Sometimes people use drugs to help them cope with something. Although drugs can make some people feel good at first and help someone forget about their problems for a bit, that feeling doesn’t last. Drugs are chemicals that mess with our bodies and our brains and they can make people’s problems a lot worse, not better.
Like alcohol, drugs can be really dangerous. Drugs might be something prescribed to you by a doctor, or something you can buy over the counter pharmacy. Taking prescription drugs or medicines that are not prescribed to you can be as dangerous as taking illegal drugs.
All drugs can have side effects but some illegal drugs and so called ‘legal highs’ are more likely to cause harm to our minds and bodies.
The term ‘legal high’ is confusing. They contain ingredients that are highly toxic to humans, some of which can cause serious damage to our bodies. Very often the substances used to make them are unknown. This means the person who has taken it won't know how it will affect them and medical professionals won't know how to help if something goes wrong. They can cause people to hear, see, feel, smell or taste things that aren’t there. Some people also experience delusions which means that they start to believe things that aren’t true.
Everybody copes with things differently, but if you're using drugs to help you cope it's important to tell someone you trust about what’s happening so that they can help you cope in different ways.
The best way to deal with a problem for good is to talk to someone about it, and to get advice and support from people who are trained to help.
Who can help
- Checkpoint
- ChildLine
- Your school nurse
- Your social worker (if you have one)
- Your doctor
If you’re using drugs or alcohol to help you cope with abuse you can find out about the risks and what that might be doing to your body at Talk to Frank.
