The statistics of substance addiction have become quite alarming. Approximately 23 million Americans have been reported to have an addiction to drugs or alcohol making up around 9 percent of the population. There is no rhyme or reason to who will become addicted and it can happen with illicit drugs, medication, prescription drugs, and legal drugs such as alcohol. Once somebody crosses the threshold into addiction, plain and simple it is difficult to cross back over. Knowing the key players to some of the substances with the highest dependency rates on the planet, can keep people informed and hopefully find other ways to cope.
Alcohol
Since drinking is socially acceptable, it takes a fatally or something massive to get people to look down on alcohol. What really happens when 1 out 12 people who drink alcohol get addicted, is that the alcohol can make them appear lively at first. Alcohol then acts as a depressant impairing the brain to the point where people make risky decisions, have slurred speech, and slowed motor skills.
Cocaine
Around 1 million Americans are susceptible to addiction when abusing cocaine by snorting, smoking, or injecting it. The effects of cocaine can keep someone from knowing what their true reality is which can make them act out with increased euphoria or intense discomposure.
Heroin
Deaths from heroin have tripled over the last few years causing more than 10 thousand deaths yearly. The withdrawal is so extreme to go through that users will keep taking the drug to avoid the symptoms that heroin will cause.
Methamphetamine
Over 500 thousand people have become addicted to this surreptitious, manmade drug. “Crystal meth” has been known to make people feel invincible and productive when snorted, smoked, or injected.
Nicotine
Over 32 million Americans smoke cigarettes daily because the nicotine in the tobacco is so addictive. Nicotine is consumed through the mucous lining in the mouth and the nose, the skin, or in the lungs. The instantaneously short-lived high is not mind-altering, but nicotine nonetheless keeps a smoker wanting more of the changes they feel in their mood along with the aroma that many of them enjoy.
Besides making people become addicted to their high, the main problem of these substances is their ability to make users want more and more to maintain the feeling they get. Their tolerance rate goes up making it more difficult to overcome cessation and making them a higher risk to overdose.
If you have a dependence to any of these highly addictive substances, Serenity Oaks Wellness Center can aid in your sobriety. Our well-trained staff can help you see a way out of your addiction into recovery.
Call us today:
844-720-6847
