Substance abuse differs from addiction. It occurs when you use alcohol, prescription medicine, and other legal and illegal substances too much or in the wrong way. Many people with substance abuse problems are able to quit or can change their unhealthy behavior. Addiction, on the other hand, means you can’t stop using even when your condition causes you harm.
Alcohol
Alcohol affects everyone differently, but if you drink too much and too often, your chance of an injury or accident goes up
- Heavy drinking also can cause liver and other health problems or lead to a more serious alcohol disorder
- For women, heavy drinking means more than three drinks in one day or more than seven drinks a week
- One drink is 12 ounces of regular beer, 8-9 ounces of malt liquor, which has more alcohol than beer, 5 ounces of wine, and 1-2 ounces of distilled spirits
Prescription and Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medicine
These can be just as dangerous and addictive as illegal drugs
- You can abuse medicine if you: Take medicine prescribed for someone else Take extra doses or use a drug other than the way it’s supposed to be taken
- Take the drug for a non-medical reason
Heroin
This illegal drug is the natural version of prescription opioid narcotics
- When it wears off, everything slows down and you may have chills, nausea, and nervousness
- You may feel a strong need to take more heroin to feel better
- Learn more about the symptoms of heroin withdrawal
