Author: Gary Jackson
Types of Psychoactive Drugs: A Comprehensive Overview
This may lead to severe adverse health reactions and possibly life-threatening consequences. If you suffer from insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, or seizures, your doctor may prescribe a class of drugs called central nervous system (CNS) depressants. These medications are designed to slow your brain down, relax your muscles, and provide a sense of calm. It is important to use sleep medications only as prescribed and under the guidance of a healthcare provider. Misuse of these medications can lead to dependence, addiction, and other serious health consequences.
The severity of withdrawal symptoms will depend on the type of depressant, but generally withdrawal symptoms should settle down in about 5-7 days. People who are psychologically dependent may feel an urge to use them when in specific surroundings or socialising with friends. With physical dependence, a person’s body adapts to the depressants and gets used to functioning with them.
Side effects and risks
However, opioids can also cause feelings of euphoria and relaxation, which can lead to their misuse and addiction. Heroin, morphine, and codeine are three examples of opioids that are commonly used for pain relief. Amphetamines are a class of stimulant drugs that include prescription medications like Adderall and Ritalin. They are used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. Amphetamines increase the release of dopamine and norepinephrine, two neurotransmitters that play a role in attention, motivation, and reward.
- These medications treat conditions based on which effect they cause.
- Misusing sedatives and prolonging their use may lead to dependency and eventual withdrawal symptoms.
- When inhalants are taken, the body becomes deprived of oxygen, causing a rapid heart beat.
- The effects could slow down or even stop a person’s breathing and heart function.
- Different classes of CNS depressants work in different ways, but all have the ability to reduce activity in the central nervous system and lower levels of awareness in the brain.
For example, when someone first begins to drink, he or she may feel less reserved and more relaxed because of the chemical changes alcohol causes within the brain. However, the more someone drinks, the more the brain is affected and the likelihood that a negative emotional response will take over. Alcohol can actually increase anxiety and stress rather than reduce it, and elicit other negative reactions such as anger, aggression, and depression.
Can I become addicted to benzodiazepines?
It is highly addictive and can cause a range of health problems [2]. These drugs change the mind and cause the appearance of things that are not really there. Hallucinogens affect the body’s self-control, such as speech and movement, and often bring about hostility. Other negative side effects of these drugs include heart failure, increased heart rate, higher blood pressure and changes in the body’s hormones.
Morphine is a powerful opioid drug that is commonly used to treat severe pain. It is derived from opium, which is a natural substance that is extracted from the seed pod of the opium poppy plant. It produces a sense of euphoria and relaxation, but it can also cause respiratory depression, constipation, and addiction. Morphine is a controlled substance and is available only by prescription.
What are the disadvantages, side effects and complications that are possible with benzodiazepines?
When you first begin taking a CNS depressant, you may feel unusually sleepy or uncoordinated as your body adjusts to the medication. Cannabis is usually smoked in a joint, pipe, or bong, but it can also be vaporized, brewed into a tea, or added to food. The effects of cannabis vary depending on the dose, the method of consumption, and the individual’s tolerance.
- Amphetamines increase the release of dopamine and norepinephrine, two neurotransmitters that play a role in attention, motivation, and reward.
- Recreational use can be illegal and dangerous, as people may not understand the risks of misuse.
- What makes Casa Palmera distinct from other treatment facilities is our desire to not only heal the body, but also aiming to heal the mind and spirit.
- Alcohol, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates are examples of depressants.
- They contain dangerous substances that can have a range of short-term and long-term effects on the body, including addiction and even death.
Central nervous system depressants are sometimes called sedatives or tranquilizers, although those terms are more properly applied to specific categories of CNS depressants. In conclusion, inhalants are a type of psychoactive drug that people typically take by inhaling. They contain dangerous substances that can have a range of short-term and long-term effects on the body, including addiction and even death. It is important to seek help if you or someone you know is struggling with inhalant abuse. Sedatives, or central nervous system depressants, are a group of drugs that slow brain activity.
An overdose of a CNS depressant can happen by accident, but people sometimes choose to take more of the drug than a doctor recommends to get a more “intense” effect. People have also been known to overdose on these medications deliberately to end their lives. Mixing CNS depressants, opioids, and alcohol increases their effect. There may be severe adverse reactions and possibly life-threatening consequences. Misuse can also happen if a person uses someone else’s medication, if they take more than the recommended dose, or if they use drugs that a doctor has not prescribed. These can treat seizure disorders and anxiety, but doctors rarely prescribe them nowadays.
It is important to use ADHD medications only as prescribed and under the guidance of a healthcare provider. Several substances can depress the CNS, ranging from anti-anxiety and sleep medications to so-called recreational drugs, such as heroin. Depression of the central nervous system or CNS often occurs when a person misuses a substance that slows brain activity.