Why Drugs Are Not the Best Stress Relievers

Stress relief is of utmost importance in today’s society where we are constantly busy as a way of living and might not take enough time to restore our energies. Drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, as well as recreational drugs such as cocaine, speed, ecstasy and tranquilizers have become default stress relievers. The following article will explain why those choices are not the best to effectively deal with stress.

The timing of the effect

Drugs, such as those mentioned above, mostly have a short term effect to relax the body, mind and the emotions. This means they appear to work seemingly well as the effect can be noticed almost immediately and the perceived stress relief occurs quickly. The truth is that as quick as those drugs work, as quick is also the time until the effect wears off. The side-effects of some drugs, like hangover or tiredness, will make you less able to cope with the causes of stress, which haven’t been dealt with.

Physical side-effects

Just as mentioned above all drugs have side-effects. People who have become addicted to these drugs initially overlook or downplay these side-effects and justify their use. With regular consumption of drugs the body gets used to the biochemical effect and craves it. Smoking, for example, helps to suppress emotions. That’s why people have a smoke when dealing with important decisions or after an emotionally stressful meeting. Alcohol has become so socially acceptable and cool that it is almost a requirement to fit in certain circles. Smoking as we know, leads to physical illnesses like emphysema, heart disease or lung cancer and generally leas to increase your blood pressure. These are just two examples of the side-effects of drugs, which all render you less capable to deal with the stress that you thought you were relieving through the drugs.

Mental and emotional side-effects

In addition to dealing with the original cause of stress, dealing with addictions adds another level of stress. Tranquilizer or sleeping pills, as an example, enable you to sleep and physically rest your body but they do not support those sleep cycles that help you restore and digest the problems of the day on an emotional and mental level.

Additionally your thought patterns will be affected in a way to suggest that you have more of the drugs and to justify their use: ‘It’s only for a short period’ or ‘I will stop in a week after the rough part is over’. Following on from there you will have to deal with guilt, self-punishment and lowered self-esteem and self-confidence. Again, all these effects will undermine your natural ability to deal with the normal stresses of life.

Whatever drugs you are currently using and whatever justification you are telling yourself – in the end you are not dealing with the cause of the stress itself and you don’t do yourself any favor or enable yourself to better deal with the stress.