Both alcohol and drug abuse have long-term affects on almost every organ in the body. There are some organs that receive a higher impact immediately such as the brain and the digestive system. The most devastating short-term and long-term effect is that alcohol and drugs both, hijack the brain’s normal “reward” pathways. This hijacking results in an addict taking more an more drugs and adding additional drugs to attempt to realize the same pleasurable jolt that was first experienced. Substance abuse alters the areas of the brain responsible for self-control, judgment, emotional regulation, motivation, memory, and learning. At times a substance abuser may have the momentary desire to stop the addiction but because of all the things just listed, the addict given over the reins of his or her life to the substance be it alcohol or drugs.
Specific long-term affects are alcoholic hepatitis, some kinds of stroke, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Health risks not commonly connected to substance abuse are cancer of the voice box, colon, mouth, liver, throat, rectum, esophagus, and the kidneys. Abusive drinking over time is also associated with the medical conditions of epilepsy, nerve damage, loss of brain cells, irritated stomach lining and bleeding from stomach ulcers.
Approximately 10 to 20% of individuals who abuse alcohol develop cirrhosis of the liver which can be fatal. Cirrhosis is irreversible, but if the affected person stops drinking, his or her chances of survival improve. Alcoholic hepatitis is also irreversible but has the potential of improving if the alcoholic becomes clean of his addiction.
Most people believe that once he or she becomes “clean” by stopping the drugs, the problem is gone, but the truth of the matter is that the underlying biochemistry that caused a person to become addicted remains. The reason that merely stopping the drugs is not the cure all is that drugs only put a “feel good” ointment on the deep problem. Taking the drug away will still leave low self-esteem, anxiety, loneliness, or an unhappy family life. Drugs bring their own host of problems, including major disruptions to normal, daily functioning.
