Addiction?!
When we say addiction, it is possible to talk about various types.
Among these: Internet addiction, gambling addiction, sexual addiction. Today I want to talk to you about substance addiction. Especially parents or caregivers may experience anxiety and fear when faced with this problem. One of the reasons for this anxiety and fear is that families do not know what addiction is. An important step that families should pay attention to in addiction is whether the individual wants to receive treatment. In this case, the family should be in one corner of the triangle, the substance addicted individual should be in one corner, and experts with knowledge on this subject should be in the other corner. In other words, a one-sided struggle will be insufficient. Informing families about this issue and explaining what the psychological, behavioral and physical changes seen in addicted individuals may be can be an important start. Families and society can make the situation even more difficult for themselves by receiving incorrect information from the environment and from people who are not experts on this subject, about how to approach the addicted individual and how to combat addiction. So, let's start with what addiction is in order to be correctly informed as a family and society.
Addiction; It is a brain disease. It is the transformation of voluntary substance use into compulsive substance use.
So, what happens in our brains that we can become addicted?
Structural and neurochemical changes begin to occur in the brains of individuals who use substances. In other words, the frontal cortex, which is responsible for many functions in the brain such as judgment, decision-making and impulse control, the amygdala, which is responsible for the management of emotions, and the part of the brain associated with learning (striatum and nucleus accumbens), undergo changes in individuals who use substances. The individual has problems in his ability to learn, record and remember new information. There are transmitters in our brain that we call neurotransmitters. They are responsible for ensuring the flow of information between brain cells. These are: Dopamine, Gaba, Glutamate, Seratonin and Acetylcholine. These transmitters are damaged in individuals who use substances. For example, Gaba and Glutamate are affected in individuals who consume alcohol. Among these, dopamine Eket is a neurotransmitter that is effective in many areas such as pleasurable reward, memory, behavior, attention, comprehension, learning and mood. Excessive excess or deficiency of dopamine causes serious health problems. The brain feels the excess dopamine caused by the substances used as pleasure, and the brain wants to experience this pleasure over and over again. Thus, a state of addiction begins to appear in the individual. So, addiction is not a problem of willpower and genetic factors affect the likelihood of addiction in the patient's relatives.
So, which substances are addictive?
Alcohol, ecstasy, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, bonzai, bali. , ether, gasoline, LSD, methamphetamine etc. Nowadays, there are substances that we have difficulty in keeping track of and whose chemical content is constantly changing. Unfortunately, these substances are tried by young people who think, "Nothing will happen to me, I can quit whenever I want, I'm not like anyone else", sometimes out of curiosity and sometimes out of pleasure.
So, let's continue with a question like this.
Who is at greater risk of becoming addicted to substances?
People with a family history of substance abuse, those with ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity) disorder, those with a history of trauma, those who have gone through a stressful period, and those with this stressful period. Those who have problems coping (divorce, loss of a loved one, job loss, etc.) and the age at which they start using substances (especially those under the age of 15) are at risk. Curiosity, desire to seek excitement, circle of friends, psychological problems, desire to feel like when he was not yet introduced to substances, etc. Many reasons such as the following may be effective in these individuals' substance use.
What could be the clues that the person is using substances?
Sudden changes in school success, loss of belongings or money at home, changes in the circle of friends, personal If there are changes in care (change in clothing, changes in body hygiene, etc.), fatigue, depressive states, increased time spent in the bathroom or toilet, and outbursts of anger, it would be beneficial to consult a specialist. However, do not forget that these substances are only clues and do not provide definitive information about whether the person you are talking to is using substances.
Legal regulations will affect the attention and free time of young people. Establishing youth centers that will direct students to more productive areas, raising awareness of teachers in schools, providing training for families, establishing rehabilitation centers and increasing their number are only a few steps in preventing substance use.
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