There are a number of influences that contribute to the likelihood of developing an addiction. The following traits have been identified by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University as being risk factors for addiction:
- Genetic predisposition
- Certain brain characteristics that can make someone more vulnerable to addictive substances than the average person
- Psychological factors (e.g., stress, personality traits like high impulsivity or sensation seeking, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, personality and other psychiatric disorders)
- Environmental influences (e.g., exposure to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or trauma, substance use or addiction in the family or among peers, access to an addictive substance; exposure to popular culture references that encourage substance use)
- Starting alcohol, nicotine or other drug use at an early age
Users of amphetamines are just as vulnerable to these contributing factors as any other person, and if you fear you are abusing amphetamines and need help to quit, contact Amphetamines.com at 800-816-1059(Who Answers?) to speak with someone who can help you to help yourself.
Addiction
Addiction is marked by the inability to stop abusing substances even when a person desperately wants to. In fact, the National Institute on Drug Abuse states: “Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain; they change its structure and how it works. These brain changes can be long lasting and can lead to many harmful, often self-destructive, behaviors.”
Amphetamines
Amphetamine abuse can cause long-term behavioral disorders and mental illness.
The Drug Enforcement Agency defines amphetamines as “stimulants that speed up the body’s system.” Many people only think about street drugs like speed and crystal meth. However, legal amphetamines are mass-produced by pharmaceutical companies and prescribed to people for a variety of reasons. Medications containing amphetamines are prescribed for narcolepsy, obesity, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse states: “Prescription stimulants have a calming and “focusing” effect on individuals with ADHD. They are prescribed to patients for daily use, and come in the form of tablets or capsules of varying dosages. Treatment of ADHD with stimulants, often in conjunction with psychotherapy, helps to improve ADHD symptoms along with the patient’s self-esteem, thinking ability, and social and family interactions.”
This class of drugs includes:
- Amphetamine— Amphetamine is made up of two distinct compounds: pure dextroamphetamine and pure levoamphetamine.
- Dextroamphetamine
- Methamphetamine
Side Effects
The Center for Substance Abuse Research identifies the following side effects.
Short-Term Effects
- High body temperature
- Cardiovascular system failure
- Hostility or paranoia
- Irregular or increased heart rate/heart beat
- Increased diastolic/systolic blood pressure
- Increased activity/talkativeness
- Euphoria
- Heightened sense of well-being
- Decreased fatigue/drowsiness
- Decreased appetite
- Dry mouth
- Dilated pupils
- Increased respiration
- Heightened alertness/energy
- Nausea
- Headache
- Palpitations
- Altered sexual behavior
- Tremor/twitching of small muscles
- Release of social inhibitions
- Unrealistic feelings of cleverness, great competence, and power
Long-Term Effects
Prolonged amphetamine abuse or abuse in high doses can cause a number of other problems including:
- Toxic psychosis
- Physiological and behavioral disorders
- Dizziness
- Pounding heartbeat
- Difficulty breathing
- Mood or mental changes
- Unusual tiredness or weakness
- Cardiac arrhythmias
- Repetitive motor activity
- Convulsions, coma, and death
- Ulcers
- Malnutrition
- Mental illness
- Skin disorders
- Vitamin deficiency
- Flush or pale skin
- Loss of coordination and physical collapse
If you are experiencing any of these effects and you are abusing either illicit or prescription amphetamines, you need to contact Amphetamines.com at 800-816-1059(Who Answers?) to speak with an addiction specialist.