Some people are able to use recreational
or prescription drugs without ever experiencing negative consequences or
addiction. For many others, substance use can cause problems at work, home,
school, and in relationships, leaving you feeling isolated, helpless, or
ashamed.
If you’re worried about your own or a
friend or family member’s drug use, it’s important to know that help is
available. Learning about the nature of drug abuse and addiction—how it
develops, what it looks like, and why it can have such a powerful hold—will
give you a better understanding of the problem and how to best deal with it.
Substance abuse can simply be defined as
a pattern of harmful use of any substance for mood-altering purposes. The use and misuse of alcohol and other drugs
is one of the more controversial issues in our society, and often a source of
conflict between generations and between sections of society. It's
not the purpose of this page to tell people how to behave or to seek to label them
as alcohol or drug abusers. Alcohol and other drugs are powerful substances
with a potential to harm users or to tempt them into over-indulgence, so it is
important to take care of yourself when considering using them and to avoid
taking any risks which you might regret later.
No universal classification of what
constitutes unhealthy use exists. Many classifications ignore the fact that
alcohol and drug use is an accepted part of many social sets. What is seen as
risky behaviour by one group is accepted as normal by another.
Disadvantages
If you are wondering about your drink or
drug use, have you considered the following?
Psychological consequences
- Are
you using drink or drugs to escape from a problem which you might be able
to solve if you faced it? If so you may be perpetuating your shyness,
anxiety, depression, unhappiness etc. rather than dealing with it for once
and all.
- Drink
and drugs don't permanently change our world. They allow us to feel a
temporary confidence or happiness, but the effect is usually one of
borrowed time. Often the unhappiness or anxiety returns even more strongly
once the effects wear off.
- Drink
and drugs can cause psychological problems by themselves. Alcohol can
commonly cause depression; drugs can also cause depression, or can trigger
anxiety or even psychosis (loss of reality).
Social consequences
- Drink
and drugs are often seriously expensive, so uncontrolled use can lead to
financial problems.
- You
can quite easily end up in trouble with the law. Although drinking alcohol
is legal, it can lead to assault and driving when drunk. Similarly,
although the law may turn a blind eye to personal use of certain drugs,
this attitude is not consistent. Sentences for any supplying drugs can be
heavy and unpredictable. Any conviction for drink or drugs offences may
severely limit the opportunities open to you in the future.
- Pronounced
use of drink or drugs tends to rigidly define social groups, so it may
limit your circle of friends.
- Continual
or large scale use of alcohol has a bad effect on most people's sex-life.
Physical Consequences
- Drink
definitely lowers people's ability to resist harming themselves when they
have problems.
- Drink
can lower people's inhibitions against hurting others.
- Drink
greatly lessens people's ability to say no to unwanted sexual encounters
which they would have definitely avoided had they been sober.
- Many
serious accidents are drink and drug related.
- There
are long-term health risks.
All these things will not happen to
everybody. You may be lucky and avoid any serious mishaps. However, all these
consequences are seen routinely enough by anyone involved in welfare work to
suggest they are not exaggerated or unusual.
滥用药品
有些人能将毒品当成是一种娱乐并不会陷入消极的经历或是深陷毒瘾之中。但绝大部分的人在碰触到这类的物品时都不免会导致影响工作，家，学校，人际关系，让人感觉被孤立，无助甚至是蒙羞。
你若担心你的朋友或家人会陷入毒品的深渊， 请记得援助是存在的。认识并了解毒品的作用及效果和毒品的样貌能够有效的让我们更能了解毒品所带来的伤害并找到更好的解决方案。
滥用药品简的来说是能够破坏情绪的一种物质。毒品与酒精的使用和滥用在我们的社会中时倍受争论的。除此之外，它们也经常引发年代间与社会各阶层间的纠纷。这个网页不是为了教导人们如何寻找或标记瘾君子或酗酒者。酒精与毒品是巨大的物质，它们能伤害使用者并让使用者过度纵欲与它们之中。因此，当你要尝试它们之前请务必三思而后行以免一失铸成千古恨。
目前仍然没有一项明确的全球性毒品统计类别以及它们的弊。无可否认的是，统计中显示了一项事实，那便是瘾君子与酗酒者已变成了社会中的一部分了。这害人害己的行为却开始被大众视之为理所当然了。
弊
如果你对你服用的酒精饮品或药物感到疑惑，那你可曾考虑过以下后果？
心理后果
§ 你是否有使用酒精或药物来逃避一个问题，一个如果你直接面对便可能解决的问题？如果是这样，那可能使你持续感到羞怯，焦虑，抑郁，不快等，而不是直接一次和全面性的把问题解决。
- 酒精饮品和药物不会永久地改变我们的世界。他们只会让我们感受到暂时的信心和幸福，但效果通常只持续一小段时间。而通常，在酒精饮品和药物带来的效果消失后，我们感到的不满或焦虑感将会加倍强烈。
- 酒精饮料和药物有引起心理问题的能力。酒精通常可以导致抑郁症；药物也可以导致抑郁症，或可引发焦虑，甚至精神病（失去真实感）。
社会后果
§ 酒精饮品和药物的价钱通常都非常昂贵，所以无节制的使用会导致经济上问题。
§ 你将会轻易的与法律结下不解之缘。虽然饮酒是合法的，但它也可以导致冲突和醉酒驾驶。同样的，虽然法律可能对个人使用的某些药物视而不见，但这种态度并不一致。任何有关于毒品的人事物都是沉重和无法预测的。当你因为任何酒精饮品或毒品造成的罪行被定罪，它很有可能会严重限制你未来将会得到的机会。
§ 使用酒精或药物往往会被大家直接界定你的社交圈，所以它可能会限制你的朋友圈。
§ 持续或大量的使用酒精使大多数人的性生活产生不良的影响。
物理后果
§ 当人们有问题时，酒精饮品必然会降低他们抵抗伤害自己的能力。
§ 酒精饮品可降低人们克制自己伤害他人的能力。
§ 酒精饮品大大减低市民拒绝不必要的性接触的能力，相反地当他们清醒的时候，他们绝对会避免它的发生。
§ 许多严重的事故都是与酒精饮品和药物有关的。
§ 带来长期的健康风险。
以上所有的事情可能不会发生在每一个人的身上。你可能能够幸运的避免掉任何严重的事故。然而，这些后果都是从事福利工作的人们经常看到的，所以以上的酒精饮品和药物带来的后果并不是被夸大或不寻常的。
Written by:
Shiang Yun
