June 24, 2024
Have you ever seen someone you care about get mad or violent after they use drugs and not have a clue what to think? It is frightening and heartbreaking to watch someone change before your eyes. Some drugs can distort emotions, reduce self-control, and bring out behavior that’s entirely out of character. Knowing what substances are probably going to cause this and why it happens can help you better understand what your loved one is going through—and how to help them get the treatment they need.
Why Do Some Drugs Make You Aggressive?
Some drugs make people violent because they change how the brain works. These drugs interfere with the brain’s normal balance of chemicals that regulate mood and behavior, and it is hard to stay calm or think clearly. Stimulants like meth or cocaine might give someone an initial euphoric rush, but once the high fades, it can leave them irritable, paranoid, or even violent. Alcohol is another common stimulus—it lowers inhibitions and impairs judgment, making it easier to lash out.
Even withdrawal from certain drugs can cause anger and frustration. Withdrawal will typically make people anxious, jittery, or irritable. And with drugs like PCP or LSD, intense fear or paranoia can lead to defensive or hostile outbursts. Chronic drug use over a period of time can cause real changes in the brain, which then further makes it even harder to control emotions or behavior. This is not an excuse-making exercise but an observation of the deeper effects that drugs have and why support and treatment are so necessary.
Drugs That Can Cause Aggression
Stimulants:
- Cocaine: This drug can make you feel very happy at first but then very angry and aggressive. Cocaine increases dopamine levels in the brain, which can lead to mood swings and irritability when the effects wear off.
- Methamphetamine: Also known as meth, this drug can make people very violent. Methamphetamine overstimulates the central nervous system, leading to increased energy, paranoia, and aggressive behavior.
Depressants:
- Alcohol: Drinking alcohol can lower your inhibitions, making it easier to become aggressive. It affects the brain’s frontal lobes, which control judgment and behavior, leading to poor decision-making and aggression. Long-term alcohol use can also cause permanent brain changes that increase aggression.
- Benzodiazepines: These are drugs used to calm people down, but they can sometimes have the opposite effect and cause aggression. Paradoxical reactions, where the drug causes anxiety and irritability instead of calming, can lead to aggressive outbursts.
Hallucinogens:
- PCP: This drug can cause severe hallucinations and a loss of touch with reality, leading to aggressive behavior. PCP can induce feelings of invincibility and extreme agitation, which can result in violent actions.
- LSD: Although not as common, high doses of LSD can cause severe anxiety and aggression. LSD can alter perceptions and cause paranoia, leading to fear-based aggression.
How to Spot Drug-Induced Aggression
Behavioral Signs:
- Sudden Angry Outbursts: Unpredictable and intense episodes of anger that seem to come out of nowhere.
- Physical Violence: Acts of physical aggression towards others or objects, including hitting, throwing things, or destructive behavior.
- Increased Irritability: A generally short temper and a tendency to get annoyed or frustrated easily, often over minor issues.
Physical Signs:
- Changes in Sleep: Irregular sleep patterns, such as insomnia or excessive sleeping, can be a sign of drug use and withdrawal.
- Either Very Active or Very Tired: Depending on the substance, a person might be overly energetic and restless or extremely fatigued and lethargic.
- Poor Hygiene: Neglecting personal hygiene and appearance, such as not bathing, grooming, or changing clothes regularly.
Mental Signs:
- Paranoia: Irrational and excessive distrust or suspicion of others, often leading to defensive or aggressive behavior.
- Mood Swings: Rapid and extreme changes in mood, from euphoria to anger or depression, can indicate substance use.
- Poor Decision-Making: Impaired judgment and a tendency to make risky or irrational choices can contribute to aggressive actions.
Getting Help and Treatment
Treating drug-induced aggression is more than simply cutting off drug use—it’s about helping people understand the pain behind the anger and giving them more positive means of controlling it. Such aggression usually results from a multidimensional mix of chemical imbalances, personal trauma, and emotional instability that drugs have a tendency to fuel. Treatment thus must be comprehensive and compassionate. Here are the main treatment options:
Detox Programs
The first action is to effectively remove the drugs from the body. Detox facilities help one deal with withdrawal symptoms and also offer medical oversight to make it a comfortable process. Detoxing lays the groundwork for the rest of the treatment by making the individual stable physically and psychologically.
Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)
These treatment programs provide treatment while people carry on with their daily life. These include therapy in managing aggression, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which offers coping strategies and methods to suppress aggressive behavior. IOPs are more flexible and adaptive and therefore it becomes easier for individuals to get on with work as well.
Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP)
PHP includes more intensive treatment with clinical supervision and psychotherapy. PHPs provide structured day structure on a daily basis in which patients participate in a range of treatment activities, such as individual therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. This type of treatment is appropriate for those requiring more care than can be provided by an IOP without requiring 24-hour inpatient care.
Aftercare Services
After the initial treatment, aftercare support is important. This includes support groups and counseling to help sustain sobriety and manage aggression. Therapist visits on a regular basis, 12-step attendance, and availability of facilities like sober living homes are also included in aftercare services. Continued support helps in dealing with relapses and reduces the likelihood of relapse.
Family Support
Involving family members in the healing process may be the make-or-break factor for a person’s recovery experience. When someone has drug-induced aggression, it affects them but also reaches and touches their loved ones deeply. Family therapy offers a space where everyone can come, communicate honestly, and begin the healing process together.
These sessions help repair broken or shattered relationships through open communication and trust restoration. They allow members of the family to express their pain, confusion, or anger in a safe, structured environment, as well as helping them learn how addiction and aggression affect behavior. Through counseling, families acquire healthier modes of assisting their loved ones without enabling self-sabotaging behavior.
Medication Management
Medications have an important part to play in the recovery process, especially if one is struggling with intense withdrawal symptoms, intense cravings, or underlying mental illness like depression or anxiety. In such a case, the correct medication—under the care and supervision of a professional—can provide much comfort and help level oneself out once more in an extremely difficult situation.
Rather than a temporary fix, medication is combined with therapy in order to allow for long-term healing. Medication gives patients the stability that allows them access to complete counseling, recovery from emotional injury, and positive progress toward alcohol or drug recovery. Combined with thoughtful, individualized planning, medication can render the trip to health and hope less daunting.
Holistic Therapies
The integration of complete modalities like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and art therapy may bring an amazing, healing dimension to the healing process. These therapies do not cure just the symptoms—these help individuals reconnect with themselves at a deeper level. With addiction and violence, individuals disconnect from their inner peace, creativity, and resilience to deal with the negative things in life. Holistic therapies gently reconnect them to these parts of themselves.
Whether it’s relaxing with the breath, unloading emotions through creative expression, or learning how to remain centered by practicing yoga, these exercises are not just a relaxation method—rather, they are a skill for staying emotionally balanced in the long term. They also give individuals healthy ways to manage stress, listen to their triggers, and become stronger in their bodies and minds. By combining holistic methods with conventional therapy, healing can be more intimate, empowering, and lasting.
Contact 12 South Today
Knowing what kinds of drugs are most likely to make you violent is important in order to defend yourself and others. If you or a friend is experiencing violence due to drugs, you should seek help. 12 South Recovery of Orange County offers effective treatment plans to help individuals overcome and heal from aggression. Call 12 South Recovery Today!
