How Substance Abuse Effects the Users Family and Friends Analysis Essay

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How Substance Abuse Effects the Users Family and Friends
Drug abuse is a rampant problem in the modern society as individuals struggle with various life’s challenges. More young people are prone to become victims of the vice as social and economic challenges continue to increase. Among the effects on the individuals include poor health, sickness, and untimely death. However, the problem is not limited to the users, but also their families. Among the effects include financial consequences, abuse and neglect, risk of diseases, trauma and mental illness.
The immediate effect of addition is that it is an expensive process both in maintenance and treatment. When a person becomes overly-addicted, their family tries their best to help them recover. A study from the True Link financial services, an entity that helps out families to manage finances of parents with cognitive problems surveyed 149 individuals who were both friends and family members of people with substance abuse challenges. According to their findings, most of those interviewed (82%) reported that their loved ones experienced significant financial challenges (Eisenberg). While some families may claim to be in charge of their finances and hence not affected, the reality is that eventually, they will be compelled to use excess funds to take care of their loved ones as empathy will often supersede rationality especially among family members.
Drug abuse is also associated with high rates of abuse or neglect. Drugs directly affect the user’s mental status and often changes their behavior, personality and potential to think rationally. Consequently, an individual who would initially not harm anyone becomes abuse and may hurt their family members either physically or emotionally. According to Abdullahi, drug abuse has been the major cause of domestic violence in the Coastal region of Kenya. The drugs make the user to be more aggressive and unable to manage their temper. Consequently, they become highly likely to physically abuse their spouse, child, or any other family member. Besides, they may have challenges controlling what they say and often use abusive language. According to the American Society of Addiction, intimate partner violence is more common in relationships where one partner is a drug addict (Sunshine Behavioral Center). Therefore, while it is true that drug addiction is not solely to blame for the high rates of domestic violence, it significantly contributes to the statistics.
Drug abuse also increases the risk of diseases. Drugs impair the user’s reasoning power and thus the individual has a higher likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behavior. Consequently, the person can contract dangerous illnesses such as HIV, hepatitis B and C. According to NIDA, drug use and addiction has been significantly associated with the high rates of HIV/AIDS since identification of AIDS as an illness. The CDC notes that one in 10 HIV diagnoses occur among the individuals who use intravenous injections to abuse drugs. Simi...