What are the psychological effects of amphetamines?

These are the main emotional and behavioral effects of amphetamine use.

Amphetamines are well-known substances both in medicine and in the field of illegally used drugs.

That is why it is important to know the implications of their use and, among other things, their emotional and behavioral effects. This is precisely the subject that we will focus on in the following lines, in which you will find a summary of the psychological effects of amphetamines..

What exactly are amphetamines?

Amphetamines are a group of psychoactive substances used in medical contexts and also as recreational drugs. are characterized by acting on the nervous system as adrenergic agonists.The effects of amphetamines on neurons are similar to those of adrenaline, a neurotransmitter naturally present in our body.

Thus, in the same way that adrenaline (also called epinephrine) activates our nervous system, amphetamines are considered stimulant substances that, once we have consumed them, lead us to a state of high brain activation in a matter of minutes. That is why in the field of medicine it is relatively common to use some amphetamine-based psychotropic drugs to treat people with psychiatric disorders whose causes are believed to be linked to a lack of adrenaline in certain parts of the Central Nervous System.

Thus, these drugs would act as a kind of partial substitute for epinephrine, which, unlike epinephrine, has been synthesized in a laboratory and included in drug rations to allow its use in safe treatments.

However, amphetamines exist beyond their use in psychiatry, and unfortunately many people fall victim to their use without medical indication. As we will see, this brings many problems and involves exposing oneself to serious health risks both in the short and long term.

Main psychological effects of amphetamines

The illegal use of amphetamines, or their use in disobedience to medical indications, can lead to very dangerous situations. These range from the development of psychotic outbreaks with hallucinations to death by vascular accidents following an overdose. However, even in cases where the body does not experience immediate physical wear and tear after consumption, the consumption of these substances can lead to undesirable psychological effects in the medium and long term. and can be very problematic or even dangerous without medical monitoring and advice. Let's take a look at them below.

1. Development of addiction

As we have already mentioned, many of the amphetamines have an aspect as a psychopharmaceutical with potential that can be exploited by psychiatrists and patients, and on the other hand an aspect linked to illegal drug dealing, with all the dangers and harmful effects on health that this entails. One of the consequences of this uncontrolled use of amphetamines is the possibility of falling into a strong addiction.

This occurs when the person's nervous system develops tolerance to this substance introduced from outside the body and begins to function as its own drug. and begins to function as if the drug were always there, so that more and more needs to be taken to achieve the same effect.

Thus, when amphetamine use is stopped, withdrawal appears and the person begins to feel bad, feeling an urgent desire to continue taking the drug. This predisposition to continue taking the drug is one of the most notable psychological effects of amphetamines, and an element that we try to mitigate when this substance is used in treatment.

2. Increased sensitivity to stimuli

As amphetamines activate the brain more, people who take them become more sensitive to stimuli coming from their surroundings .. and so they are more inclined to get involved in different activities and also to become irritable when something bothers them.

3. Increased ability to concentrate

As we have seen, amphetamines make those who take them feel more active, but that does not mean that everything around them is distracting.

In fact, some substances of this type are consumed precisely because they help people to concentrate on their studies or work. What predominates is that psychological effect associated with mental energy, the ability to make people engage in a psychologically demanding activity for relatively long periods of time.the ability to make people engage in a psychologically demanding activity for relatively long periods of time.

4. Insomnia problems

Because amphetamines keep the brain's neurons highly activated, this complicates the ability to fall asleep. complicates the ability to fall asleepAs if it were a much more intense version of caffeine.

5. Increased mood and sociability.

Many people fall into the recreational use of amphetamines because it gives them more self-confidence and helps them to be sociable with others at parties.. However, as we have mentioned, this carries many risks and could even have the opposite of the desired effect at key moments, because it also increases the predisposition to confront others due to the altered emotional state.

Are you looking for addiction treatment?

If you are interested in having treatment to overcome a drug addiction or behavioral addiction, contact our team of professionals.

At CITA Clinics we specialize in offering assistance and therapy to people with this kind of health problems, working from psychotherapy as well as from medicine and psychiatry. We offer outpatient care as well as short, medium and long-term inpatient treatment in our fully equipped residential module located in Dosrius (Mataró), where our patients have access to all kinds of leisure activities and a quiet environment where nature predominates.