How Cocaethylene Impacts The Development of Psychosis

Introduction

Consumption of alcohol simultaneous with cocaine leads to a formation of a chemical substance in the liver of a person called cocaethylene. Cocaethylene produced high euphoria to those who use it by blocking re-uptakes of dopamine in the brain. It increases the cocaine level in a person’s body (Horowitz & Torres, 1999). This chemical is formed when ethyl in alcohol react to the body as the body attempts to get rid of the cocaine which happens to be circulating in the body. This chemical has an advance effect of the body as it may lead to heart attack and mental problems. Psychosis is a mental condition where thought and emotions are affected by level in which contact with external reality is lost.

Thesis statement

The discussion on how cocaethylene leads to psychosis has been around with various scientific forums giving their view on it. This paper seeks to critically analyze how simultaneous intake of cocaine and alcohol leads to the formation of cocaethylene which leads to psychosis.

Alcohol contains 40% ethanol. Alcohol is referred to as depressant. This means that it reduces body functions, affects speaking speed, movement, perception, and ability to operate fast. Drinking is not a problem and it is legalized by almost all world government as it is considered an essential social tool (Thomson & Marshall, 2006). Medically alcohol is identified as the only psychoactive drug which is not illegal and is very risk to human health. Excessive drinking affects thinking by reducing person’s rational thinking and distorting judgment as well.

Cocaine is a stimulant drug which is powerfully active. It is used for medical purpose especially surgeries. It is illegal drug and it is considered to have an adverse effect on a human brain, heart, and emotions. It can be inhaled, snorted and other people inject it into blood veins.

Psychosis is impaired relationship with reality. It happens as a result of Hallucinations. A person with psychosis has thoughts that are not a realist. Symptoms of psychosis are poor concentration, depressed mood, anxiety, withdrawing from family and friends and suicidal thoughts and action among others. It is caused by brain diseases such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, chromosomal disorders and brain tumors.

When drugs and alcohol effects are characterized by other separate illness like mental or psychological issues the patient is said to have the Dual diagnosis. This is a possible situation if the person is taking alcohol and at the same time taking cocaine since the resultant chemical will affect the brain. This condition was mentioned for the first time in the 1980s through an examination of patients who suffered severe mental illness and at the same time substance abuse complications.

The statistics of psychosis in the last two decades has been compounding as the youth keep getting hooked to taking alcohol and drugs at the same time. When someone takes cocaine and at the implies that more toxic substance gets into the body without the body resisting. This causes a number of serious health issue and affects the brain as well.

Persons under psychoses also express delusions or hallucinations. Delusions are a situation where a small pothole with water along there is a lake or seeing a lake as a small pothole where you jump over. Other times, delusions make someone hear voices which are not there and smelling what does not exist. It is very dangerous as it interferes with perception, emotions, and behavior. Just to clarify psychoses is not a condition by itself but it is triggered by conditions such as stress and trauma.

Cocaethylene contains a substantial amount of cocaine which contributes to psychological and subjective changes in the brain. The initial agenda to consume cocaine and alcohol is for the person to enjoy the pleasure and have extraordinary energy. Changes in psychology could one of the pleasures but now this leads to psychosis.

Taking alcohol and cocaine which are toxic in nature have an effect on the liver. The liver is detoxicating organ of the body whose work is to purify food (Washton, 2010). It is overwhelmed when it receives cocaine and alcohol and once. Cocaethylene is produced by the liver in an effort to eliminate toxic element in cocaine and alcohol. This chemical is more poisonous than alcohol and the cocaine (O'Halloran & Frank, 2010). What this means is that we have very poisonous chemical in the blood stream. At the chemical is circulated to central nervous systems where it corrupts the functionality.

Alcohol and cocaine are associated with cardiovascular problems such increase in heart rate and blood pressure (Dean, 2006). The presence of Cocaethylene as myocardial depressant it impairs heart strength, this worsens the situation as it greatly increases the heart beats and blood pressure as well. It, therefore, leads to increasing in health risks such as heart attack and death.

Conclusion

Cocaethylene affects blood transmission and this result in adequate oxygen in the brain. It also interferes heart function. This affects how the brain works and the end products are poor thinking, emotions, and perception (Barlett et al, 2013). This leads to the poor decision of the person and makes him/ her interpret thing abnormally. This leads to psychosis.

Research Strategy

Purpose of research

• Identify how Cocaethylene compound is formed
• Find out how Cocaethylene leads to psychosis
• Identify which is the endangered age bracket.
• Analyse effect of Cocaethylene to brain
• Find the cure for psychosis
• Examine the effects of alcohol and cocaine to the psychological functionality of a person.

Importance of the study

To generate information that could be used by the medical practitioner, public health workers and parents among many others to use to fight psychosis. This is through mobilizing the youth to stay away from drugs.

Subjects

Subject for this study was 20 patient suffering from psychosis through five doctors and ten psychologists who were attending them and voluntary agreed to feel

Methodology

Questionnaire was designed and it was targeted to answer the following Questions:

• How does someone feel after taking alcohol and them a drug?
• Is the feeling controllable?
• Who are the majority who show psychosis symptoms?
• What psychosis and causes it?
• What is alcohol and cocaine effect affects the brain?
• Limitation of study

This study has a serious caveat which is based on a small sample. This may not be the representative of larger sample