Lifestyle Diseases You Can Get From Substance Abuse

What Are Lifestyle Diseases

Lifestyle diseases can come from many sources including workplace hazards and disorders like eating too much or too little and other behavior disorders. You may also face health problems due to Covid infection and other immune system issues. Diabetes is one chronic disease that does have lifestyle components where getting healthier and eating better can be a choice. But there are kinds of lifestyle diseases that both destroys your health and robs you of healthy relationships.

Substance abuse is a chronic disease of brain reward that causes many kinds of health issues. Addiction is the end result of the substance use lifestyle. When lifestyle becomes addiction getting professional help is essential for long term recovery. Many resources for getting help are available including executive rehab Orange County.

What Is Substance Abuse Disorder

Substance abuse begins as a lifestyle choice to relieve anxiety or to get high. Often it starts in high school or college with marijuana or drinking and escalates over time. Substance abuse is both progressive and chronic, leading to changes in brain function which makes it impossible to stop without getting professions help.

According to the NIH, a substance use disorder (SUD) is a mental disorder that affects a person’s brain and behavior, leading to a person’s inability to control their use of substances such as legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, or medications. Symptoms can range from moderate to severe, with addiction being the most severe form of SUDs. What are 3 warning signs that someone has a substance abuse problem

Psychological warning signs of drug abuse

Unexplained change in personality or attitude.
Sudden mood swings, irritability, spaced-out, or angry outbursts.
Appears fearful, anxious, or paranoid, with no reason.

Lifestyle Diseases From Substance Abuse

People with addiction often have one or more associated health issues, which could include lung or heart disease, stroke, cancer, or mental health conditions. Imaging scans, chest X-rays, and blood tests can show the damaging effects of long-term drug use throughout the body.

For example, it is now well-known that tobacco smoke can cause many cancers, methamphetamine can cause severe dental problems, known as meth mouth, and that opioids such as heroin and oxycodone can lead to overdose and death. In addition, some drugs, such as inhalants, may damage or destroy nerve cells, either in the brain or the peripheral nervous system (the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord).

Drug use can also increase the risk of contracting infections. HIV and hepatitis C (a serious liver disease) can occur from sharing injection equipment or from unsafe practices such as condom-less sex. Infection of the heart and its valves (endocarditis) and skin infection (cellulitis) can occur after exposure to bacteria by injection drug use.

Lifestyle Diseases: Do Alcohol And Drug Abuse Cause Mental Illness or Vice Versa?

Alcohol and drug use and other mental illness often co-exist. In some cases, mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, or schizophrenia may come before addiction. In other cases, drug use may trigger or worsen those mental health conditions, particularly in people with specific vulnerabilities.

Some people with disorders like anxiety or depression may use drugs in an attempt to alleviate psychiatric symptoms. This may exacerbate their mental disorder in the long run, as well as increase the risk of developing addiction. Treatment for all conditions should happen concurrently.

Lifestyle Diseases: The Impact of Addiction Can Be Far-Reaching