An addiction is when a person cannot voluntarily give up doing drugs or alcohol and a lot of the times it’s because of the high.

Brooke Marshall is an addiction therapist with Oaklawn and the St. Joseph County Jail Program

“Methamphetamine is an upper…opiates are downers so it's a much different high,” says Marshall.

For opioid users, experts say it’s about avoiding or numbing pain and it’s usually taken less for recreational or social reasons and more about self-medication.

It changes the way users think, feel and even their physical sensations, as the dopamine floods the brain.

Dawn Brauneker is a recovering meth addict who says all it took was the first hit for her to fall in love with the drug.

“It gave me the ability to function and do everything I had to do, but not feel any feelings. That’s what I was always trying to escape from, the feelings,” says Brauneker.

Long exposure to both of the drugs can cause heart problems and even death. Using opioids regularly can cause insomnia, and meth can often lead to seizures.

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