What is Meth?
Methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth or meth, is a highly addictive substance that impacts a person’s central nervous system. Individuals can either snort, smoke, ingest, and inject crystal meth. Depending on your method of substance abuse, you will experience various side effects of meth abuse. Commonly, individuals that are under the influence of crystal meth will have a long lasting high where you feel side effects including feeling invincible, upbeat high energy, increased energy, and euphoria. Meth is commonly manufactured in a home lab with household chemicals that are often found under your kitchen sink. These combinations of lethal chemicals and toxins will cause significant long term side effects and damage within your body, mind, and spirit.
Long Term Effects of Abusing Methamphetamine
After taking crystal meth for a prolonged period of time or binge using crystal meth, your body will begin to develop a tolerance to crystal meth causing you to have to increase the amount you use ot reach the same desired effect. The more severe your meth addiction becomes, the more of an increased risk there is for long term damage including the following:
- Stimulant addiction develops
- Shifts in brain structure and function.
- Worsened or decreased motor skills.
- Verbal learning abilities decline or become impacted
- Chronic anxiety disorders
- Mood swings or disturbances
- Aggressive or violent behaviors.
- Delusions
- Paranoid behaviors and delusions
- Visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations.
- Repetitive, sometimes uncontrollable movements.
- Memory loss.
- Severe dental problems including tooth decay or “meth mouth”
- Malnutrition.
How Meth Affects The Brain
Long term or heavy meth abuse will have significant impacts on a person’s brain. Due to crystal meth impacting the central nervous system, there can be serious repercussions and effects within a person’s brain. Meth abuse will influence your brain’s ability to produce dopamine. While you are using crystal meth, your levels of dopamine will dramatically increase and once you stop taking meth, your brain will be unable to produce the same high levels of dopamine. As you search to find the same levels of dopamine, many will return back to crystal meth use to feel the same rewards and good feelings that are produced by dopamine. There has been research that has demonstrated that long term effects of meth abuse will cause long term brain damage. There is the potential for part of the brain damage to be reversed while other areas may be damaged permanently.
Can You Recover from Meth Addiction?
Meth addiction is treatable within an addiction treatment program. Throughout a drug rehab program, meth users will be able to engage in meth addiction drug treatment programs that will support you in uncovering the underlying emotions and traumas associated with your methamphetamine addiction. Before addressing your drug addictions in meth rehab, it is important that meth users rid your body of the chemicals and toxins of meth abuse within a drug detox program. Once your body has overcome the effects of methamphetamine misuse and withdrawal symptoms reduce to a mild to moderate level, you will be ready to enter into your addiction treatment programs.
Meth Addiction Treatment at TruPath
At TruPath, we believe that your addiction to illegal drugs or methamphetamine is unique to you which is why your addiction treatment program should be personalized to meet your long term mental and physical health goals for addiction recovery. Your treatment plan will incorporate a variety of addiction therapy methods that will support you in addressing any co-occurring disorders with dual diagnosis treatment, trauma therapy, behavioral therapy, and holistic treatment methods. Whether you choose an inpatient rehab or intensive outpatient program, our dedicated team will support you every step of the way as you address and ehal from your drug or alcohol addiction,
Contact TruPath today to have any questions about addiction treatment, contact on our caring team members today to and take the first steps towards a life of sober living.