Why People Abuse Drugs and Effects to Their Mental Well-Being - Paper Example

Introduction

There are various reasons why people abuse drugs and these reasons vary from one individual to another. Often, the habit arises when someone would like to fix an issue in their life, and they see drugs as the solution to the issue. Some of the reasons include:

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Victims of anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression and other mental illness who use drugs and alcohol to reduce their suffering. The drugs and alcohol temporarily make someone feel 'normal' or comfortable again, away from their sorrows.

People see family members, friends and role models using drugs and think that they can too (Heshmat, 2017). Young adults easily think that drugs and alcohol uses can be controlled when they see others they know using them. People with a family history of alcohol and drug abuse also have likely to develop an addiction.

Some people use drugs thinking that they will help them relieve stress. The modern world is filled with a lot of human stressors, i.e., having a family, maintaining a household among others. As a result, some drugs are viewed as a means of relaxation to calm the storm in one's mind, resulting in their misuse or abuse.

People use drugs to cover up their past painful memories. They go through extremely traumatic events that may result in physical and emotional damage (Heshmat, 2017). These people turn into drugs thinking that it would help them solve the issue, only for it to make things worse.

Chronic use of some drugs may result in both short-and long-term adjustments on the brain that may result in mental health issues such as depression, aggression, paranoia, hallucinations, and other mental health problems. Drug addicts are twice as likely to be affected by mood and anxiety disorders as opposed to those who don't use drugs.

How Drug Abuse Affects Marriages and Results in Domestic Violence

Most types of domestic violence originate from one party's desire to control the other party. There exists a very strong correlation between addiction and domestic violence. A person under the influence of drugs and alcohol is likely to lose control of their emotions and inhibitions and work under the influence of the drug that greatly increases their chances of having an abusive behaviour ("Nova Recovery Center," 2018). The drugs being abused alter the chemical compositions in the addict's brain causing them to seek out the substance irrespective of the future consequences of their actions. The result is violent, irrational and controlling behaviour in a marriage relationship. However, the risk of domestic violence increases if both parties suffer from substance abuse disorders.

Some of the various forms of domestic violence that are caused by drug addicts include physical, emotional or verbal intimidation, forcible sex, destruction of family property, physical threats or even blackmail, harming or killing of family pets, physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, slapping, punching, burning and even stubbing, murder,, financial and psychological abuse. The victims of these vice include significant others, intimate partners, spouses, children, parents and elderly relatives among others.

How Drug Abuse Affects Children

Drug abuse interferes with the parent's ability to take care of children and provide them with a safe and well-nurturing environment where they can thrive. As a result, children living with drug-abusing parents are at high risk of developing physical and emotional problems including addition later in their lives. There are various negative effects of parental drug abuse on children.

Drug abuse establishes a chaotic home life. Homes with parents who are prevalent with substance abuse are often chaotic in an unpredictable manner. This results in children assuming inappropriate family roles such as taking care of siblings or even financial responsibilities within the household.

It breeds violence within the family that contributes highly to domestic violence such as child abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect (Green, 2017). All these are evident in families where substance abuse is extensive, and the children suffer from symptoms that relate to Post Traumatic Stress Disorders that result from trauma.

It established difficulties at school. Children of drug-abusing parents have a high likelihood of being distracted at school due to psychological and emotional stress, worries, lack of sleep and fear of the happenings at home (Green, 2017). They may also find it cumbersome to establish relationships at school due to the embarrassment of their situation at home.

It contributes to the children's mental health issues. A family with drug-abusing parents is more likely to deal with issues like divorce, financial problems, unemployment, legal issues, and physical abuse, all of which contribute to stress at home. As a result, the children of such parents have a high chance of attempting suicide and developing eating disorders, depression and anxiety compared to their peers.

It fuels negative emotions such as fear, shame, mistrust, and insecurity. This may result in disrespect to authority figures, i.e. their teachers due to the low trust levels that they have developed concerning their parents.

They develop physical health problems. Studies show that a quarter of children from mothers that engage in substance abuse fail to receive the routine child health maintenance services during the first two years of their life. Moreover, the children suffer from stress-related issues that result in various physical health problems such as migraines and gastrointestinal problems.

How Drug Addict Parents Lose Their Children to the System

A parent who struggles with drug addiction is likely to negatively affect his/her parental rights (Green, 2018). In some scenarios, the child protection agencies may remove a child from the care of his/her parent if the parent is a drug addict. Moreover, a court may deny the parent custody of his/her child or children if he/she has addiction issues or even terminate his parental rights entirely if he/she fails to address the drug problems. Therefore, it's vital for parents to treat the addiction to protect custody of their children and retain their parental rights.

In the case of custody, courts determine a child's custody at the time of divorce resulting from drug abuse. A parent with drug addiction problem will, therefore, be denied the right to take part in the care of his/her child of physical custody if he/she fails to seek substance abuse counselling or establish methods to achieve sobriety.

In the case of custody disputes, the court may help to establish a custody decision for them in an arrangement that is of the best interest of the child. This involves analysis of the parent's moral fitness and how appropriately each parent can take care of the child's emotional and physical requirements (Green, 2018). The courts often look at parents with histories of substance abuse when coming up with a custody determination. Therefore, parents with a bad history of drug abuse may be affected negatively by the initial custody determination.

References

Green, A. (2018). Child Custody & Loss of Parental Rights From Drug Abuse. Info.legalzoom.com. Retrieved 7 December 2018, from https://info.legalzoom.com/child-custody-loss-parental-rights-drug-abuse-23891.html

Green, E. (2017). Consent Form | Working Mother. (2018). Workingmother.com. Retrieved 7 December 2018, from https://www.workingmother.com/substance-abuse-and-how-it-can-impact-your-marriage

Heshmat, S. (2017). 7 Common Reasons Why People Use Drugs. Psychology Today. Retrieved 7 December 2018, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/201711/7-common-reasons-why-people-use-drugs

"Nova Recovery Center," (2018). Parental Drug Abuse and Its Effect on Children. Nova Recovery Center Near Austin Texas. Retrieved 7 December 2018, from https://novarecoverycenter.com/drug-use/parental-drug-abuse/