BEHAVIOR OF A DRUG ADDICT: 10 CHARACTERISTICS - ARTE - 2025

The behavior of a drug addict, whether he is a cocaine addict, a heroin addict, an addict to marijuana or other drugs, is characterized by sudden mood swings, reduced motivation, high financial expenses, deteriorated personal relationships and decreased physical and mental performance.

Cocaine is one of the most addictive psychoactive substances that exist today. The regular use of cocaine usually generates a high dependence on the substance and implies the appearance of a series of negative consequences for the user.

As for heroin, it has harmful repercussions both on the individual and on society, taking thousands of lives each year or assuming a great economic impact on health coverage.

Regarding marijuana, it has psychological and physical consequences: it causes tolerance and psychological addiction, negative behavioral effects, damage to the brain and others that will be described later.

Because cocaine use is higher, in this article we will focus on it, although the characteristics of drug addicts are similar for any type of drug.

Beyond the direct effects generated by cocaine use, many recent studies have focused on examining the consequences of regular use of this substance.

Main characteristics of an addicted person

1- sudden mood swings

Cocaine use tends to immediately generate a wide range of satisfying sensations such as euphoria, excitability, hyperactivity, or vitality. For this reason, it is common for people addicted to cocaine to experience frequent and intense changes in their mood.

These characteristics may become less noticeable at the beginning of the addiction, since at those moments the modification of the mood can only be witnessed in the moments that the direct effects of the drug are witnessed at the brain level.

However, with the regular and continuous use of cocaine, mood swings usually appear permanently in the individual. Addiction causes the person's mood to only acquire high levels after cocaine use, which is why the mood constantly changes.

2- Alterations of the activity

Another of the most typical effects of cocaine is increased activity. After consumption of the substance, the person experiences high sensations of energy, a fact that motivates a notable increase in their activity.

It is usual that after consumption the individual is highly excited, restless, active and performs actions continuously.

However, the increase in activity caused by cocaine use is contrasted by the decrease experienced by the person when the effects of the drug wear off.

When the individual addicted to cocaine stops using the substance, he experiences a rebound effect. Both your energy level and your motivation and your activity decrease markedly.

For this reason, it is common for people addicted to cocaine to experience continuous changes in their activity level. In fact, just like your mood, your activity depends on your use of the drug.

3- Gradual reduction of motivation

Although the direct effects of the drug generate a high increase in the mood, energy and motivation of the individual, addiction to cocaine implies a gradual reduction in motivation.

This fact is explained through the brain mechanisms in which the substance acts. Cocaine is a drug that directly affects the brain's reward systems, so continued use of this drug directly affects motivation.

The person addicted to cocaine increasingly needs the consumption of the substance to function normally. Likewise, she requires more and more doses of cocaine to feel well.

In this way, the subject's motivation becomes regulated by the drug. The only element that is capable of generating satisfaction, gratification and motivation in the person addicted to this substance is cocaine itself.

For this reason, subjects addicted to this drug usually present a notable reduction in their motivation, a fact that can significantly affect all their vital areas.

4- Social isolation

Cocaine addiction increases as your use increases. In the same way that the consumption of the drug increases as the addiction to the substance increases.

Cocaine is a substance that is capable of generating very high levels of addiction, a fact that directly affects the global functioning of the individual.

The person addicted to cocaine is increasingly absorbed by the drug, so his life begins to revolve around the substance.

The search, attainment and consumption of cocaine becomes the most important element of the addict, which is why their social functioning is increasingly damaged.

The subject addicted to cocaine will seek to carry out only activities that are related to the consumption of the substance, a fact that usually causes the loss of all friends (except those friends who are also consumers).

5- Physical alterations after consumption

Cocaine is a substance that is usually consumed snorted. Likewise, its use usually generates a series of direct and easily observable physical alterations.

In this way, certain physical signs make up one of the most notable characteristics of people addicted to cocaine. The main ones are:

1. Damage to the nostrils and septum.
2. Excessive inspirations through the nose.
3. Frequent nosebleeds
4. Excessive and unexplained sweating and / or increased body temperature.
5. Nerves, tics, or involuntary body movements.
6. Pupillary dilation.

6- High economic expenses

People addicted to cocaine require constant daily use of the substance. This fact leads them to use high amounts of the drug on a regular basis.

Unlike other drugs, the price of obtaining cocaine is not particularly cheap, quite the opposite. Consuming cocaine is a great financial expense, especially if you consume large amounts.

For this reason, individuals addicted to cocaine tend to have high financial expenses. Often the financial investment in the drug is greater than what the person can afford.

However, the main need of an individual addicted to cocaine is to consume the drug, which is why they may commit or owe large amounts of money in order to get cocaine.

The inexplicable expenses of money are one of the main characteristics of individuals addicted to cocaine. No person addicted to this substance is capable of not spending large amounts of money.

7- Deterioration of personal relationships

The high economic costs involved in the addictive use of cocaine is usually one of the main factors causing personal problems for these individuals.

Likewise, both short-term effects (excitement, euphoria, extravagant behavior, mood swings, etc.) and long-term effects (behavior modification, lifestyle, decreased work performance, etc.) are elements that they usually directly affect the personal relationships of the individual.

Marital, family and social problems are highly frequent in subjects addicted to cocaine. The consumption of the drug directly affects the people closest to the individual.

8- Cardiovascular and respiratory disorders

Chronic cocaine use usually leads to the appearance of physical conditions and pathologies in the individual. Over time, the substance is wearing down the body of the person and more and more physical alterations appear.

The most prevalent are cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, including heart rhythm irregularities, heart attacks, chest pain, and respiratory failure.

Likewise, other types of conditions may also appear such as neurological effects (stroke, seizures and frequent headaches), gastrointestinal complications, nausea, fever, muscle spasms or cloudy vision.

Finally, in the case of subjects who consume injected cocaine, they present a greater risk of contracting infectious diseases such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and viral hepatitis.

9- Time change

People addicted to cocaine often suffer from a wide disturbance in their normal functioning. The consumption of the drug is established as the main element of their day to day, a fact that causes a high modification of their daily activity.

Among the functional modifications, the most notable lies in the immense time that the individual spends on the consumption of the substance. A large part of the daily life of an individual addicted to cocaine is devoted to obtaining and consuming the drug.

Likewise, cocaine use usually causes a notable time change. A single use of cocaine can change the perception and use of time completely.

It is common for individuals addicted to cocaine to spend long hours at night consuming the drug, a fact that causes a large jet lag in the person.

10- Decreased performance

The final characteristic of people addicted to cocaine has to do with their performance. Consumption of the drug affects the normal performance of the person, and significantly decreases it.

Perhaps, the area in which this characteristic is most noticeable is the workplace, since an individual addicted to cocaine presents enormous difficulties to perform adequately in his job.

However, the decline in performance affects all areas of performance of the person.

References

1. Gawin FH, Riondan CA, Kleber HD, (1985). Methylphenidate use in non-ADD cocaine abusers a negative study. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse, 11: 193-7.
2. Gold, Mark S. Cocaine (and Crack): Clinical Aspects (181-198), Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook, Third Edition, Lowinson, ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins, 1997.
3. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Monitoring the Future National Results on Adolescent Drug Use, Overview of Key Findings 2004. NIH Pub. No. 05-5726, 2005.
4. Petrakis IL, Carroll KM, Nich C, Gordon LT, McCance-Katz EF, Frankforter T, et al (2000). Disulfiram treatment for cocaine dependence in methadone-maintained opioid addicts. Addiction, 95 (2): 219-228.
5. San L, Arranz B, (2001). Therapeutic approach to cocaine dependence. In: cocaine monograph. Pascual F, Torres M, Calafat A (eds). Addictions; 13: 191-208.
6. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. National Survey on Drug Use and Health. SAMHSA, 2003.