What is Chemical Dependency

Chemical dependency is a disease characterized by reliance on mood or mind-altering chemicals, such as alcohol, street drugs, and certain prescription medications. It is a chronic, progressive and potentially fatal condition. Chemical dependency can harm your body, your job, your family relations, and your friendships.

How Do Alcohol and Other Mind-Altering Drugs Work?

Alcohol and other drugs are chemicals that change the way our bodies work. When you put them into your body (often by swallowing, inhaling, or injecting them), they find their way into your bloodstream and are transported to parts of your body. In the brain, these substances may intensify or dull your senses, alter your sense of alertness, and sometimes decrease physical pain. The effects of drugs can vary depending upon the kind of drug taken, how much is taken, how often it is used, how quickly it gets to the brain, and what other drugs, food, or substances are taken at the same time. Effects can also vary based on the differences in body size, shape, and chemistry. Repeated use of mind-altering substances results in a change in brain function. The mind and body come to rely on the chemicals to cope. That’s when people use them not to feel high for pleasure, but to feel normal. This is chemical dependency.