Effects of Drug Addiction

Using drugs forces us to face its menacing risks and consequences. Lets we see the effects of drug addiction:

1. Risk to our personal safety.
   If we take drugs, there's a risk we could die of overdose or poisoning because many drugs are lethal, especially if they're mixed together. Crossing a road, driving a car or using any machine while on drugs can cause an accident which is harmful not only to ourselves but also to other people.
    
2. Damage to our health, both physical and psychological.
   A long-term abuse of drugs can cause significant physical and psychological problems such as brain damage, liver failure, lung disease, abnormal sleep patterns, loss of appetite, weight loss, digestive problems, sexual dysfunction, anxiety, depression, paranoia, hallucinations, or suicidal thinking. These problems also include the risk of infection or contagious diseases, such as AIDS or hepatitis, due to the use of contaminated needles.
   
3. Decreased thinking ability.
   A long-term abuse of drugs can lead to a loss of interest in activities normally pleasurable, memory deficits, and difficulties in completing intellectual tasks as well as linking information in coherent patterns.
   
4. Destructive behavior.
   Under the influence of drugs or during the experience of drug withdrawal, we may become extremely irritable and have very little impulse control. So, we can easily engage in aggresive, assaultive or bizarre behaviors.
   
5.  Legal Consequences.
   Possession of many drugs is illegal. Supplying them to others or giving drugs to a friend is against the law. Also, if we are abusing any drug, we are more likely to break the law in other ways, such as theft or vandalism. 
6. Financial Consequences.
   It's a fact that we need money to buy drugs. That means we're giving up other pleasures such as new jeans, T-shirts, book, CDs, caps, hairstyles, ice cream, which of course are much more useful and meaningful to us.
   
7. Family Anguish.
   As drug addicts, we place a Huge Burden on other members of our family. Family members are likely to be worried and upset when they see negative changes in us. They might be torn between loving us and hating our behavior.
    
8. Violation of our conscience. If we take drugs, we'll probably have to tell lies to our parents and friends in order to keep our drug use a secret. We may have to steal money or secretly sell things to buy drugs. This hurts us deep inside, because we know that it's wrong to lie or steal.
   
9. Loneliness.
   We all need other people to socialize with. But most people prefer to avoid drug abuse. Therefore, we usually become isolated, only hanging out with other drug users. And they are not real friends anyway. And if our relationship with our own family hasn't been so good either, it leads to very lonely sort of life.
   
10. Messy life.
    We drop out of school, ruin family and friend relationships, impair our thinking ability, break our hearts, and harm our body. Our life becomes very pathetic. 
    
    
    Glossary
    Compulsion (n)    : an urge that one cannot resist and makes one behaves in a way that is unreasonable.
    Aversion (n)        : a thing that is strongly disliked.
    Vicious cycles(n) : continuing situations in which problems and needs lead to another and the new problems make the previous problems worse.
    Unendurable(adj): cannot be tolerated
    Anxiety (n)          : an uneasy feeling caused by fear that something bad is going to happen.
    Paranoia (n)        : a psychological disorder characterized by hypersensitivity, suspiciousness and a tendency to blame others.
    Impulse (n)         : a sudden urge to act without thinking about the consequences.
    Assaultive (adj)   : compulsively violent.
    Bizarre (adj)       : very strange, not at all logical.