1 888-488-8434
Referral Service
Private Treatment Centers
in Canada
1 888-488-8434
Referral Service
Private Treatment Centers
in Canada
There are various types of drugs. Some are used to suppress, some to excite, and others to knock a person out of consciousness. Drugs include alcohol.
A small amount excites, more causes depression, and too much renders unconscious. All these substances will have some side effects. In the case of local anesthesia, a person can expect to feel a bit numb in the area affected and surrounding physical body parts hour after sometimes even days later, there may still be some numbness.
Revised: August 2023
1 888-488-8434
Toll-free Number
In the case of illicit drugs such as cocaine or crack, people have reported side effects such as being burnt out, exhaustion, dry mouth, tense muscles, twitchy nerves and more. Whereas a person taking marijuana will normally just be physically exhausted and sleepy, a sense of dead weight and headaches will often follow high doses of pot.
Every drug on the market today will have its share of side effects. Just as alcohol can bring about ‘hangovers,’ side effects are felt with cocaine, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, and other toxic substances. The basic idea is that the foreign substance acts as a poison. The body now must fight it off. It’s quite similar to a bacterial cold or flu. The body’s defence mechanism kicks in to protect the organism.
Drugs of all types have not only physical side effects. They also have a psychological impact as well. Perception channels, such as the more obvious ones, like sight, sound, touch, smell, orientation, sense of gravity, body position, etc., record what we perceive from our environments. These records are memories stored for later use. Many of these memory records become automatic. Once you know how to drive a car, you don’t need to remember how to – you just do it.
So, what occurs when a person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs? They are less aware. These substances don’t simply affect the person’s perception channels in the present. They can actually bring back past memories and throw them into the mixture of the present in a purely stimulus-response. Alcohol is notorious for doing this. Have you ever listened to a person who is drunk? What are they talking about? The job they should have taken as a kid, their divorce ten years ago, the loss of teenage love, and usually, it is mixed with other things that make no sense.
All drugs do this to some degree or other. These are a form of hypnotic, even if only to a slight degree.
You may have experienced the side effects mentioned above. You need to know that anyone abusing drugs or alcohol will show signs of a deterioration of reasoning. That is the ability to reason – to think, consider, evaluate, conclude, etc. all of which depends on a clear, unclouded mind.
In other words, be able to use past memory records to assess the present conditions to determine future actions. Be it in 10 minutes, ten weeks, or ten years.
This can explain why your loved one lost their job, does not pay their bills, or does not care for their family, or how a simple problem seems huge. The substances have, over time, disrupted the thinking process. It occurs to such a degree that past and present are interchangeable, and the person is stuck. It makes future conclusions very difficult.
With proper detoxification, the person can now sort out the past from the present. With the help of professional addiction counsellors, the person can properly evaluate right from wrong. Without intoxicating substances, memory is stored properly for use. With good coaching, a person can get back to a level of awareness where they will make good decisions.
Would you like your loved one to be themselves once again? See that they receive the help available through good addiction resources. You can do something about it, and you can make a difference.