The Effects Of Cocaine Can Change Your Family [EXCLUSIVE]
Cocaine's effects appear almost immediately and disappear within a few minutes to an hour. How long the effects last and how intense they are depend on the method of use. Injecting or smoking cocaine produces a quicker and stronger but shorter-lasting high than snorting. The high from snorting cocaine may last 15 to 30 minutes. The high from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes.
The Effects of Cocaine Can Change Your Family
Yes, a person can overdose on cocaine. An overdose occurs when a person uses enough of a drug to produce serious adverse effects, life-threatening symptoms, or death. An overdose can be intentional or unintentional.
Battling a substance use disorder (SUD) is viewed by many as a personal experience. Because harmful substances have devastating effects on the user, many may not take into consideration the other people involved. Spouses, children, and parents may all be impacted by the way addiction affects the family.
The effects of drug and alcohol addiction can be both short-term and long-term. Peaceful, loving homes can be divided by the strain caused by drug and alcohol abuse. Conflict becomes normal as family members fight to engage with a child who abuses Heroin, for example. Trust begins to erode. Relatives may become more guarded if a relative abusing illicit substances acts with aggression or hides their disorder in secrecy. Marriages can end due to changes caused by addiction. Communication becomes more difficult, highlighting frustration.
When one member is addicted, the family as a whole can be negatively impacted by phenomena such as:Side effects
Withdrawal
Strained relationships
Financial hardships
Poor school performance
Exposure to other drugs
Reckless behavior within the home
Stealing money to support a habit
Running away from home
Causing parental grief
As a parent, you are your child's first and best protection against drug use. The following is information from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) about cocaine and how to help your child say "No" to drug use. (Child refers to child or teen)
Cocaine stimulates the nervous system, causing brief euphoric feelings, increased alertness, talkativeness, and a sense of empowerment. People high on cocaine can also be sweaty, restless, and dizzy, and have nausea and vomiting. People coming down from cocaine effects may feel sad, have delusions or paranoia, and even think about suicide.
Yes. Serious side effects, including seizures, stroke, heart attacks and irregular heartbeats, can happen even with a single use of cocaine. If enough cocaine is taken or if the cocaine is combined with heroin, fentanyl, or other stimulants or opioids, someone could have life-threatening side effects or even die.
Advances in health care are progressing rapidly and are lending support for the biological basis of cocaine dependence. The development of a vaccine to block the pleasurable effects of cocaine is being rapidly pursued.38 Through radiographic scans of the brain, dysfunctional areas can be identified and novel treatments that target those specific areas and symptoms may be employed in the future.39 Identification of the gene responsible for the predisposition to addiction will ultimately happen.
The immediate effects of cocaine and crack don't last very long. They usually peak in 2-5 minutes and last from 10 minutes up to a couple of hours. You can't always tell how long the effects will last, because you never know the strength of street cocaine.
Managing your drug use If you, your family or your friends think your drug use is becoming a problem, then get some help and talk to people about it. Changing your drug use can be hard work, but it will be worth it. Some people can reduce or stop drug use on their own, but think about talking to a trusted family member, friend, doctor or counsellor.
Regular use of cocaine can cause someone to become tolerant to the drug, and higher doses must be taken in order to continue to feel the effects that are desired. More and more time may be spent trying to obtain the drug, using it, and then recovering from using cocaine as control over drug use becomes harder. Other duties such as schoolwork, familial obligations, or workplace responsibilities may be overlooked or neglected completely. It may be difficult to rely on people who are addicted to cocaine, and they may withdraw from loved ones and peers, and stop participating in activities or events that they used to enjoy.
Addiction is a disease affecting the motivation and reward circuitry in the brain. When people are addicted to cocaine, they may feel that they need the drug in order to feel any sort of balance. Someone addicted to cocaine may seek out the drug in order to feel some relief from physical and emotional withdrawal side effects that may occur as soon as the drug leaves the bloodstream. Withdrawal symptoms may include drowsiness and fatigue, increased appetite, depression, irritability, mood swings, nightmares, and drug cravings. Cocaine may not have the same physical withdrawal symptoms as other drugs; however, the emotional toll can be just as difficult to manage without help.
In 2013, the National Survey for Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported that 1.5 million Americans were considered current users of cocaine, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published that 855,000 were classified with a substance use disorder due to cocaine abuse that same year. The physical and emotional side effects of cocaine abuse and addiction can generally be reversed with proper care and support.
Early intervention and recognition of the signs of use or abuse of cocaine can be essential to getting someone on the right path toward recovery.\n"}Once someone realizes that they have a cocaine addiction, it may be best to seek professional help. You can start your process of finding professional help through your family physician, reach out to your insurance company to find treatment that will fit your financial budget, or call a rehab center directly to speak to an admissions coordinator.
Treatment at AAC facilities is customized to your personal needs. We do a thorough assessment of your mental and physical health to determine how best to treat you. Our staff, which includes doctors, nurses, therapists, psychiatrists, behavioral health technicians, and case managers all work together to make sure you get the best shot at lifelong recovery from cocaine addiction. Many of our facilities also offer specialized treatment tracks that target specific populations, such as veterans or LGBTQ+ individuals. Not only that, but we provide co-occurring disorder treatment for those individuals who struggle with addiction plus another mental health disorder, such as depression. Our programs give you all the tools you need to put cocaine abuse behind you.
As people drink and use cocaine together, they cross paths with others doing the same. If you use cocaine, you are likely to find yourself in random places, with random people, having random conversations. These people can feel like friends, and they are usually nice people.
Not only that, but as you come down and experience withdrawal after a cocaine binge, it makes your interactions harder because you experience anxiety on that side of the drug too, which can make users moody and irritable.
Cocaine makes you become a self-centered and selfish person subconsciously, whether you realize it or not. You turn into someone who will go to any length to get your next gram or eight ball, even if that means leaving friends or loved ones behind. There were many times when I would completely disappear to the bathroom for an hour, or to find cocaine somewhere without telling anyone else where I was.
Socializing is meant for being social, not being closed off and stuck on a one-way street to find and do cocaine. In this sense, cocaine makes socializing harder. Instead of being focused on others, you become focused on yourself and when you can take your next bump or line.
Over time, people may find that cocaine changes their personalities, which is another way that the drug has a negative effect on socialization. Cocaine abuse can lead to extremely paranoid behavior, so someone who used to be outgoing may isolate themselves from others due to becoming paranoid and distrustful after suffering the effects of cocaine abuse.
Short-term effects of cocaine use include extreme happiness and increased energy, which may make people feel more sociable, but cocaine can also make people paranoid and violent, which has a negative effect on social interactions.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), cocaine can increase energy levels and produce extreme happiness, but it can also cause the following unpleasant side effects over the short-term like:
With long-term use, a person who abuses cocaine may become extremely paranoid and experience hallucinations, which may make them appear out of touch with reality and lead to difficulty interacting with others. While a person may become more gregarious after a dose of cocaine, addiction is likely to have negative effects on social skills, especially if the person becomes suspicious of others and engages in potentially violent behavior.