How Opiate Dependency affects a Person’s Life
Opiate addiction is a chronic illness that typically requires treatment to cure, and opiate dependence will impact a person’s life in various ways that can cause a great deal of harm to the user as well as to the people around them.
Opiates are very strong painkillers that cause users of the drug to form dependencies to them. Opiate dependency will result in a person needing to continually take the drug in order for them not to feel sick, and by continually taking the drug the user is harming their internal organs as well as their mental health. Opiates affect a person’s brain causing chemical imbalances to occur, as well as their physical health by causing respiratory issues, and cardiovascular problems.
In addition, a person abusing opiates will build a tolerance to the drug causing them to need to take more of the drug, which can result in them having on overdose. An overdose on opiates can result in a person having respiratory failure or ending up in a coma.
Opiate addiction and dependency typically leads to people changing their behaviors to the world resulting in them doing things that they usually would not do if they were not using opiates, such as missing work, losing all their money, committing criminal acts, and mistreating loved ones.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, from 1980 to 2007 there has been an approximate 6 million increase with people in jail. This is largely due to drug addiction and drug related crimes being committed. Criminals have rates of drug dependence and drug abuse that are more than four times that of the overall population.
The Dangers of Opiate Dependence
Opiate dependence will control a person’s life and physical well-being. Opiate dependency will not just stop as it will continue until a person stops using and detoxes from the drug. If a person continues to take opiates for prolonged periods of time they will be damaging their organs and causing their body a great deal of harm by not allowing it to function normally without the influence of drugs.
Opiate dependence can lead to a person to overdosing on the drug and can cause a person to experience unexpected respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. Opiate dependence may also cause a person to have financial troubles being that they will continually need to purchase more and more of the drug to take so that they do not have withdrawals and so that they can feel normal. Opiate dependence will continue to get worse and although detoxing from opiates can be painful, it is in a user’s best interest to get help from a treatment center so that they do not cause any more damage to their body.