Hear from others dealing with the effects of crystal meth addiction. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that can have long-lasting effects on your body. This is a man-made substance that, with the advent of other more efficacious prescription stimulants, now has limited therapeutic use and is only very rarely indicated for intractable ADHD and severe obesity. The illicut drug crystal meth is methamphetamine in the form of a rock-like crystal that is usually a semi-transparent white or blue color. This substance is always illegal and has no other purpose than for abuse.

Women and the Adverse Effects of Meth Use
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Methamphetamine is a serious and dangerous drug. More commonly called meth, it is one of the top 10 most addictive drugs and causes long-lasting physical and mental health side effects. Meth use among women has been rising, and the consequences are serious. Young women, pregnant women and even middle-aged women are using this harmful drug. Why the rate of meth use in women has been rising is uncertain, but there are suggestions from experts. One of these is the fact that women are under more pressure these days than ever before. They are expected to raise a family, take care of the home, have a successful marriage and hold down a job. This pressure is often cited as a reason why more women are drinking to excess. It could also help to explain meth use, but there is one other important factor.
About Methamphetamine
Articles in the media show that use of crystal meth by young adult females has seen a steady increase in recent years. Meth provides an easy way to cope with these unwanted feelings as it provides a euphoric sensation and decreases inhibitions — but this long-term abuse often leads to dangerous behaviors like unwise sexual activity, random partners, and a stronger possibility of unprotected sex. Methamphetamine causes the amount of the dopamine a naturally occurring chemical affecting pleasure, attention, learning, and movement in the brain to increase dramatically. This quick and short-lasting boost to dopamine levels causes the user to seek more of the substance to further enhance the effects. But tolerance to these pleasurable sensations builds, and so too does the need for more of the drug, furthering use, and probable addiction. However, new studies are showing that there is another serious outcome of meth use, and it is particularly damaging to women at a greater rate than men. Gray matter is part of the physical makeup of the brain and is really important to humans in two ways. First, gray matter gives people their power to process information. With this capability, the brain will actually modify its own neural network in response to many events, including normal growth development emotional development from a teenager to an adult , and sometimes to external input such as a traumatic physical injury to the head. Neuroplasticity acts to affect changes related to cognitive abilities, motor tasking, learning, memory, and more as children develop into adulthood.
Join to Get News! Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc. Call Anytime: Locations Contact us. Meth Addiction is Trouble for Women Crystal meth has different effects on the lives of women versus men. Aside from the physical damage it deals to the female body, there is a higher risk of mental trauma due to the behaviors that go along with meth use. This makes it all the more important to educate youths before they get hooked, and to provide mental health treatment along with addiction treatment if they do. A more immediate consequence of meth use for women is what can happen to them in the midst of other users. Instances of rape, serious injury, and death are higher than normal when a group of individuals use meth together.