What is Drug Abuse and How Can it Affect You?

Drug abuse is the excessive, maladaptive, or addictive use of drugs. It can have negative effects on a person's health, social life and family relationships.
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Addiction is a lifelong disease that requires ongoing treatment. Recovery includes attending therapy, joining a support group and practicing self-help s****s.

Mental Health Issues
Mental health is an important aspect of your overall well-being. It affects your thoughts, emotions and behavior and influences your ability to handle stress, relate to others and make decisions.

Mental illnesses are medical problems that affect your thinking, mood and behavior (see the DSM-5 for information). Most people who have a mental illness continue to work and function in their daily lives.

Symptoms may include trouble with sleep, feelings of hopelessness, anxiety or depression. They can also cause problems with your relationships, work or school.

Many mental illnesses have symptoms that can be treated with medication, talk therapy or other treatments. Treatment is individualized, depending on your needs and how severe your symptoms are.

Environment
Environmental factors, like poverty and trauma, can increase a person's risk of drug abuse. They also make it more likely that a person will start using drugs or alcohol at an early age and continue to use them into adulthood.

Addiction experts say that about half of a person's risk of developing a substance use disorder is based on genetics, while the rest comes from their surroundings. A person's environment can include their family, friends and lifestyle.

There are a number of different things that can affect a person's environment, including social pressure, poverty, and trauma. These factors can make it more difficult for someone to get treatment for their addiction and keep them sober.

Research has shown that racial and socioeconomic inequities in environmental factors that engender substance abuse, such as access and exposure to substances of abuse, neighborhood disadvantage and disorder, and environmental barriers to treatment, are a significant contributor to health disparities associated with rates of substance use disorders and treatment outcomes. As a result, researchers in environmental justice should consider these types of inequities in the distribution of risky substance use environments as a potential domain of environmental justice.

Peer Groups
Peer groups are a valuable component of drug abuse recovery. Not only do they provide a positive environment for individuals to discuss their issues, but they can also help people stay sober and avoid relapse.

When individuals are struggling with addiction, they often isolate themselves from friends and family members. This can make it difficult for them to overcome their affliction.

In peer groups, however, the people you meet are genuinely trying to help you. They may be sympathetic and open because they have also suffered from an addiction, and they will genuinely care about your well-being.

Individuals in peer support groups are often encouraged to get involved in their community. This helps them to develop a sense of purpose and ownership over their recovery.

In addition to this, the social pressure that comes from participating in a group can help to sustain an individual's commitment to abstaining from addictive behaviors. This is especially important among college students, who are at high risk for developing a substance use disorder.

Addiction
Addiction is the most serious type of substance use disorder (SUD). People with addiction are constantly craving for a drug or other substance, and they have a hard time controlling their use.

Overuse of drugs causes changes to the brain that make it harder to stop using. These changes include physical changes to the nerve cells in your brain that are used to feel pleasure from using drugs.

These changes are long-lasting. Even after you stop taking a drug, the brain's reward circuit continues to link your environment and experiences to the effects of drugs.

These changes can cause you to crave the drug even when it's not available or in your environment. They can also trigger cravings for the drug when you see certain cues, such as a place where you used the drug in the past.