Substance Abuse Many people that drink alcohol or use drugs constantly don’t realize that they are a substance abuser. They don’t know what the effects the drugs and alcohol do to them. Some people do know but don’t seem to care. Substance abusers can cause a lot of danger in certain situations. Should people know if they are a substance abuser and the effects they get from using it? Yes, they need to understand that they are a substance abuser and what is at risk if they keep abusing a substance. Drug and alcohol addiction is a serious problem that is overcoming the nation and must be taught to avoid its continuation.
You can tell if you are a substance abuser when you develop a pattern and continue using the drug without knowing the drug is creating problems at school, at work, at home, or with friends. A substance abuser might take the drug in a situation that would become very dangerous. For example, drinking alcohol while driving is very dangerous because there can be a car accident and someone could get hurt. You become a serious danger to yourself and others. The substance abuser can become dependent on the drug that they start using a larger amount of it. Substance abusers will say they are going to quit, but they still end up doing it again. The abuser would experience withdrawal symptoms without the drug. These symptoms are painful and sometimes fatal to the dependent substance abusers. Within a short period of time or slowly over many years, a substance abuse pattern can arise. When abusing the substance, signs of being addicted to a substance can be missed or misread. For older adults, to recognize the signs of substance abuse is more difficult. Sleeping problems, falls, anxiety, depression, and memory problems are some signs of substance abuse. However, these signs are also signs of other health conditions, which doctors and family members will not realize that someone has a problem and the person won’t get any help when they need it. Another sign of a substance abuser are behavior changes. Someone’s changes in their behavior can indicate a problem. An example would be when someone is worried if their medication is working or not and they try to get another prescription. Other warning signs of a substance abuser are mood swings, increases in the amount of medication needed, constantly asking for refills of medication, not seeming like yourself, doctor shopping in order to get more prescriptions of the same medication, going to more than just one pharmacy, and forging a prescription. You can also know if you are a substance abuser if you answer some simple questions. The questions you answer are on the CAGE questionnaire. The questions ask if you ever felt like you need to cut down on your drinking or drug abuse, if you get annoyed by people criticizing you drinking or using drugs, if you have ever felt bad about your drug use or drinking, or if you ever had to drink or use drugs to start your morning. If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you have patterns of substance addiction. There are effects when you abuse substances that affect your body. With different types of substances there are different types of effects it has on people. Cocaine makes you get a period of anxiety, fatigue, depression, and a desire for more. Marijuana and alcohol are factors of car accidents because they affect your body control. People who use marijuana and hallucinogenic drugs might have flashbacks. When you stop taking the substance you experience withdrawal and may want to vomit or get muscle cramps. You experience