Addiction to alcohol and drugs happens when they are abused, or used more than they should be. The abused drugs can be legal like alcohol or illegal like cocaine, marijuana, or crystal meth. First of all, alcohol may be legal but it is still quite harmful, and second of all, drugs like marijuana and crystal meth are considered illegal for a reason.
Marijuana, if used for a long time, can cause cancer, respiratory problems, and infect the lungs, while meth is extremely harmful and damages the central nervous system of the human body, and causes psychological problems. Furthermore, eating disorders are also becoming quite common these days. A huge number of people are suffering from these disorders that hinder the proper functioning of their daily lives. Eating disorders also affect the mental capabilities of the patient in addition to physical health.
Causes and effects of drug and alcohol addiction
Anxiety and depression are very common today and they affect the mental health of people so severely that they go to considerable lengths to feel relaxed even for a short while. This desperation might make them turn to drugs or alcohol because they can find a release in them be it for a short while. Various other factors can cause addiction in people like the pressure of society, religion, family, or peer pressure. Moreover, if young children are exposed to alcohol or drugs are used in front of them, they may become prone to addiction problems in the future. Sometimes, people even get addicted to prescription drugs. Sometimes, if the prescribed amount of drug stops working for a patient and he gradually starts to increase the dosage, his body keeps developing tolerance and he eventually advances towards the dependency stage.
There should be drug addiction awareness campaigns to educate people about the harmful effects of drugs so that they may keep themselves and their families safe from them. Drug users gradually deteriorate their mental and physical health. They get paranoid, their parietal lobe gets damaged, rotting teeth, heart and lung damage, and eventually death. When a person has been addicted to drugs for a very long time, it is hard for him to stop using them. Therefore, his family and friends should try to help him in every way possible and put him in a rehabilitation center so that he may get the proper treatment and professional help to advance towards a better and healthy lifestyle.
Causes and symptom of eating disorders
Eating disorders are uncommon eating behaviors that affect the mental and physical health of people negatively. There are several types of these eating behaviors and each of them has different symptoms, however, the causes may be similar in some. Some of these eating disorders can be so severe that they become potentially life-threatening like anorexia nervosa, in which the patient has an intense fear he will gain weight and become obese, leading to an abnormal body shop. This fear is so extreme that the patient loses an alarming amount of weight and becomes dangerously weak, this causes the patient to be weaker and smaller than the usual person of their age bracket. At this stage, it becomes difficult for them to even carry out everyday functions because of how weak they are. Bulimia nervosa is another life-threatening eating disorder.
The patients tend to fast for a long time and then end up eating an unusual amount of food. The food is usually higher in calories and the patients may not be able to control themselves during eating and end up filling up their stomachs way too much. This binge-eating episode is followed by purging where the patient throws up all the food by self-induced vomiting. Causes of eating disorders can be cultural and societal pressure due to the portrayal of fake, and unnatural beauty standards, especially by celebrities, and their fans become obsessed with looking like them. Low self-esteem, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), psychological disorders, and even genetics can become the causes of the development of eating disorders. Skipping a meal occasionally does not qualify as an eating disorder, it is a serious health issue that needs to be addressed properly. It is important to raise awareness about eating disorders so that we may be able to save our loved ones if they are suffering from this illness and we might be able to save their lives because otherwise, eating disorders have a very high mortality rate.
Relapse after rehabilitation
The first step towards a healthier life is to admit that a person is suffering from addiction or a disorder and then get proper and professional treatment with the help of his family. The rehabilitation process requires patience and support. Rehab centers help in overcoming the issues that trouble the patient and hinder his normal functioning because they have good doctors, therapists, and caretakers. One of the most important things for a convalescent is that he needs to be strong even after he has recovered from his addiction, or disorder because in some cases, he can experience a troublesome situation that might trigger his emotions and cause him to use drugs and turn back towards his addiction or disorder once again.
If he relapses, it will be much more difficult for him to get help and become healthy again than it was before. This is one of the reasons that rehab centers organize different activities for their patients to keep them active and distracted so that their minds would not wander again towards negative thoughts. The convalescent should make time every day to relax and indulge in activities like sports, music, and art therapy, etc. Therapy is quite important because talking and explaining his issues might be a tough ordeal for the patient but it helps him understand the root cause that lead him to become addicted or have an eating disorder. Then he can avoid and learn to overcome such circumstances because he knows that these negative emotions are triggering and might slow down his recovery process. Get more information on Ocean Recovery.
