What you Should Know About Cocaine Addiction
Although we might not hear much about cocaine addiction in today’s society I am here to let you know that it still is a problem. Today when we hear about addictions, we mainly hear about alcohol, meth, and other designer drugs, but we hardly hear anything mentioned about cocaine. Did it fall off the face of the earth? No, it did not. Cocaine still causes pain and suffering to the people who use it and their families. Cocaine abuse destroys the mind, and if abused long enough the heart and other areas’ we will get into later on.
The person that abuses cocaine may experience different affects than someone else who is using. I have seen addicts who have abused cocaine for years quit just by putting their minds to it. I have also seen people who no matter how hard they try simply cannot put it behind them. When it comes to this addiction, there are two categories “short-term” and “long-term”.
When someone tries cocaine for the first time, he or she will feel the short-term effects of this addiction. The short-term effects of cocaine addiction are dilated pupils, they tend to speak faster, appetite decreases, body temperature goes up, increased energy, and mental alertness. Many people who use cocaine for the first time may think that the increased energy and mental alertness may be beneficial to them, so they continue to use as a means of being able to work more hours or study harder for tests.
Therefore, people who use cocaine just once may fall victim to the benefits of cocaine in the short-term. Who would not like to party all night and still work or go to school the next day while functioning at 100 percent? This way of thinking is how many people fall victim to cocaine addiction. The human body has shown throughout time that it has an uncanny ability to adapt to situations. After a while, the body will become used to the cocaine, then demand more and more until finally you realize you cannot function without the drug. Many drug addicts will tell you that you will never experience that first high. Therefore, you spend the remaining time of your addiction looking for that first high, so you use more and more until it is too late.
Losing weight is also another reason why some people might try cocaine. Cocaine is a virulent appetite suppressor, and if you are overweight, you might get tempted to try this drug to drop a few pounds. I have heard about addicts going days without eating, yes you heard right; I said “days”. However, like I mentioned earlier this is only a short-term fix for your weight-loss problem. First, the person starts out trying to lose weight, but they become addicted to the drug, and now their fighting other health problems including malnutrition.
When a person taking cocaine realizes he or she has become addicted, now is when they will start to see the long-term effects of this deadly drug. Prolonged use of cocaine will result in dependency on the drug. Other long-term effects include respiratory failure, heart disease, stroke, heart attack, gastrointestinal problems, seizure, coma, blurred vision, nausea, convulsions, fever, chest pain, and muscle spasms.
Unfortunately, there are more long-term effects of cocaine addiction. We have only gotten into the physical affects, but there are mental repercussions also. Mental affects are irritability, restlessness, hallucinations, paranoia, and mood changes. Most addicts cannot function around family members and loved ones also, so it affects relationships. Relationships usually become strained because of violence. Lying and cheating will become more and more prevalent in order to support their habit.
Addiction to cocaine will also bring on financial hardships if left unchecked for a long enough time. The addict usually starts out taking cocaine to work longer hours. Eventually after the drug has become a necessity to function, there will be days that the person will not be able to function without it – therefore, missing many days from work will get them fired.
Cocaine use is not going to make things better. It may seem so in the short-term, but it will destroy you in the long-term. Staying away from cocaine is the best way not to fall prey to this drug. Please d o not experiment with anything you cannot give back if the experiment does not work. Most cocaine addict who have successfully beaten this addiction still have medical problems that their dealing with years after they have been sober.
