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Salem Health: Addictions, Substance Abuse & Alcoholism, Second Edition

Stimulant misuse

by Rose Ciulla-Bohling, PhD

Category: Substance misuse

Definition: Stimulant misuse is diagnosed when the recreational use of stimulants negatively affects health, interferes with daily functioning, and results in physical dependency. Stimulants, substances that excite the central nervous system, include herbal mixtures, beverages, cigarettes, diet pills, legal prescriptions, and illicit drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA), and methamphetamine. Stimulant misuse is treatable but difficult to overcome.

Causes

Stimulants have been prescribed to treat a variety of medical conditions, including narcolepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Parkinson’s disease, asthma, and obesity. Stimulants interfere with nerve cell communication by causing dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for the sensation of pleasure, to accumulate in the brain.

Stimulant use rapidly elevates dopamine levels, causing a surge of euphoria and energy that users desire. The continued use of stimulants can quickly lead to drug tolerance, physical and psychological dependency, and addiction.

Stimulant misuse is habit forming, risky, and dangerous. Stimulants can be misused orally, crushed and snorted, heated and smoked, or dissolved and injected. Suddenly stopping stimulant use can lead to withdrawal, intense drug cravings, and possible relapse. Withdrawal symptoms may include fatigue, headaches, nausea, vomiting, intense hunger, mood swings, fear, shaking, irritability, anxiety, depression, aggression, violence, mental confusion, paranoia, psychosis, suicidal thoughts, and possible anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure.

Risk Factors

The majority of stimulant users are adolescents and young adults between the age of twelve and twenty-five years. Other risk factors may include a history of drug misuse, family conflicts, mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit disorder, impulsive and aggressive behavior, mental illness, depression, and childhood sexual abuse.

Symptoms

Stimulant side effects vary in severity depending on the drug. The short-term effects associated with stimulant use may include euphoria, hyperactivity, alertness, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, headache, decreased appetite, insomnia, dilated pupils, mood swings, dizziness, irritability, anxiety, depression, sweating, dry mouth, muscle spasms, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, increased heart and respiration rates, elevated blood pressure, and sudden death.

Long-term use of stimulants can be associated with compromised health, poor hygiene, dental problems, dermatitis, memory loss, anorexia, violent behavior, aggressiveness, hostility, depression, psychosis, delusions, paranoia, hallucinations, and suicidal thoughts. The most detrimental long-term effect of stimulant misuse is physical and psychological tolerance and addiction, which can occur quickly; users require increasingly large doses of the drug to achieve the original high. Serious medical complications associated with stimulant misuse can include stroke, heart failure, respiratory depression, organ toxicity, cerebral hemorrhaging, dangerously high body temperature (hyperthermia), seizures, convulsions, brain damage, coma, and death.

Screening and Diagnosis

A physician suspecting stimulant misuse should perform a physical examination and obtain a thorough medical history of illicit drug use, prescribed medications, and symptoms to determine the type of drug misused and any associated psychological complications. Diagnostic screenings may include urine, blood, and hair analysis, and an electrocardiogram to detect heart damage.

Treatment and Therapy

Stimulants can be highly addictive and difficult to overcome; treatment depends on the drug, length of use, and the severity of the symptoms. Physician-supervised stimulant-misuse treatment programs may be inpatient, outpatient, or residential. Treatment programs typically begin with detoxification, slow tapering of drug use, and treatment of withdrawal symptoms.

No medications are available for the effective treatment of stimulant misuse, but some antidepressant medications can help with minimizing withdrawal symptoms and treating underlying issues, such as depression and anxiety. Behavioral therapies that encourage patients to modify thinking, expectations, and behaviors are effective treatment options for stimulant misuse.

Contingency management therapy enables patients to earn vouchers and rewards for drug-free behaviors and healthy living. Cognitive-behavioral therapies teach patients the skills to resist cravings, identify triggers and risky situations, effectively cope with stress, and avoid relapse. Other beneficial treatment options include mental health and substance misuse counseling, recovery support groups, and social services.

Prevention

The best preventive measure is to avoid stimulant use and better manage any underlying conditions associated with its use. Patients should be informed about the health hazards associated with stimulant misuse because many of the substances are highly addictive and habit forming.

For Further Information

Fields, Richard. Drugs in Perspective: Causes, Assessment, Family Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

Hanson, Glen R., Peter J. Venturelli, and Annette E. Fleckenstein. Drugs and Society. 12th ed. Burlington: Jones, 2014. Print.

Kuhn, Cynthia, Scott Swartzwelder, and Wilkie Wilson. Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy. Rev. 4th ed. New York: Norton, 2014. Print.

Larsen, Laura, ed. Drug Abuse Sourcebook. 4th ed. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2014. Print.

Walker, Pam, and Elaine Wood. Stimulants. San Diego: Lucent, 2004. Print.

Warburton, Lianne, Diana Callfas, and Ronald J. Brogan. Junior Drug Awareness: Amphetamines and Other Stimulants. New York: Chelsea House, 2008. Print.

Citation Types

Type

Format

MLA 9th

Ciulla-Bohling, Rose. "Stimulant Misuse." Salem Health: Addictions, Substance Abuse & Alcoholism, Second Edition, edited by Paul Moglia, Salem Press, 2018. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Addictions2e_0293.

APA 7th

Ciulla-Bohling, R. (2018). Stimulant misuse. In P. Moglia (Ed.), Salem Health: Addictions, Substance Abuse & Alcoholism, Second Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.

CMOS 17th

Ciulla-Bohling, Rose. "Stimulant Misuse." Edited by Paul Moglia. Salem Health: Addictions, Substance Abuse & Alcoholism, Second Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2018. Accessed September 13, 2025. online.salempress.com.

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