Dear Counselor, what are drugs? Why do some young people take drugs? What are some of the consequences of drug abuse?
Written by Counselor at SchoolNet on 17th October, 2009
What is a drug?
A drug is a chemical substance solid, liquid or gas that is capable of changing a person’s mood, perception and behaviour. Most drugs affect the central nervous system. They act on the brain and change the way the person thinks, feels or behaves.
Types of drugs
There are different types of drugs among which are depressants, stimulants and anabolic agents (steroids).
Depressants are drugs that slow down the functions of the nervous system . Depressants affect concentration and coordination and slow down a person’s ability to respond to unexpected situations. Sleeping pills and alcohol are some of the common depressants.
Stimulants act on the central nervous system to speed up the messages to and from the brain. They make the person feel more awake, alert or confident, elevate mood and able to resist fatigue. Stimulants increase heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure and sometimes talkativeness. Mild stimulants include Nicotine in tobacco and strong stimulants include Cocaine.
Anabolic steroids which are hormones. Anabolic means growing or building. Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, a natural male hormone. Testosterone is the primary male hormone responsible for the development of masculine traits. Though testosterone is thought of as a “male hormone produce in the testes in men, it is also produced in smaller amounts in women’s bodies by the ovary.
Anabolic steroids are used to enhance athletic performance in a number of ways:
- To trim body fat faster
- To increase muscle size
- To faster post workout muscle recovery
- In order to train harder and more often.
Why do some young people take to drugs?
There are a number of reasons why some young people take to drugs. Some of the reasons may appear to be good reasons at first but remember appearance can sometimes be deceptive.
These reasons may include:
- A boost to courage and self-confidence.
- An aid to overcoming shyness so as to make social contacts easier.
- Experiment and explore new experiences.
- A quick fix to alleviate boredom.
- A means to escape problems or depression often brought about by poverty, family problems, frustrations and unhealthy or broken relationships.
- A yearning to get high and to intensify feelings.
- Curiosity and “because others are doing it”. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to this because of the strong influence of peer pressure.
- To do better. The increasing pressure that some people feel to chemically enhance or improve their athletic performance can play a role in initial experimentation or continued drug abuse.
The excitement of taking drugs does not last long due to the long term dangerous consequences.
Some of the consequences of drug abuse
The consequences of drug abuse depend on the type of drug, the dose taken, how the drug is taken, the frequency and duration of the drug.
Some of the consequences of drug abuse include:
- Distorted perception and difficulty thinking and solving problems.
- Loss of desire to achieve and disenchanted with life. Bored easily and would rather sit around and get high (addicted).
- Eroded logical thinking.
- Psychological difficulties (confusion, depression, sleep problems, anxiety).
- Being shaky, irritable, anxious and depressed.
- Aggressiveness and violent behavior.
- Decreased muscular coordination and reduced sexual drive.
- Decreased learning ability and loss of memory