Although different drugs may have different effects on overall physical and mental health, the basic pattern is the same. Getting and using the drug becomes more and more important than anything else, including job, friends and family. The physical and emotional consequences of drug abuse and addiction also make it difficult to function, often impairing judgment to a dangerous level.

Physical signs of abuse and addiction

Drug abuse affects the brain and body directly. While high, the drug affects the entire body, from blood pressure to heart rate. Stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine “amp up” the body, increasing blood pressure, metabolism and reducing the ability to sleep. Drugs like opiates and barbiturates slow down the body, reducing blood pressure, breathing and alertness sometimes to dangerous levels. Some physical signs of abuse and addiction include:

• Cycles of increased energy, restlessness, and inability to sleep (often seen in stimulants)
• Abnormally slow movements, speech or reaction time, confusion and disorientation (often seen in opiates, benzos and barbiturates)
• Sudden weight loss or weight gain
• Cycles of excessive sleep
• Unexpected changes in clothing,  such as constantly wearing long sleeved shirts, to hide scarring at injection sites
• Suspected drug paraphernalia such as unexplained pipes, roach clips or syringes
• For snorted drugs, chronic troubles with sinusitis or nosebleeds
• For smoked drugs, a persistent cough or bronchitis, leading to coughing up excessive mucus or blood.
• Progressive severe dental problems (especially with methamphetamine)

Mental and emotional signs of abuse and addiction

Abuse and addiction also affect mood, as drugs are abused for the temporary good feelings they provide. These feelings can vary depending on the drug used. Some mental and emotional signs include:

• Cycles of being unusually talkative, “up” and cheerful, with seemingly boundless energy.
• Increased irritability, agitation and anger
• Unusual calmness, unresponsiveness or looking “spaced out”
• Apathy and depression
• Paranoia, delusions
• Temporary psychosis, hallucinations
• Lowered threshold for violence

Teenagers and drug abuse

It can sometimes be hard for parents to tell if their teenager has a drug problem. After all, teenagers are notorious for oversleeping, being argumentative and pushing boundaries, or wanting their own privacy and space. If you suspect your teen has a drug problem, look for marked changes in behavior, appearance and health. Is your teen suddenly having trouble in school? Does he/or she seem more and more isolated, or have a new group of friends? A teen with drug problems may spend a lot of time sleeping- or be keyed up or unable to sleep. Have you noticed that money or objects that could be sold for drugs seem to be disappearing? Do prescription drugs seem to be used up too quickly?

You do everything right. Or you think you do, but there it is anyway, slapping you in the face for the rest of your life, because if you didn’t know, once and addict always an addict. Well, the addiction led to behavior very unbecoming to an upstanding young woman, in a very small town where EVERYONE knows what’s going on and if they don’t, they make up there own version. Needless to say, the child that used to entertain herself for hours with Barbies in the playroom and never caused a lick of trouble ended up in jail. I never wanted any part of this, I never wanted to visit a jail, but I did…3 days a week every week for over a year. I never thought I could stand up in front of a judge and a room full of lawyers and other defendants and speak on behalf of my kid. I never wanted to spout off to a Probation Officer on a power trip and tell him that being on probation doesn’t cure addiction. I never wanted to cry as much as I did those many, many months. I didn’t want to know drug lingo and distrust my kids or their friends or continually ask myself what I did wrong. It’s been an interesting lesson, an undesirable place to be when you should be buying more prom dresses, making graduation plans and going through college brochures. Instead I have a handbook from the local County Jail.

But here’s the deal. My daughter didn’t use heroin, crack, cocaine or even weed, at least not at first. Her addiction started with prescription pain pills. So take my advice, LOCK UP ALL PRESCRIPTION MEDS. The drug dealer on the corner isn’t the only threat. The problem is in your medicine cabinet, or your purse, or your night stand. Another bit of advice…Don’t trust your kids. Question their every move, where they are, who they’re with, when they’ll be home, how much money they spend, who’s calling on the house phone or cell, why they are losing weight or look so pale. Don’t put up a wall, don’t try to be cool with your kids, because they’ll screw you if they have a chance, or their friends will. And don’t let up, they’ll thank you for it later.