescents have become careless with their ambitions and
behaviors, and it's evident in their reckless behavior. they're resorting to
vandalizing and interesting in underage drinking parties to meet their reckless
behavioral habits. “Empty beer bottles and cans, plastic cups, and cellophane
wont to hold marijuana were also found...”. This particular incident that occurred
at the house of Frost is proof that drug and alcohol use by underage members of
society is out of control. This evidence that was discovered just shows the
carelessness of the young adults that were discovered to own left these things on
belongings. this can be proof of today’s adolescents and young adults becoming
less virtuous with their behaviors, and it's getting out of control.
MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER

- Drug abuse complicates almost every aspect of look after a person with a
disorder. When drugs enter the brain, they'll interrupt the work and truly change
how the brain performs its jobs; these changes are what result in compulsive
drug use. substance abuse plays a significant role when concerning the
psychological state. it's very difficult for these individuals to interact in treatment.
Diagnosis for treatment is difficult because it takes time to disengage the
interacting effects of abuse and also the psychopathy. it should even be difficult
for substance abusers to be accommodated reception and it should not be
tolerated within the community of residents of rehabilitation programs.
Furthermore, mental disease and habituation are conditions that usually occur
together. this can be an individual who has two brain disorders that influence
each other, and which both need treatment. Some say that certain drugs may
very well cause a psychological state in individuals with a weak genetic profile
(Genetic Science Learning Center, 2011). With that being said, symptoms may
aggravate, but drugs don't necessarily cause psychopathy. Some people may
begin using drugs of abuse as a variety of self-medication. as an example, drugs
of abuse may temporarily relieve a number of the symptoms related to stress,
anxiety, or depression, but the issues will still exist. Therefore, the shape of self-
medicating when using drugs can result in harmful effects in a very person’s
mental state. those who are undiagnosed can also suffer from serious mental
disorders. so that they may take drugs to alleviate their symptom which is
thought of as self-me.
RECREATION

- An injection could be a solution to the problems of oral administration. The drugs

are administered during a method that bypasses the digestive process entirely
and delivers the drug more directly into the bloodstream. One option is to inject
the drug through a hypodermic and needle. The fastest means of injection is a
shot since the drug is delivered into a vein with none intermediary tissue. the
consequences of medication administered via intravenous injections reach the
brain in but 15 seconds. Intramuscular injections are another method of injection.
The drug is delivered into an oversized muscle usually within the upper arm,
thigh or buttock, and is absorbed into the bloodstream through the capillaries.
Intramuscular injections have slower absorption rates than intravenous injections
but may be delivered quicker in emergencies. a 3rd injection technique is a
subcutaneous delivery. this is often the method during which the drug is inserted
into the tissue just underneath the skin. Because the skin incorporates a less
abundant blood supply relative to muscle, a shot has the slowest absorption time
of all the injection techniques.
ALCOHOL ISN’T ENOUGH

- Alcohol may be a drug. it's classed as a depressant, meaning that it slows down
vital functions—resulting in slurred speech, unsteady movement, disturbed
perceptions, and an inability to react quickly. As for the way it affects the mind,
it's best understood as a drug that reduces a person’s ability to think rationally
and distorts his or her judgment. Although classified as a depressant, the
quantity of alcohol consumed determines the kind of effect. the majority drink for
the stimulant effect, like a beer or glass of wine taken to “loosen up.” But if
someone consumes quite what the body can handle, they then experience
alcohol’s depressant effect. they begin to feel “stupid” or lose coordination and
control. Alcohol overdose causes even more severe depressant effects (inability
to feel pain, toxicity where the body vomits the poison, and at last
unconsciousness or, worse, coma or death from severe toxic overdose). These
reactions depend upon what proportion is consumed and the way quickly. There
are different sorts of alcohol. Ethyl alcohol (ethanol), the sole alcohol utilized in
beverages, is produced by the fermentation of grains and fruits. Fermenting may
be a natural process whereby yeast acts upon certain ingredients within the food,
creating alcohol.
SELF –MEDICATING

- Self-medication is that the use of medicine to treat self-diagnosed disorders or

symptoms or the intermittent or continued use of a prescribed drug for chronic or
recurrent disease or symptoms, and it's most common in developing countries.
Self-medication has been defined because of the use of medication (modern
and/or traditional) for self-treatment without consulting a physician either for
diagnosis, prescription, or surveillance of treatment. It involves obtaining
medication without a prescription and taking medicines on the advice of and from
friends and relatives. Self-medication is common in both developed and
developing countries but higher in developing countries, because of the wider
increase in drug availability without a prescription. Self-medication increases the
chance of habit and drug dependency. It also masks the signs and symptoms of
underlying diseases, hence complicating the matter, creating drug resistance,
and delaying diagnosis. Self-medication has been reported to air the increase
globally. the planet Health Organization (WHO) emphasized that self-medication
must be correctly taught and controlled in other to avoid drug-related issues like
antimicrobial resistance which is now a current problem worldwide particularly in
developing countries where antibiotics are often available without a prescription.
Many studies have revealed that young adults are more liable to the practice of
self-medication because of their low perception of risk related to the utilization of
medication, knowledge of medicine, easy accessibility to the Internet, wider
media coverage on related health issues, ready access to drugs, level of
education, and rank. The practice of self-medication normally has been widely
studied among populations of many countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe.