DRUG ABUSE
What is drug abuse? How do i deal with it?
Street drugs are substances people take to give themselves a pleasurable experience, or to help them feel better if they are having a bad time, or simply because their friends are using them. They include heroin, cocaine, cannabis, alcohol and some prescribed medicines.
D R U G S
The way street drugs are legally classified does not reflect how harmful they are to your mental health. Illegal, controlled and legal drugs can all have a negative impact on you, whatever class (A, B or C) they are given.
Street drugs may be any of the following.
Legal – such as caffeine, nicotine and alcohol.
Illegal – this means it is against the law to have them or supply them to other people. Most street drugs are illegal.
Controlled – these are drugs used in medicine, such as benzodiazepines.
It is legal to take controlled drugs if a doctor has given you a prescription for them, but it is illegal to have them if not. It is also illegal to give or sell them to anyone else.
All street drugs have some kind of effect on your mental health. They affect the way you see things, your mood and your behaviour. These effects may be pleasant or unpleasant. They might be short-lived, or you may experience longer-lasting effects. In some cases, these effects may be similar to those you experience as part of a mental health problem. They may go away once the drug has worn off, or they may not, and you may experience longer-lasting effects.
It is difficult to predict how you will react to a street drug. You may react differently to the same drug at different times or in different situations.
This may differ depending on:
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The type of drug
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Whether the drug has been mixed with other substances, and what these other substances are
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The amount you take
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The environment or social situation in which you take it
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How often you take it
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Your previous experience of it​
It's a life and death issue. We're loosing 6 people a day from prescription drug abuse.
- James McDonough
Children are often the silent victims of drug abuse.
- Rick Larsen
Dual Diagnosis
If you have both mental health problems and problems with drug or alcohol use, you may be described as having dual diagnosis. There is no standardised treatment for dual diagnosis, because it includes a large number of possible problems, and involves both drug and alcohol services and mental health services. If you have this combination of problems, you may need help with many different parts of your life.
We hope this helped x