Drug addiction can cause several complications, and crystal meth is one of the substances. Most health campaigns emphasize this drug’s physical effects on your body, but addiction can cause several mental health problems.
This article will explain the short and long-term effects of crystal meth so more people will learn why these drugs harm your body and mind. You will also learn about recovery strategies former addicts do to improve their lives.
What Is In Crystal Meth?
Recreational drugs can come from natural or artificial sources. Marijuana and Cocaine come from plants, so they have a less potent effect on your body. Synthetic substances like methamphetamine, though, are more potent and can leave devastating effects after being used long-term.
Methamphetamine is a synthetic chemical stimulant, so people or “cooks” make this substance in illegal laboratories. Cooks use amphetamine or common cold pills as this drug’s base and add ingredients like the chemicals in drain cleaner, battery acid, antifreeze, or lantern fuel. These additional ingredients make the meth more potent and addicting.
The base ingredients for crystal meth are stimulants, so they trigger your brain and central nervous system to release positive hormones to feel the temporary “high.” These triggers lead to cravings for the substance and later on, addiction.
Short-Term Effects Of Crystal Meth
Sometimes people get peer-pressured into trying crystal meth at least once. Usually, people won’t instantly develop an addiction after one hit, but they will likely feel the intense emotional side effects of taking meth.
These are the common short-term psychological effects you may feel:
- Increased energy and alertness
- Talkativeness
- Euphoria
- Increased physical activity
- Feeling superior or more powerful than others
- Increased sexual arousal
- Feeling extremely agitated, anxious, excited, or panicky
- Feeling increased aggression towards others
- Psychosis (hallucinations, delusions, hearing voices)
People usually crave consuming crystal meth because of these feelings, but these side effects lead users to addiction; that’s why it’s best to avoid this substance for security.
Long-Term Effects Of Crystal Meth
Some people can’t resist the sensations of crystal meth and start regularly consuming it until they become dependent or addicted. Regular users usually develop a tolerance to this drug, meaning they need larger doses every time to feel the same “high” as before.
This dependency makes users view meth as an essential part of their lives, and regular use negatively affects their physical and mental health.
Long-term crystal meth users may feel these effects in their daily life:
- Insomnia
- Reduced Concentration
- Paranoia, anxiety, and depression
- Poor memory
- Psychotic behaviour
- Violence to self or others
- Homicidal or suicidal thoughts
Crystal meth negatively affects the user and the people around them. Substance use can destroy family relationships and lead some people into poverty because of the constant need to buy this drug. Using crystal meth is a risk to yourself and others in your life.
How Does Crystal Meth Impact Your Brain?
Crystal meth affects people in various ways, and some factors can determine how your body and brain react to this substance:
- The ingestion method (smoking or injection)
- Amount of methamphetamine consumed
- Height and weight of the person
- Purity of the drug
- Your current mental and physical health (comorbidities, depression)
- Your experience with this drug (new or frequent user)
- Other substances consumed together with the drug (tobacco, alcohol, medications, and other drugs)
Methamphetamine can change your brain’s structure. It increases dopamine production, which allows you to feel euphoria, but it prevents the brain from regulating this hormone.
This breach causes dopamine depletion and cell death, which leads to mood swings and an underdeveloped mind reward system.
Recovery From Meth Addiction
Meth addiction can ruin your life and negatively affect everyone around you, so you must find ways to withdraw from this substance abuse. Unfortunately, meth addiction recovery is complicated; you need supervision from a medical rehabilitation centre to detox safely.
These medical centres develop specialized plans to help people in various addiction stages; you need to undergo a medically monitored detox and then proceed to rehab. These centres will continually monitor your progress after you leave the centre to ensure your improvement.
How The Body Reacts To Recovery
Withdrawal symptoms are the most challenging part of meth addiction recovery. You will feel several physical and emotional side effects when you detox this drug from your body:
- Anger
- Paranoia
- Agitation
- Anxiety
- Increased appetite
- Decreased energy
- Depression
Those who are struggling need support from medical institutions and their loved ones to endure this period. Some people find these drawbacks too strong and revert to using illegal substances. However, they can completely withdraw from using crystal meth with moral support and an adequate recovery plan.
Medications Used During Recovery
Using crystal meth affects brain and body functions, so some people need medications to handle these side effects. However, these medicines mustn’t be addictive to prevent users from reverting to their drug dependency.
These medications usually help maintain a patient’s mental health during recovery. Here are some effective non-addictive medications used during withdrawal:
1. Effexor XR
This medicine helps with depression and anxiety; patients usually take one 75mg pill daily, but this differs per person.
2. Seroquel
This non-addictive drug helps with anxiety and insomnia. You must take one pill before bedtime; this medicine can help you immediately fall asleep.
You must remember that you should only take these pills in their respective doses as a physician prescribes. After regular use, you will feel improved withdrawal symptoms and be on a faster recovery road.
