Drug abuse or addiction can significantly affect a person’s life and well-being in all aspects of the Dimension wellness model, such as physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, occupational and intellectual, so it is important to consider all of them. Short or long term drug use and addiction has a wide range of effects on physical health such as changes in appetite, trouble sleeping, heart and lung diseases, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, can also affect the ability to think and make right decisions, cause impulsivity and injury. When a person is suffering from addiction it becomes difficult to control emotions, they deal with depression, mood swings, unability to cope with daily stressors.Drug abuse also interferes with work and school, personal relationships, from loosing a job and a family to feeling isolated and withdrawn from society.
Many factors can influence whether the person becomes addicted or start using illicit drugs or not. Genetics and the environment a person is living in, age, gender, presence of mental disorder, economic status or even curiosity can all lead to drug use. A combination of these factors can significantly increase the risk for addiction.Teenagers are at the greater risk due to peer pressure and desire to fit it, physical and sexual abuse at any age, stress abd depression, no support system, lack of connection, love and belonging contribute to addiction as well.
