Beautiful Boy - How Do Drugs Work in The Body and On the Mind

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Beautiful Boy - How Do Drugs Work in The Body and On the Mind
Beautiful boy: a father's journey through his son's addiction is a book by David Sheff, who describes his experiences with his son, who had a meth addiction. He was often forced to go through the streets to locate his son and bring him back home safely. David starts the book with the birth of his son Nic and he describes how he created a good foundation for his son as a parent. The drugs have affected the protagonist, which has also had a detrimental impact on the relationship with others around him. Long term methamphetamine or meth abuse by Nic has resulted in adverse effects on the body and brain. It leads to addiction, which is a relapsing, chronic ailment, characterized by compulsive urge to use drugs and usage, is often followed by molecular and functional changes in the brain.
The Effects of Drugs on The Body and Brain
Just like any other drug, continuous use makes it feel more pleasurable, and this influences the person to continue using it repeatedly. Drug abusers have to use higher doses of the substance each day so that it has the desired effect, and they will also try out other substances to get the same result (Todd et al.). In the novel, Nic started using different kinds of drugs while still very young. At age 11, he would try pot and alcohol. Sheff says, “In early May, I pick Nic up after school one day …When he climbs into a car, I smell cigarette smoke. I lecture him, and he promises not to do it again. Next Friday after school…I am packing an overnight bag for him and look for a sweater in his backpack. I do not find a sweater, but instead, discover a small bag of marijuana.” (Sheff, 200). Chronic users will have difficulties in feeling any other type of pleasure apart from what they derive from the drug. It leads to further abuse, and if the individual tries to stop using it, then withdrawal symptoms can arise which includes fatigue, intense craving for the drug and anxiety (Todd et al.,). Nic was a chronic user for six years from ages 17 to 23. Nic had issues with his family and his continuous use makes him suffer from pain and self-hate.
Besides being addicted to methamphetamine, Nic also underwent episodes where he exhibited symptoms of violent behavior, mood disturbances, insomnia, confusion, and significant anxiety. Sheff states, “…they hallucinated. Some become violent” (109). The disease can also be accompanied by several psychotic features, such as auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions (e.g., feeling of bugs crawling under the skin), and paranoia (Todd et al.). The psychotic symptoms can sometimes be persistent for months or years after the individuals stop using the drug, and stress has been linked with encouraging the emergence of methamphetamine psychosis.
Methamphetamine abusers will also experience significant changes in the brain. Neuroimaging studies have revealed that fluctuations in dopamine system can result in impaired verbal learning and declined motor speed (Todd et al.,). Chronic methamphetamine abusers will also have several functional and structural changes in various areas of the brain that are linked with mental problems, which can lead to cognitive and emotional issues among long term users like Nic. The cognitive issues make it harder for the individual to take part in therapy.
Research carried out on primates has shown that methamphetamine changes the brain regions linked to decision making, and reduces a person’s ability to avoid habitual behaviors that are counterproductive or useless. The two impacts are linked, revealing that structural changes lead to a reduction in mental flexibility. In the book, Nic’s brain neurons were degraded due to the addiction. Once the dopamine in the drug destroys the terminals, the chance of recovery is lower (Sheff 137). These functional and structural changes in the brain are a reason why methamphetamine is challenging to control and treat, and it also has a high chance of relapse during the early days of the treatment. However, the damaged endings of the neurons can still grow back, but it will take over two years (Sheff 138). Meth addicts can recover, but it will take a lot of time. Other long-term effects that can arise from the drug include mood disturbances, weight loss, severe dental problems, memory loss, and increased distractibility.
The Genetic, Behavioral, Cognitive, And Social Causes of Addictions
Addiction has several causes, which also aggravate the situation even though it is difficult to predict who would become an addict. Addiction is multifaceted, and it depends on various risk factors which can lead to addiction, rather than direct causes. Some of the biological factors that lead to addiction include genes. Research...