Everything about Drug Addiction and its prevention

What is Drug addiction and what does it do the brain?

Drug addiction is a chronic disease that is caused by excessive usage of drugs despite knowing that there may be harmful consequences to the intake. It is a disease that leads to various changes in the life of an addict; physically and mentally. When people start taking drugs, it is a voluntary decision, but the fact that repetitive use of drugs can make people lose the ability to control drug intake cannot be ignored at any point. It becomes extremely challenging to get over the drug addiction but there are various different treatments offered by rehabilitation centers that help people in gaining back the control of their lives and to defeat their drug addiction. Treatment options are decided after taking into consideration the intensity of a person's addiction. 

It is true that the path to drug addiction begins with taking small amounts of drugs, but it is also true that over time, a person loses the ability to decide what's best for them. The intake becomes compulsive as drug addiction takes over parts of the brain involved in learning, memory, motivation and reward, and starts taking control over behavior. 

Can drug addiction be managed? 

Just like all other chronic illnesses, drug addiction can also be managed effectively if proper care is taken. It is definitely not uncommon for a person to relapse and start using drugs all over again, but treatment of the drug addiction should be such that a person can go back to it even after relapse and recover from it successfully. 

Even though there are various treatment options available, people can’t simply stop taking drugs and be cured. Rehabilitation from drug addiction takes place after long-term repetitive care in order to recover and live a normal life. 

It becomes difficult for many to understand why and how drug addiction takes over the life of people and has the tendency to completely destroy someone suffering from it. This is the reason why people start categorizing addicts as weak. They simply fail to understand how complicated drug addiction can be, and how badly it can impact the brain of a person, and that it is not just the matter of willpower to get over the drug addiction. The world has advanced scientifically, which is why there are many ways to find out how drug addiction affects the brain, and many ways have been identified to help people in getting rid of drug addiction to lead a positive and healthy life. 

How important is prevention?

Drug addiction is a difficult disease to cure, but it can definitely be prevented. There are various drug addiction prevention programs that include the family, school, communities, and friends of people who are currently addicted or may get addicted to drugs. It is important to outline how drug addiction can be harmful in order to prevent people from drug intake in the first place.