Methamphetamine – The Real Story

Methamphetamine abuse is a serious problem in the United States. Methamphetamine was first created in Germany during World War 2 to allow Hitler’s soldiers to remain awake and aware for long periods of time. The gruesome atrocities of that war are perhaps a fitting backdrop for the world which methamphetamine creates.

The dark reality created by this highly addictive drug ends only in suffering and death for those who continue to use it. The shocking changes caused by the drug on the body are only the most visible sign that methamphetamine is the devil’s drug.

Entire neighborhoods are often turned into wastelands by the serious consequences of meth use. Meth is an infectious drug that seems to be the answer to unlimited energy and self-esteem. Users report that they had never felt as powerful or as in control as when they began using the drug.

The initial feeling of control quickly spirals into an abyss of absolute chaos and corruption.

Breaking The Law

Criminal activity and meth use go hand in hand. Meth strips away inhibitions that would otherwise prevent the user from engaging in a wide array of criminal activity. Meth users have been known to counterfeit bills in order to fund their addiction.

Theft is also a common activity with shoplifted items being returned for cash or pawned meth sales are usually funded by criminal means. Meth users will steal from anyone in order to get the drug. The overwhelming need to have the drug causes many people to end up in jail or prison.

The saddest fact about the drug is once the user quits using the drug sanity quickly returns and they may realize what they have been doing. Sitting in a jail cell looking back and understanding just what crimes the drug led them to commit is a horrifying experience.

Meth Does Not Discriminate

The use of meth is widespread in every economic group. The drug does not discriminate between the rich and the poor. The number of middle class kids getting hooked on the drug is alarming and it introduces families into a dark work with which they have no experience. Professional fathers and mothers are faced with the reality that their son or daughter will never grow up to have a normal life. Meth destroys the rich and poor alike. In fact wealthy kids may have an even harder time because their families have extra money to give them. Often before the families realize it they have funded the beginnings of an addiction so fierce that thousands of dollars will be lost trying to help the addict.

Methamphetamine Effects

Methamphetamine is a powerful central nervous system stimulant. It produces an effect in the body that is similar to caffeine but with extreme side effects.

Some of the most common effects are:

• Rapid speech

• Inability to sleep

• Paranoia, ranging from mild to severe

• Extreme weight loss

• Loss of sexual inhibition

• Domestic violence

• Euphoria

• Problems with social groups

• Extreme agitation and anger

To an observer the most obvious signs of meth use are rapid speech, a ragged appearance, and extreme fixation on items or actions. Meth users are known to take apart common household items in an attempt to fix them whether or not they were broken in the first place.

As the addiction progresses meth users have an increasingly difficult time completing the projects that they start. They may believe they are still being productive but it soon becomes obvious to the observer that they are not functioning at full mental capacity.

Treatment for Methamphetamine Addiction

Methamphetamine is an extremely addictive drug. The mental and physical effects of the drug make the risk of relapse after treatment very possible. The best approach to this kind of addiction is a long term treatment program. Long term treatment programs such as the Narconon program yield much better results than a 30 day program.

Methamphetamine addiction has a behavioral component that is hard to break. The longer a methamphetamine addict stays in treatment the more likely they are to completely recover from the use of the drug.

Feeling Of Hopelessness

After about 45 days of stopping many methamphetamine users begin to feel depressed or hopeless. This is actually a sign that the brain is repairing itself and it is important that recovering meth abusers realize it for what it is.

Methamphetamine effect the mind in such a way that users often have difficulty feeling enjoyment in life. Learning to find new and interesting ways to spend their new sober lives is one of the most important steps in the recovery process.