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What Matt didn't realize-until much later-was that (drug use) only exacerbated his problems. He says, "As soon as I was off whatever I was on, my problems were 50 times worse and I couldn't control myself. I'd get sad and agitated. I went off on people. I busted holes in walls. I still have a door in my closet that I literally punched through everywhere but the corners. I just sat there and beat up my door because I hated myself. That's why I wanted to be high all the time."
Source: Drugstory.org
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Chronic use of some drugs of abuse can cause long-lasting changes in the brain, which may lead to paranoia, depression, aggression, and hallucinations.
| Drugs that can cause mental health problems: |
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| Selected Research Findings on the Mental Health Effects of Drug Abuse |
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Chronic Methamphetamine Increases Fighting in Mice
A propensity for violent behaviors to develop in chronic methamphetamine (METH) abusers has been noted. The idea that increased aggressiveness might result from chronic METH administration was tested in mice after chronic (long-term intermittent, 8 weeks) or single exposures to the drug. A single injection of METH (6 mg/kg) did not augment fighting. In contrast, chronic METH administration significantly increased the number of animals that initiated bite attacks. This regimen also shortened the latency before the first attack. Latency before the first attack was shorter at 20 h after the METH injection than at 15 min after injection. Locomotor activity was not different at 20 h after METH injection, indicating that increased fighting was not secondary to METH-induced hyperactivity. METH-induced increases in fighting were not related to the duration of persistent sniffing after the initial encounter with an intruder since the duration of this behavior was significantly increased at 15 min after METH but not at 20 h post drug. These results indicate that repeated injections of METH can increase fighting behaviors and also alter social interactions in mice. Thus, intermittent administration of METH might be useful as a pharmacological model to study the biochemical and molecular bases of aggressiveness. Sokolov, B.P., Schindler, C.W. and Cadet, J.L. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 77, pp. 319-326, 2004.
| Relevant NIDA Meetings |
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NIDA and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) organized and co-sponsored a special research-based program track entitled Integrating the Science of Addiction Into Psychiatric Practice during the 157th APA Annual Meeting held May 1-6, 2004. The nearly 30 sessions featured in this track, including 7 major lectures by some of the world's leading drug abuse and addiction researchers, addressed a wide array of topics linked to mental illness and drug abuse. Some of the topics built into the series included stress, trauma, and drug abuse; obesity and addiction; smoking and comorbid mental disorders; and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and drug abuse. NIDA also highlighted a number of other sessions from the APA program based on scientific content that complements the series theme. The goal of this special track was to raise awareness of new and emerging issues in addiction and psychiatry and provide important information related to best practices and treatment strategies.
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