How Opioids Affect the Brain

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The classification of opioid drugs encompasses both manmade or synthetic drugs and opiates, which are plant-based, derived directly from the poppy plant. In other words, all opiates are opioids, but not all opioids are opiates. Common opiates are morphine, codeine, and heroin, while common opioids include Percocet, Percodan, Oxycontin and Vicodin. Throughout the years opioids have become more widely abused, especially with the increasing sales of prescription painkillers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a 300% increase in sales of prescription painkillers since 1999, and because of this, overdose deaths from prescription pills have significantly risen throughout the years. In 2019 alone, there were approximately 49,860 fatalities that involved opioid overdoses, accounting for over 70% of all drug overdose deaths.

People abuse opioid drugs when they take the drug illegally and use the drug for non-medical purposes. All opioids are highly addictive, so when a person continues to abuse the drug, they have a higher chance of forming an addiction. If a person develops an addiction to an opioid drug, they have uncontrollable urges to use the drug, and this will lead to them continually using the drug. Prolonged use of opioid drugs can lead to a variety of health problems, some of which can lead to brain damage.

How Opioid Abuse Affects a User’s Brain

The effects of opioids on the brain’s reward system can lead to addiction.

According to the National Library of Medicine, opioids work by attaching to proteins in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract, called opioid receptors. When opioids attach to opioid receptors, they block the transmission of pain messages to the brain, so you feel little to no pain. Moreover, opioids typically induce a euphoric feeling by affecting the brain regions that mediate pleasure.

People who abuse opioids commonly feel pleasurable, warm, and drowsy, as well as at ease with all matters in their lives. Opioid abuse relieves stress in people because the drugs are sedatives and will detach a person from pain or doing any strenuous activities. In addition, opioids will reduce a user’s heart rate, slow the gastrointestinal tract that triggers constipation, cause a widening of blood vessels, and depress coughing and breathing reflexes.

Although the effects of opioids may be pleasurable, the constant interference with your brain chemicals over long periods of time can result in a person’s brain not being able to adequately produce the needed amount of chemicals for normal functioning.  In addition, prolonged opioid abuse can lead to a person having panic attacks, anxiety, and nerve damage whenever the drug is not in their body.

A person who has decided to stop using an opioid drug after abusing the drug for a long time should make sure to get therapy once they stop using. An opioid rehab may be the best choice for an individual to involve themselves in to help them conquer their drug addiction because it includes necessary therapy sessions for a person to attend, as well as medical supervision.

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