Impulsivity in Development of Substance

Discuss about the Impulsivity in Development of Substance.

Psychotropic drugs are drugs that interfere or rather affect the central nervous system causing alteration of how the brain functions hence long-term our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and perceptions[1]. Most psychotropic drugs are prescribed by therapists to treat mental illness for example; bipolar disorder also known as manic-depressive disorder. Apart from medically prescribed Psychotropic drugs, there are other illicit psychotropic drugs such as marijuana and cocaine[2]. Psychotropic prescribed drugs are usually taken by the patient to help them in improving and stabilizing their mental conditions[3]. These drugs were introduced for the purpose of treating mental illness or bipolar which affected the brain and hence changed one's emotions, a behavior thought and perception. There are four main psychotropic drug groups: antipsychotics, ant anxiety agents, mood stabilizers, and antidepressants. Research shows that patients who have been under psychotropic drugs prescription showed more recovery than patients who have not visited the health care to receive treatment or prescription[4]. Different people react differently to drugs, there are people who are quick to respond and others whose body takes time before it responds. These drugs need the patients to be patient and to go through the therapy sessions, this is because the psychotropic drugs do not provide instant solutions, they assist the patient to control their conditions and if combined together with therapy then there is a definite long time recovery[5].

Psychotropic drugs are being used by many people for different reasons and it’s important that before using these drugs, the patient must be examined by a doctor or a medical practitioner to know the type of psychotropic drug to prescribe for the patient[6]. This is because the patient may be having other conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart conditions among others and this will require a different prescription that will not aggravate the preexisting conditions. Psychotropic drugs are good but they also have negative effects on the user, and this always happens when there is an under dose or an overdose by the patient. The world today has settled their minds on psychotropic drugs as being the solution to their immediate problems[7]. Marijuana and cocaine are the most abused psychotropic illicit drugs. These drugs have been used by different people of the different age group for different purposes. These drugs are equally dangerous with bad side effects, in turn, they have caused a lot of accidents and even deaths. These drugs alter the thoughts, perceptions, emotions, and moods and some users say they feel contented, relaxed, after abusing these drugs and this leads to addiction which may lead to a long time negative effects to the primary and the secondary user[8].  It is important to address this topic because of the rate at which the psychotropic drugs are being abused is alarming and the long-term side effect of these drugs are serious and have affected many of its users and even caused deaths. The patients who have the psychotropic prescriptions are at high risk of the long-term negative effect which may affect their lives after withdrawing from the use of these drugs[9].

Psychotropic drug use and abuse (prescribed psychotropic drugs)

Psychotropic drugs have been used throughout the past years for different reasons. These drugs have been of benefit to some of the patients and it has greatly helped them to stabilize and control their mental health conditions. Mental illness condition or rather bipolar disorder does not affect only a given age group for but it affects any age group. Not all patients with bipolar disorder need medication, some just need therapy to help them in improving their mental health and to understand how to manage their conditions without the use of psychotropic drugs[10]. But on the other hand, there are those whose conditions need the use of psychotropic drugs to help them boost their moods, emotions, and perceptions. These group of patients can have a relatively hard time if they do not get the drugs because they believe that without the drugs they cannot function or be active as expected of them. There are psychotropic drugs like antidepressants which help patients who are having depression. This group of patients needs antidepressant drugs the help stabilize their level of depression and improve their overall mental and physical health but then again there are other remedies that can be used to help curb depression other than taking antidepressant drugs[11].

 Anti-anxiety drugs are used on patients who have anxiety issues, anxiety is experienced in our daily lives and there are ways through which one can deal with it. First is advisable to try a therapy session before using the anti-anxiety drugs. There are people who have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder also known as OCD. This occurs when someone has uncontrolled reoccurring thoughts and behaviors that he or she feels the urge to repeat over again. This disorder can be treated by taking anti-obsessional drugs or therapy or a combination of the two. Another drug is psycho-stimulant drugs, these are drugs that are administered for the purpose dealing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and psycho-stimulant drugs helps in stabilizing the mental health[12]. Some of the psycho stimulant drugs given over the counter include caffeine and nicotine among others. Mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, hypnotics and anti-addiction drugs are all under psychotropic drugs and are used to stabilize people for different disorders[13]. Psychotropic drugs like marijuana, heroin, and cocaine have been used widely with people, some for mental health-related reasons and some for recreational purposes[14]. Many people have resettled on the psychotropic drugs believing that that’s the only remedy for their conditions however the continuous use of these drugs can cause a lot of damage to the body. It is better for the medical health care to look for long-lasting solutions to medical disorders than giving patients drug prescriptions as a solution to their problems[15].

There is a perception that if you experience a sudden change in your thoughts, emotions, perception, and behavior, you have a condition, and for you to be freed from the condition you have to be medicated. This perception has led to many young people and adults using psychotropic drugs with a notion that they are going to get free from their disorder. Many of the patients have resorted to the psychotic drugs believing that it’s a deliverance so to speak, that by using these drugs they also believe that these drugs are the only guide to rediscovering their identities. Most people have confided in these drugs with hopes that in the long term they will be completely freed from the disorder. It is with this kind of perception that we find many young people resulting to drugs as the ultimate solution to their problems. In contrary, these psychotropic drugs do not relieve them from their disorder but rather continue to make an individual believes that he or she has already regained his autonomy and our perception is influenced by this interpretation. These psychotropic drugs have imprisoned our thoughts to be the only remedy to our better future, forgetting that these conditions such as bipolar disorder can be stabilized using therapy without medications. Some medical practitioners make us believe that conditions such as these cannot be treated through therapy sessions and they want us to believe that without the drugs there is no any other remedy to those affected. It is therefore important to look for other alternatives for conditions such as bipolar disorder, with an open mind that medication is not the only solution to stabilizing such kind of disorders or we risk a lifetime medical prescription[16].

Psychotropic drugs as defined in the introduction is as drugs that interfere or rather affect the central nervous system causing alteration of how the brain functions hence affecting our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and perceptions. Sensational seeking is a personality trait that tends to explore the feelings and experiences that are new, complex, varied and highly stimulating. Sensational seeking is one of the major themes that has led to the increase in psychotropic drug abuse[17]. These traits often make a person wants to do things that are complex, they want to try new things and even do complex activities. People who are sensational seeking often use the psychotropic drugs to elevate their moods, their perceptions, their thoughts and by using this drugs they sometimes end up doing things that can emotional, physically and physically hurt. The fact that they believe in drugs as a major boost to their lives, they end up abusing these psychotropic drugs which at the long run affects them both psychologically, physically and mentally[18]. Addiction to these drugs can be easy but living a life without these drugs after addiction is way too difficult and at this point is when someone decides to commit suicide. Once someone is addicted to the psychotropic drugs it is very difficult for them to live without, since it has become part and parcel of the person. Sensational seeking as a theme educates us on how our personal traits can lead us to live a good life without addiction or a life of addiction full depression. An example of someone who has a bipolar disorder, if the patient is using the psychotropic drugs as a daily prescription to help him boost his emotions, then the possibility of the patient becoming an addict of the drug is very high. This is because for the patient to come up and deal with his emotions he will have to take the drugs and once addicted it’s very hard to go without the drugs lest you risk having the withdrawal syndrome.  But on the other hand, if the patient is able to control his or her emotions without seeking the use of drugs for various disorders then it is impossible for addiction and having the long-term effects of psychotropic drugs[19].

The term impulsivity has different definitions, but the general term describes an Individuals tendency to portray a behavior characterized by minimal or no thought, reflection or even without thinking of the aftermath of a decision. Impulsivity is often a symptom in some of the above-mentioned disorders[20]. Impulsivity in itself is a sign of addiction. People who are grouped as impulsive tend to rely on other psychotropic drugs to help them curb their problems, these group of people often believes that for them to think wise they will have to use a certain drug to keep them at par with their thoughts. People who are impulsive tend to do things without thinking of what they are about to do, why they are doing what they are doing and what’s the end result of what they will do, this kind of people are at very high risk of drug addiction. The fact that impulsive people make decisions without thinking through it, some are likely to settle knowing that what they are about to do is bad but they just do not care to think through their actions and decisions. That’s where you find an impulsive deciding to be a drug addict without having minding the long-term effects of the drug use and abuse. If an impulsive person is suffering from bipolar disorder for example, and the person reaches for a medical assistance, if the doctor prescribes a psychotropic drug to him and makes him believe that he needs the drugs for him to live, without him thinking he will definitely take the drugs without knowing what he is suffering from and if the drugs can get him out of his condition. This person later uses these drugs as often believing that he only needs the drugs to survive and doesn’t even think of the long-term medical effect. The medics should keenly observe the patient and if their conditions do not require such kind of drugs, then they should be advised on an alternative way to deal with the condition, and this will lower the cases of psychotropic drug use and abuse[21].

Despite the fact that there are disorders which are chronic and need psychotropic drugs description for their treatment, it doesn’t give a leeway to the doctors to overprescribe the drugs to the users, over-prescription of drugs can create more complications to the patient. Psychotropic drugs are not the ultimate choice to these disorders, a medic is required to run several tests to the patient before prescription. Over-prescription sometimes causes immediate effects to the patient leading to different reactions and if the doctor doesn’t understand the immediate side effects of the drug and this may lead to another drug prescription which in turn may have server symptoms on the patient[22]. Sometimes over prescriptions creates a permanent condition to a patient which may put the patient on medication for the rest of his life. Overprescribing and self-poisoning are related in a way that sometimes the patients do not take drugs as prescribed, some take an under dose and some take an overdose. Under dosing can lead to various consequences, for example, the body may become resistant to the prescribed drug leading to the prescription of a much stronger drug which may have a negative reaction to the patient. Drugs that are not taken are hoarded, and they can become a source of self-poisoning for children and deliberate self-poisoning for potential suicidal people[23].

There are several side effects both short term and long term experienced by people who are using psychotropic drugs. The effects include hallucinations, depersonalization, mania, suicidal ideation, psychosis, heart attack, stroke and even sudden death. There is a risk of long-term psychological harm, social harm, economic harm and physical harm for using the psychotropic drugs. Overtime after using these drugs there is an increase in the possibility that the person will be chronically ill and these symptoms always lead to early deaths. An over the use of these drugs causes addiction and dealing with addiction is not very easy because this can cause a withdrawal syndrome which may lead to other complications[24].

Conclusion

There are chronic conditions which require a prescription of a psychotropic drug depending on the condition that the person is having. It is equally challenging for the medical practitioners to get the right diagnosis for different mental disorders. The researchers are trying to find better solutions on how to approach different patients with different mental disorders. There are people who are in need of these drugs for them to have their conditions stabilized. But then again there are those who have had wrong prescriptions of psychotropic drugs for the wrong conditions, and this happens for example if there are few doctors and a big number of patients, but this does not give the doctors a reason to offer wrong prescriptions. If there was a way through which these conditions could be stabilized without having to use these drugs may be then it would significantly help in reducing the use of psychotropic drugs which in turn will increase the health of people who are having mental disorders by reducing the side effects related to the drug use.

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