The consumption of substances with psychoactive properties , specifically drugs of various types, is a very common phenomenon in today’s society. Both in the case of legal and illegal substances, it is relatively easy to access them despite the serious danger that many of them pose.

The consumption of these substances tends to cause different effects in the organism, causing everything from inhibition and sedation to extreme excitement and hallucinations and other perceptive phenomena. Due to the effects that they cause, and sometimes other factors such as psychological reactivity to their prohibition or the fact that their consumption is socially accepted, many people go on to consume them more and more frequently.

With time, the subject acquires tolerance to the substance in question, needing more and more quantity to achieve the same effects, and becoming dependent on the drug. Due to the high prevalence of substance consumption and dependence , it is essential to know the different types of drug addiction and the addictive process , which are explained in this article.

What is a drug and what is dependency?

We consider a drug to be any substance that, when administered to the organism, is capable of altering any of the functions of the subject. They generally cause pleasant sensations in those who consume them, which can cause permanent effects and damage to the nervous system and can produce tolerance or physical and/or psychological habituation to it and situations of dependence and abstinence before the cessation of consumption.

In order to consider that a drug generates dependence it is necessary that the subject presents at least tolerance to the substance, abstinence before the cessation of its consumption, lack of control in its use, damage in vital areas due to the consumption or the time dedicated to obtain it and the continuation of the consumption in spite of knowing its adverse effects. Dependence can lead to abusive consumption that can cause intoxication, and in the absence of the substance can lead to withdrawal syndromes. All of this can have serious effects on both the functioning and the health of the subject, and can lead to death.

1. Types of drug dependence according to the type of substance consumed

There are many types of drugs and psychoactive substances, most of which are used as therapeutic tools in the medical field . However, a part of the population uses some of these substances recreationally, despite the danger they can pose to health.

Although there are many possible classifications, it can be considered that addictive substances can be divided into three large groups according to the type of effects they have on the nervous system. Therefore, these three types of substances can create three types of drug addiction.

1. 1. Psycholeptics or depressants

These substances are characterized by producing a depression of the nervous system, that is, by causing a decrease in the level of activation at the brain level. Behaviourally this is translated by sensations of physical and mental calm and relaxation, slowing down, tranquillity, decrease in the level of consciousness. In this group we find alcohol, opium and its derivatives (codeine, heroin and morphine), tranquilizing drugs (mainly barbiturates and benzodiazepines) and volatile or inhaled substances, such as glue.

Dependence on this type of substance is characterized by the search for tranquility or relaxation of certain functions , or may even be due to social effects (alcohol facilitates disinhibition in some people by decreasing the functioning of the frontal lobe and inhibiting inhibition).

1. 2. Psychoanalytics or Exciters

This type of substance is characterized by an increase in the activation of the nervous system , producing changes in behavior such as increased excitability, motor activation, distractibility and increased level of consciousness. Within this typology of substances we find cocaine, amphetamines, xanthines (among which we find substances such as coffee, tea and chocolate, although their effects are comparatively less than those of the rest) and nicotine.

Subjects addicted to this type of substance seek an increase in activity and sensations, as well as an increase in energy.

1. 3. Psycho-dysleptics or disturbances

This third group of substances is characterized by the modification of the activity of the nervous system, which can produce activation or inhibition and especially affect perception . It is common for them to produce perceptive deceptions such as hallucinations and delusions. The best known components of this type of substance are cannabis and hallucinogens, together with other elements such as phencyclidine (initially used as anaesthetic in surgery).

People who use these substances often seek new perceptual experiences and hallucinatory phenomena, or an increase or decrease in activation (for example, cannabis is characterized by analgesic and relaxing effects).

2. Types of drug addiction according to type of dependency

Regardless of the type of drug consumed , psychoactive substances act on the organism and with time it gets used to their presence , just as the consumer gets used to them and ends up needing the effects that the substance has on him. This consumption causes the nervous system to begin to function in a different way, adapting its activity to the expectation that more and more will be consumed.

In this sense we can find that a substance can cause two types of dependence, on a physical level and on a psychic level.

2. 1. Physical dependence

This type of dependency always occurs in conjunction with the psychic dependency . The physical dependence comes from the habituation of the organism to the presence of the substance, requiring it to maintain the usual functioning to which the body has become accustomed and producing its absence physical alterations such as gastrointestinal disorders, convulsions, vomiting or headaches.

It is the type of dependency that can cause death in processes of abstinence, being necessary to avoid it that the cessation of consumption occurs in a gradual and controlled way.

2. 2. Psychic dependence

Psychic dependence is an element of drug addiction that influences the incessant search for consumption due to the need to maintain the state achieved with the consumption of the substance and to avoid the adverse effects of the homeostatic process once its effects have passed. It is a type of addiction mediated by expectations and habit.

For example, substances such as cannabis can generate a high level of psychological dependence, since many are associated with a group of friends, a leisure activity and even a public image that one wants to give.

3. The process of addiction and dependence

Taking into account the type of consumption, we can consider the existence of three phases in the process of addiction . Although it is debatable that all of them are considerable types of drug dependency, they present common characteristics and involve a process that can lead to real dependency on substances. It is important to detect the first signs of drug dependence in order to prevent worse problems in the future.

3. 1. Occasional consumption

We consider occasional consumption to be the administration of a substance in particular situations that are not very common, in a context in which there is no very prolonged consumption or craving . This phase is generally not considered to be drug addiction because the individual does not present a continuous dependence on a substance nor does he usually seek it out with anxiety.

However, it can be considered a type of drug addiction if when the consumption is made it is abusive and if, despite not being very frequent, this consumption is repeated over time and when it occurs it can generate lack of control. For example, Epsilon-type alcoholics are characterized by excessive intoxication and behavioral problems, although their consumption is not habitual.

3. 2. Substance abuse situations

With the passage of time, the consumption of substances can lead to situations of abuse of these , in which the taking of the substance takes place more and more often and in situations of various kinds, with tolerance and desire for its consumption.

In spite of this, the desire for consumption is still not present at an uncontrolled and compulsive level, and it can happen without its presence. It is not yet considered a dependency, but if it is not controlled it can become one.

3. 3. Drug dependency situation

The last phase of the addictive process, in people with drug dependence, the consumption of the drug is carried out in a compulsive way, presenting abstinence in its absence and losing control of its consumption to a great extent , causing clear damage in areas such as work, social or academic.

4. According to the number of substances you are drug dependent on

All these classifications take into account drug addiction based on various criteria such as the phases of dependency, the type of substance or the type of dependency they generate, but there is one more element to take into account.

The fact is that it is possible that the situation of drug addiction occurs in the presence of only one substance , but it has also been observed that in some cases the same subject can become addicted to more than one type of substance, accumulating the effects of addiction to one drug and “projecting” it onto the dependency of another. For this reason, one more type of drug addiction to consider is the following.

4. 1. Polytoxicity

This type of drug addiction refers to subjects who have a dependency on one substance and are consuming another, generally due to the scarcity and difficulty in acquiring the first one.

Thus, the second substance also becomes addictive for the subject , although he has not given up his addiction to the first drug.

Polydrug addiction is usually due in part to the propensity to impulsiveness generated by addictions. Once one has begun to consume one, it is much easier to start another, since one learns a pattern of behaviour that leads to the orientation of all addictions to the experimentation of a “peak” of pleasure that mitigates the effects of abstinence.

Bibliographic references:

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