Cheating Spouses and Drug (Meth) Use
Could your cheating husband or cheating wife be on drugs? Are the drugs to blame for this reckless and destructive behavior? Among the drugs that are more likely to illicit sexual promiscuity in users, meth ranks as one of the highest.
Methamphetamine, or "speed" is particularly dangerous because 1. it is highly addictive, and 2. it attacks the nervous system, alters the chemical composition of the brain, and ultimately causes irreversible brain damage. Long term use can lead to what is known as amphetamine psychosis , sometimes which does not manifest for 20 years - even after the user has completely quit the drug.
Meth produces the desired effect (euphoria, joy, increased energy levels) at the outset of use by dramatically increasing dopamine levels in the brain. Dopamine is the "feel good" brain chemical, and people who try meth for the first time report feeling an intense euphoria like nothing they have ever experienced before.
What Does Meth Use Have to Do With Cheating on Your Spouse?
Among the potential side effects of meth use is "hypersexual" behavior - strong, sometimes uncontrollable sexual urges, decrease in inhibitions, sexual preoccupation, enhanced sexual pleasure, and prolonged orgasms. This happens because methamphetamine temporarily lifts mood while altering the smooth muscle tissue in the body such as that which is found in the vagina and anus.
While all of this probably sounds great to some, what these new users don't know is the swift path of devastation that is meth addiction. With the initial intake of methamphetamine, the surge in dopamine activity is extremely high - nearly 5 times higher than with cocaine. However, because meth is a purely synthetic drug (not plant derived), the chemical reactions inside the body cause an enzyme to be produced in the brain which prevents the reuptake of dopamine receptor cells. The newly manufactured enzymes actually destroy these brain cells. As a result of the methamphetamine consumption, the brain is now permanently less able to manufacture dopamine naturally than it was prior... and this ability decreases with each time meth is used. What ultimately happens is that each time the meth is used, it takes higher and higher doses to produce the desired effect.
The depression or "crash" that follows a meth binge is so severe that it causes the user to hunger desperately for their next "fix" of energy and euphoria. Meanwhile, to an outsider who is unware of the drug use, all of this is perceived as mood swings - manic behavior followed by extreme exhaustion.
Meth Use, Cheating, and Lack of Empathy or Remorse
The most horrifying thing about meth addiction is the personality change that it produces in the user. While on meth, empathy and the ability to relate to another human being is almost completely erased. This is what makes it so "easy" for them to cheat on their spouse or partner, and what robs the cheater of any remorse or guilt for their actions. Meth users become hooked so fast and so severely that in a matter of months they are living entirely to feed their addiction, at the expense of their loved ones, their jobs, their personal responsibilities and their finances. The obsessive need for this drug, and the general self-gratifying behavior that accompanies its use, tears apart families, alienates the user from anyone who was ever close to him or her, negatively and severely impacts health, and destroys lives.
Why Would You Ever Think Your Spouse's Cheating is Drug Related?
There are many reasons why husbands or wives cheat on their spouses, and if your partner has been unfaithful, it does NOT necessarily mean they are using meth or other drugs. But if a lot of their new behavior is centered around partying, consuming alcohol, and behaving irresponsibly, then it's worth investigating. In addition to cheating, meth users lie, steal, manipulate, break promises, and show extreme indifference toward those closest to them - including their own families, spouses, children. This is a combination of the drug altering their minds, as well as the extreme need for the drug taking precedence over all else.
Some Signs That May Indicate Your Cheating Husband or Wife is Using Drugs (Meth?):
Sudden change in personality
Sustained, elevated mood/hyperactivity
Insomnia
New "friends" you've never heard of/met before
Increase in alcohol use, "partying," staying out late, frequenting bars
"Manic-depressive" periods - euphoria and high activity with no sleep for extended periods, followed by the "low" or "crash" - depressed mood, sleeping for days
Reckless behavior - driving while under the influence, promiscuous sex, unprotected sex with casual partners
General sexual preoccupation - increase in the use of porn videos, internet porn, sex toys; inappropriate sexual behavior
Fiscal irresponsibility - bills not being paid on time, or they are suddenly "broke" all the time with no real explanation of where the money is disappearing to
Does not seem engaged during conversation; decrease in the ability to relate to others; apathy
Indifference toward family members and other loved ones
More Signs as the Addiction Progresses:
Inability to experience pleasure
Aggressive, antagonistic behavior; periods of rage
"Meth mouth" - rapid and extreme tooth decay
Facial acne
Hair loss
Paranoia
"Tweaking ," and " punding " (or OCD behavior): cleaning constantly, sorting and grouping things; obsessive need to fiddle with, or arrange and rearrange, random objects
Formication - the delusion that bugs are crawling beneath the skin, with the constant need to pick or scratch to the point that open sores are created
Amphetamine psychosis
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