What is Tolerance?
What is Tolerance?
🍸Tolerance is defined as the diminished response to alcohol or other drugs after repeated use.💊
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👀Tolerance occurs because your brain is trying to keep its normal chemical balance while repeatedly using substances.🧠
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🔺Behavioral Tolerance is divided into 3 categories: Acute, Chronic, and Rapid🔺
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🕐Acute Tolerance develops within minutes. An example of Acute Tolerance would be the 4th shot a person takes feeling like it has less of an intoxicating effect than the 1st one they took🥃📉
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🕗Chronic Tolerance develops after days of continuous or intermittent substance exposure. An example of Chronic Tolerance occurs with stoners after weeks of consistent Cannabis use, where they now must intake significantly more THC to feel the same high they once did🥦🥦
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🔜Rapid Tolerance is similar to chronic, but normally develops within 8-24 hours. An example of Rapid Tolerance occurs with LSD, where if the user takes 100mcg one day, the next day taking another 100mgc would be unlikely to have much if any of an effect at all🟨🟪
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💊Over time, the brain increases its response for the opposite effects of a particular substance. Since Xanax calms your brain, when it is cleared from the body it ultimately increases excitation causing more anxiety than baseline. Therefore, in order to experience the same calming effects users have to consume more🧠📈
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❄️When the same amount of cocaine was administered repeatedly in humans, there was a decrease in the subjective effects and chemical activity in the brain. As your brain is exposed to cocaine more and more often, its chemistry is altered. This results in the need to consume more cocaine for the same effect😳
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🛑Withdrawal symptoms can often look like the opposite of the drug’s effects.
😞Withdrawal from stimulants like Cocaine can look like depression due to lack of mental energy.
🤯Withdrawal from depressants like Xanax can look like anxiety due to excessive mental energy
⚠️In cases of heavy depressant use, particularly for alcohol and Xanax, “cold turkey” withdrawal can lead to seizure (periods of toxically high excitation) and death💀
