Why Your High May No Longer Be Enough

It’s no secret: millions of Americans fight the chronic struggle of drug dependency every day. While addiction recovery centers nationwide are working effortlessly to provide resources for these victims, the simple fact of the matter is that while some are getting better, many others are regressing rapidly. In fact, studies indicate that the volume of drug use is increasing every year– and the relapse rate is partially to blame. The calamity that is drug dependency is as much a result of the drug itself as it is the user, his or her environment, and its accessibility. Researchers indicate that for even the most casual of drug users, there comes a time when the neurons that were once stimulated by a specific intake amount are simply no longer stimulated. Much like caffeine, the body begins to build up a tolerance to the added substance, and processes it as a natural and therefore common component of the body– making it necessary to increase the volume of the intake to achieve the same level of “high.” While drug tolerance at even its most fundamental level is dangerous in and of itself, it is the transition from tolerance to dependence that causes habitual users to crave more and more of a substance they may have initially only consumed in very small quantities. While this same transition is also quite common for individuals who consume large amounts of coffee, sugar, salt, and other traditionally non harmful substances, it is the illicit drug’s devastating nature that makes it so deadly. With the initial consumption of any drug, the body works the best it can to rid itself of the harmful components it comes with. In fact, initial reactions to drug intake may very well include vomiting, sweating, and dehydration, as the body attempts to get rid of foreign bodies. But as tolerance levels increase, those natural response mechanisms become inhibited, then blocked, and eventually rendered completely useless. Uninhibited, the harmful effects of drugs can compound exponentially, and deterioration can be rapid. For users in which the the transition to tolerance has already occurred, it’s certainly not too late. Modern advances in medicine and therapy have made it possible to nurture the body’s remaining processes to perform at maximum efficiency when treated professionally and expeditiously. While, aside from a few trials, science has not yet found a way to effectively and consistently reverse tolerance levels, this therapy is often more than enough to allow an individual to once again achieve a healthy lifestyle.