Addiction & Physical Health
Individuals who suffer from addiction often have one or more accompanying medical issues, including lung and cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and mental disorders. Imaging scans, chest X-rays, and blood tests show the damaging effects of drug abuse throughout the body. For example, tests show that tobacco smoke causes cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, blood, lungs, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix. In addition, some drugs of abuse, such as inhalants, are toxic to nerve cells and may damage or destroy them either in the brain or the peripheral nervous system.
Addiction & Mental Health
Stress: American Psychological Association (APA) defines stress as, "The pattern of specific and nonspecific responses of an organism that tax or exceed his ability to cope". In response to stressors, physiological changes occur in the body that lead to psychological changes and person feels to be under stressed and could not cope with the stressors. Sometimes, he finds the solutions of his problems in useless things and get involved in the addictive behavior. He uses different kinds of drugs just to feel relax and to escape from reality.
Anger control problems: Anger control problem is also risk factor for drug abuse problems. Anger can be toward self or others and ranges from minimal arousal to rage. When a person could not control his angry feelings either toward self or others may lead to drug abuse. People use drugs to release their anger.
Poor self image: Self image is defined as the person's perception of self. There are two types of self-image; good self image and poor self image. When a person perceives him in negative way and feels inferior or underestimates his qualities, he gets emotionally disturbed. He sees his self worthless in comparison to others. As a result, he becomes dependent on drugs
Revenge: Revenge is also considered a risk factor of drug abuse problems. It also has two forms. One is toward self and second is towards others. Sometimes, an individual develop extreme guilt feelings and decides to punish himself and uses drugs. Sometimes, he uses drugs to take revenge from others (parents, siblings, spouse, and society). He uses drugs and tries to respond to evils by getting involved in evil acts.
Poor Self control: Poor self control is defined as the inability to individual to control his impulses or desires. It is a strong risk factor of drug abuse problems. A person's who is unable to control his desires, behaviors and emotion as well is more likely to be indulged in drug abuse behavior. >> contd. next page
Dr. Zafar Iqbal Mian