Every day, many Americans are admitted to emergency rooms in hospitals across the country due to complications with prescription drug abuse.  This could be the result of many factors to include taking too many drugs at once or combining them with alcohol – a potentially deadly cocktail.  An individual who abuses prescription drugs may also experience mood disorders.  Some common affects on mood include:  lack of mental clarity, erratic behavior, a frequent state of confusion, anxiousness, the inability to sleep or sleeping too much and hyperactivity or increased alertness.  

The abuse of prescription drugs leads to changes in how the brain functions as well as its overall structure.  These changes in the brain, over time, can affect the ability of abusers to make rational and sound decisions as well as affect self control.  The desire to take more drugs can also be very intense.

  

Altering the mood and creating a calming effect is one of the main goals of the most commonly abused prescription drugs.  But when more and more of the drug is needed to obtain this calming effect, a problem with addiction begins to form.  

This can also complicate things when abusers attempt to seek treatment.  Not only do abusers need to be treated for their addiction to prescription drugs but frequently they also need to be treated for mental issues brought about by their use.  Stopping the use of certain prescription drugs that have been abused for long periods of time can have a deadly consequence.  Treatment with methadone or other aids is often necessary.