Meth is known as the drug that has some of the most devastating effects on an individual’s physical well-being. Weight loss, skin sores, and damaged teeth are the physical signs of a long-term meth user, but meth also changes the brain in ways that can alter the individual’s personality. Users continue to take meth because this drug damages the dopamine reward system in the brain and once the damage is done, the individual can no longer experience pleasure from normal activities like sexual intercourse, playing piano, or laughing with friends.
The substitute and only source of their pleasure become meth, and meth ends up replacing the majority of activities in their life. Feelings of energy and euphoria put the meth user in a delusional state of mind that lets them believe that their health is fine, but what they do not understand is that meth pushes the body and mind past their normal threshold. Long-term use of meth causes damage in the brain related to:
- Depression
- Hallucinations and Delusions
- Obsessive Behavior
- Uncontrollable Movement
- Judgment
- Memory
- Aggression
- Addiction
- Paranoia
- Learning
Depression occurs when meth users stop using the substance and withdrawal symptoms set in. Meth directly affects the brain regions associated with emotion regulation and pleasure, which lead to suicidal thoughts and confusion about life. Withdrawal symptoms from meth abuse are tortuous to the mind and body, so depression is a natural result of withdrawal symptoms, plus emotional dysregulation. Over time, meth users become paranoid and feel like people are out to get them. They may hear voices and misinterpret normal events as life-threatening situations, which sometimes leads the user to attack innocent people.
Meth affects the brain’s inhibitory control mechanisms, so users often become obsessed with doing one thing and perform repetitive actions for hours as a result. This obsessive nature can take the time out of an entire day of doing just one thing. Involuntary facial and bodily movements can also occur, including tremors and twitches. The frontal lobe in the brain, responsible for logical reasoning, is damaged by meth use and affects the individual’s ability to govern judgment, have impulse control, and the ability to see future consequences. Reports from meth users state that they are unable to remember long periods of time. This is because meth damages the ability of the brain to encode short-term memories into long-term memories. Time becomes one moment of forgetting while in this state because the user is unable to remember what happened just 20 minutes ago.
The amygdala, which regulates emotional and impulse control, is bombarded with stimulation during meth use. Anxiety from withdrawal mixed with the overstimulation of the amygdala results in aggressive behaviors because the user can no longer contain or control their emotional responses. Individuals in this state find themselves committing acts that they never thought themselves capable of. Addiction is the result of continued meth use and becomes a prison for the user because, after a while, tolerance builds up to meth, which induces them to up the dosage each time for the same effect. Pleasure is no longer felt with meth, but displeasure if felt when meth use is ceased, so the user had no choice but to continue their drug use. In terms of learning, meth affects verbal and basic motor skills.
If you or someone you know is abusing meth, please consider talking to a treatment facility. Asana Recovery offers a full detox program and residential rehabilitation. They provide various therapies and medications to aid in recovery. Call 949-438-4504 to learn more about their treatment services.
