Someone who abuses drugs is affected emotionally and physically. Drug abuse can take over a person's life, wreaking havoc on the person's health, career and relationships. Many times, drug abuse is linked with other mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, which can also affect a person's life in negative ways.
Physical Effects
Each drug has different physical effects, but some drugs such alcohol and heroine can lead to physical dependence. When a person tries to stop using, the person will feel intense physical symptoms such as nausea, headaches, chills and a fever. Long-term drug abuse can have severe detrimental effects. For instance, you can get liver disease and cancer from drinking alcohol, have fertility problems from smoking marijuana and experience heart failure from using cocaine.
Occupational and Financial Effects
One's career or job can be greatly affected by drug abuse. Someone who abuses drugs may come to work high and not be able to complete his tasks, show up late or call in sick. This can lead to being demoted or fired, which can have significant financial impacts. People may go into debt or behave recklessly to obtain more drugs.
Social Effects
A person's family is greatly affected when one member starts abusing drugs. The drug abuser may become moody and violent and do irreparable damage to family relationships. People who abuse drugs may spend a lot of time trying to get the drug and using the drug and have much less time for friends and maintaining relationships. If the person who abuses drugs is married, it can cause a huge strain on the marriage, which can lead to years in therapy or divorce.
Family members and friends may attempt to help the person get sober, but unless the person wants help, he can't be forced to stop using. Getting sober and staying sober is extremely difficult for someone who is addicted to drugs, and it can be a lifelong struggle. Family members may become hopeless while watching the person relapse multiple times.
Other Serious Effects and Overdose
Some other serious side effects can occur when someone uses drugs and behaves recklessly. For example, the person might drink and drive, leading to serious injury or death. The drug abuser may share needles with people who have infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDs, or he might get caught with the drug or selling the drug and end up in prison. When someone is addicted to a drug like heroin, he'll need to use more and more of the drug to get high. This can lead to overdosing and death.
