The Cost Of Addiction
Many addicts spend more than a hundred dollars a day on the drugs they need. Those who are heavily addicted users can spend significantly more. Drug addiction costs more than just money. In addition to financial costs, addicts also pay for their habits with friends or family, their employment, and sometimes with their own lives. It can be difficult to cope with the psychological and emotional costs of substance abuse addictions. Sadly, the stress and pain associated with these high costs often drive drug users right back to addiction. In this article, we're going to discuss some of the different costs associated with having an addiction.
Drug Addiction vs. Drug Use
The first thing we need to clarify is the distinction between drug user and drug addicts. Not everyone who uses drugs is an addict, and in reality, some drug users do not become addicted.
Use of Recreational Drugs
Some recreational drug users use drugs once a week, whereas others may only use them once a year. Recreational drug use is constantly on the rise throughout the world.In spite of the fact that recreational drug use does not cause as many problems as drug addiction, it should be considered just as dangerous since it can lead to an addiction even if someone uses it only once. It goes without saying that recreational drug use will have a much lower cost than full-blown drug addiction.
Drug Addiction
Depending on the definition used, drug addiction can be defined as either psychologically or physically dependent on a drug.
The Financial Cost of Addiction
An addiction can cost an individual not only money, but also their emotional and physical health. A drug abuser will lose many things that are important to them during an addiction.
There are several other losses that drug addicts tend to experience as a result of drug addiction, including the financial cost of addiction. The financial expenses associated with supporting an addiction can result in the following losses:
- The loss of a home or apartment
- The inability to afford nourishing food
- Being unable to afford new clothes
Many people, known as high functioning drug addicts, are able to maintain their jobs and homes while suffering from a drug addiction. However, not everyone is able to lose their homes. Sadly, instead of spending their extra funds on recreational activities, hobbies, evenings out, or other enjoyable things, they spend most of their money on drugs.
The Emotional Cost of Addiction
There are several reasons why addiction takes a high emotional toll on the addict and those close to them. There are many drug users who are highly emotional. They may be in a great mood one day and be violent or aggressive the next.
Drug users may become apathetic and unable to communicate emotionally. The effects of stimulant drugs, such as methamphetamine, can make people hyper-emotional.
In order to be successful in our lives, it is imperative to recognize, understand, and acknowledge our emotions. If we do not acknowledge our feelings and learn how to deal with them, they won't simply go away. Instead, they will be bottled up and eventually explode.
Even during good times, this is an unhealthy habit to fall into. The addiction can lead to shame, anger, sadness, and grief for drug addicts, who are often dealing with a great deal more emotions than the average individual. As a result of their addictions, many of them find themselves in violent, dangerous, or shocking situations and have no way to cope with their emotions other than to do more drugs.
Additionally, addiction to drugs can stunt an individual's emotional growth. They may emerge from addiction with an emotional maturity that is not comparable to their peers, who have been able to work through their emotional issues in a more constructive way.
The Psychological Cost of Addiction
It is important to note that addictions of any kind can cause psychological damage. Addictions to sex, food, and pleasure can all cause psychological problems in an individual, but addictions to drugs are particularly problematic.
All addictions can cause problems because of the way our brains respond to pleasure. An area of the brain known as the mesolimbic reward pathway is flooded with dopamine when we engage in something we deem pleasurable. This is the 'reward' that we receive when we engage in something pleasurable.
The flood of dopamine is what makes many people addicted to it. As a result of continuously flooding our brains with dopamine when we engage in pleasure-seeking activities, our brains become less sensitive to dopamine, requiring higher amounts to achieve the same level of pleasure. This process is known as downregulation.
Our brain's neurotransmitter systems are directly affected by drugs when we are addicted to them, which makes the problems much more intense. Our moods, our sleep schedules, our appetites, and so on are all regulated by these systems. In the long run, drugs can downregulate these systems, causing several problems. Although they do eventually upregulate, it can take many months or years.
The Physical Cost of Addiction
The use of many drugs can cause serious physical problems, and when they are used excessively, they can cause irreversible damage to the brain and body. These problems can be exacerbated by some of the lifestyle habits associated with drug addiction:
- Poor hygiene
- Poor nutrition and diet
- Unhealthy sleeping habits
These are just a few of the things that might occur if someone is addicted to drugs over a long period.
- Organ problems and failures can emerge
- Cardiovascular problems can arise
- Increased risk of sickness, decreased immunity
- Permanent damage to brain function
- Loss of mobility
- Increased aging
All of these things, combined with the neurotoxic nature of some drugs, can work in conjunction to cause serious damage to a drug user. A drug addict's lifestyle is very costly, not only financially but also physically and mentally. Please contact Redemption Addiction Treatment Center (610) 314-6747 today to speak to one of our addiction specialists if you or someone you love is struggling with an addiction.
