Substance Abuse

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Help Themselves.

What is substance abuse disorder?

It is a disease that affects a person’s brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medicine. When you’re addicted, you may continue using the drug despite the harm it causes.

What are the symptoms of substance abuse disorder?

Feeling that you have to use the drug regularly — daily or even several times a day

Having intense urges for the drug that block out any other thoughts

Over time, needing more of the drug to get the same effect

Taking larger amounts of the drug over a longer period of time than you intended

Making certain that you maintain a supply of the drug

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Spending money on the drug, even though you can’t afford it

Not meeting obligations and work responsibilities, or cutting back on social or recreational activities because of drug use

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Continuing to use the drug, even though you know it’s causing problems in your life or causing you physical or psychological harm

Doing things to get the drug that you normally wouldn’t do, such as stealing

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Driving or doing other risky activities when you’re under the influence of the drug

Spending a good deal of time getting the drug, using the drug or recovering from the effects of the drug

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Failing in your attempts to stop using the drug

Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when you attempt to stop taking the drug

What is the cause of substance abuse?

Some of these factors are biological or psychological and could include one or more of the following causes:

Genetic Disposition to Abuse

You may have heard someone say they have “an addictive personality.” While we can’t really confirm that, many people are predisposed to having drug or alcohol abuse problems due to their genes.

This may make them more likely to develop an abuse problem. However, not all people with a genetic predisposition develop drug or alcohol dependencies. Just because someone’s mother or father suffered a drug dependency does not necessarily mean the child will develop similar issues.

In most cases, substance abuse arises from a complex combination of factors, and genetics could be one of them.

Mental Health

People with a history of mental health disorders are more likely to develop substance abuse problems than other people. Studies show that 60% of adolescents being treated for substance abuse disorder met diagnostic criteria for other mental illnesses as well.

People diagnosed with substance abuse disorder are often simultaneously diagnosed with another mental health disorder, and vice versa.

Stress

People who experience excessive amounts of stress, no matter the cause, have an increased vulnerability to substance abuse. One way to define substance abuse is as a maladaptive coping strategy to stress.

Exposure to stressors at an early age or for long periods throughout one’s life can cause chemical reactions in the brain, which increase the likelihood of developing addictive behaviors later in life.

Social and Environmental Factors

The environment in which one lives can significantly influence their lifestyle, choices, and preferences. For example, children and adolescents exposed to drug or alcohol abuse at home are more likely to start using substances themselves than children who are not.

This is the clearest example of how the environment can influence people, but many other impactful social and environmental factors can lead to addictive behavior.

Childhood Neglect or Trauma

There is a huge link between childhood trauma and adult substance dependency. During childhood is when people’s brains undergo the most change and development. Neural pathways are created, changed, and sometimes discarded due to environmental stimulation.

A person’s brain development is seriously affected by the things that go on during childhood.

Studies have shown that witnessing or receiving abuse, neglect, loss of a parent, or having a family member who suffers from a mental or physical illness during childhood often leads to people developing mental illness or substance abuse disorders as adults.

Poor Social Skills or Lack of Social Support

While familial or spousal support is often a key to recovery from substance abuse, lack of support is a key factor in developing a substance abuse problem. People who have a social support system or a cohesive family are much less likely to develop mental illnesses or substance abuse disorders.

Peer Pressure

Peer pressure has consistently been found to affect people’s likelihood of developing a dependency on substances, especially in teens and adolescents. Many individuals who developed a dependency early on were first encouraged to use that substance by their peers.

Believing Addictive Substances Aren’t Bad

People coming from communities, families, or peer groups in which drug or alcohol use is common are more likely to develop a substance dependency later on.

This is especially true of teenagers and younger individuals who were never exposed to the idea that drug and alcohol use was a bad thing and were unaware of the inherent risks and side effects before developing substance dependency.

What are the risks associated with substance abuse disorder?

Direct effects of substances:

For example, snorting cocaine through the nose can damage nasal cartilage, and taking opiates can lead to opiate-induced constipation, a chronic and potentially fatal form of constipation if a person does not receive treatment.

Regular tobacco use can cause a range of cancers and smoking methamphetamine might fuel a severe form of dental decay known as “meth mouth”.

Injury

This can occur during the administration of a drug, depending on the method. For example, injecting heroin with a needle can lead to skin and muscle damage at the point of injection, and many people take drugs by smoking, causing lung damage and respiratory illnesses.

Injury can also occur while intoxicated. Often, drug use impairs coordination and balance and can lead to falls and injuries. Driving while under the influence of alcohol and other drugs is criminal in most countries and caused 28 percentTrusted Source of all deaths related to traffic across the United States in 2016.

Some substances induce violent reactions in people and increase the likelihood of risky or confrontational behaviors.

Overdose:

Taking too much of one substance or mixing substances together can result in an overdose. While this can also occur with medications and pharmaceuticals, it is more likely to occur in a person who takes a substance to alter their mood or for recreational purposes.

An overdose can result in coma and death. On average, 115 peopleTrusted Source in the United States die every day by overdosing on opioid painkillers.

Cardiovascular health

Many substances lead to spikes in blood pressure and heart rate, placing strain on the heart and blood vessels and increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack, and death.

Loss of hygiene and routine

Addiction can become an all-encompassing feature in a person’s life, and reward systems in the brain can rewire to prioritize the substance or behavior at the root of the addiction over nutrition, resolving stressful situations, and hygiene.

Addiction can also mean that a person dedicates large sums of money each month to obtaining the substance, increasing the risk of poor nutrition.

In some cases, addiction can lead to homelessness, greatly reducing protection and resources and increasing exposure to the elements.

Fetal damage

If a woman takes substances while pregnant, this can lead to congenital anomalies or even death in the fetus.

How to prevent substance abuse disorder?

Avoid Temptation and Peer Pressure.

Develop healthy friendships and relationships by avoiding friends or family members who pressure you to use substances. It’s often said “we become most like those we surround ourselves by,” meaning if you surround yourself with people who abuse drugs and alcohol you are more likely to as well.

Peer pressure is a major part of life for teens and adults. If you are looking to stay drug free, develop a good way to just say no, prepare a good excuse or plan ahead of time to keep from giving into peer pressure.

Seek help for mental illness.

Mental illness and substance abuse often go hand in hand. If you are dealing with a mental illness such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder you should seek professional help from a licensed therapist or counselor. A professional will provide you with healthy coping skills to alleviate your symptoms without turning to drugs and alcohol.

Examine the risk factors

Look at your family history of mental illness and addiction, several studies have shown that this disease tends to run in the family, but can be prevented. The more you are aware of your biological, environmental and physical risk factors the more likely you are to overcome them.

Keep a well-balanced life.

People often turn to drugs and alcohol when something in their life is missing or not working. Practicing stress management skills can help you overcome these life stressors and will help you live a balanced and healthy life.

Develop goals and dreams for your future. These will help you focus on what you want and help you realize that drugs and alcohol will simply get in the way and hinder you from achieving your goals.

What are the types of substance abuse disorders?

Substance abuse isn’t something you should take lightly. It occurs when you use alcohol, prescription medicine, and other legal and illegal substances too much or in the wrong way.

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Commonly Abused Drugs

Both legal and illegal drugs have chemicals that can change how your body and mind work. They can give you a pleasurable “high,” ease your stress, or help you avoid problems in your life.

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Alcohol

Alcohol affects everyone differently. But if you drink too much and too often, your chance of an injury or accident goes up. Heavy drinking also can cause liver and other health problems or lead to a more serious alcohol disorder. If you’re a man and you drink more than four drinks on any day or more than 14 in a week, you’re drinking too much. For women, heavy drinking means more than three drinks in one day or more than seven drinks a week.

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Prescription and Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medicine

These can be just as dangerous and addictive as illegal drugs. You can abuse medicine if you:

Take medicine prescribed for someone else
Take extra doses or use a drug other than the way it’s supposed to be taken
Take the drug for a non-medical reason

Types of prescription drugs that are most often abused include:

Opioid pain relievers
Stimulant medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Anxiety and sleep medicines
The most commonly abused OTC drugs are cough and cold medicine that have dextromethorphan, which in high doses can make you feel drunk or intoxicated.

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Heroin

This illegal drug is the natural version of manmade prescription opioid narcotics. Heroin gives you a rush of good feelings at first. But when it wears off, everything slows down.

You’ll move and think more slowly, and you may have chills, nausea, and nervousness. You may feel a strong need to take more heroin to feel better.

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Cocaine

This drug speeds up your whole body. When you use cocaine, you may talk, move, or think very fast. You may feel happy and full of energy. But your mood may then shift to anger. You may feel like someone is out to get you. It can cause you to do things that don’t make sense.

Using cocaine for a long time will lead to strong cravings for the drug.

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Marijuana

A growing number of states have legalized medical uses of marijuana. A handful of states also allow recreational pot. But in most states, it’s still illegal. Marijuana can make you feel silly and laugh for no reason. Or you may feel sleepy and forget things that just happened. Driving while high on pot is just as dangerous as drunk driving. And heavy marijuana use can leave some people “burned out” and not think or care about much.

How to diagnose substance abuse disorder?

Diagnosing drug addiction (substance use disorder) requires a thorough evaluation and often includes an assessment by a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or a licensed alcohol and drug counselor.

Blood, urine or other lab tests are used to assess drug use, but they’re not a diagnostic test for addiction. However, these tests may be used for monitoring treatment and recovery.

For diagnosis of a substance use disorder, most mental health professionals use criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association.

How to treat substance abuse disorder?

Although there’s no cure for drug addiction, treatment options can help you overcome an addiction and stay drug-free. Your treatment depends on the drug used and any related medical or mental health disorders you may have. Long-term follow-up is important to prevent relapse.

Behavior therapy

As part of a drug treatment program, behavior therapy — a form of psychotherapy — can be done by a psychologist or psychiatrist, or you may receive counseling from a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. Therapy and counseling may be done with an individual, a family or a group. The therapist or counselor can:

Help you develop ways to cope with your drug cravings
Suggest strategies to avoid drugs and prevent relapse
Offer suggestions on how to deal with a relapse if it occurs
Talk about issues regarding your job, legal problems, and relationships with family and friends
Include family members to help them develop better communication skills and be supportive
Address other mental health conditions

Medicine as part of treatment

After discussion with you, your health care provider may recommend medicine as part of your treatment for opioid addiction. Medicines don’t cure your opioid addiction, but they can help in your recovery.

These medicines can reduce your craving for opioids and may help you avoid relapse. Medicine treatment options for opioid addiction may include buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone, and a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone.

Treatment programs

Treatment programs for substance use disorder usually offer:

Individual, group or family therapy sessions
A focus on understanding the nature of addiction, becoming drug-free and preventing relapse
Levels of care and settings that vary depending on your needs, such as outpatient, residential and inpatient programs

Withdrawal therapy

The goal of detoxification, also called “detox” or withdrawal therapy, is to enable you to stop taking the addicting drug as quickly and safely as possible. For some people, it may be safe to undergo withdrawal therapy on an outpatient basis. Others may need admission to a hospital or a residential treatment center.

Withdrawal from different categories of drugs such as depressants, stimulants or opioids produces different side effects and requires different approaches. Detox may involve gradually reducing the dose of the drug or temporarily substituting other substances, such as methadone, buprenorphine, or a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone.

Opioid overdose

In an opioid overdose, a medicine called naloxone can be given by emergency responders, or in some states, by anyone who witnesses an overdose. Naloxone temporarily reverses the effects of opioid drugs.

While naloxone has been on the market for years, a nasal spray (Narcan, Kloxxado) and an injectable form are now available, though they can be very expensive. Whatever the method of delivery, seek immediate medical care after using naloxone.

Self-help groups

Many, though not all, self-help support groups use the 12-step model first developed by Alcoholics Anonymous. Self-help support groups, such as Narcotics Anonymous, help people who are addicted to drugs.

The self-help support group message is that addiction is an ongoing disorder with a danger of relapse. Self-help support groups can decrease the sense of shame and isolation that can lead to relapse.

Your therapist or licensed counselor can help you locate a self-help support group. You may also find support groups in your community or on the internet.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the most important factor in substance abuse?

Peer pressure is a strong factor in starting to use and misuse drugs, particularly for young people. Lack of family involvement. Difficult family situations or lack of a bond with your parents or siblings may increase the risk of addiction, as can a lack of parental supervision.

2. What are two common factors to all substance-related disorders?

A stressful or chaotic lifestyle and low self-esteem are also common. Children who grow up seeing their parents using drugs may have a high risk of developing substance use problem later in life for both environmental and genetic reasons

3. What lifestyle disease is caused by substance abuse?

People with addiction often have one or more associated health issues, which could include lung or heart disease, stroke, cancer, or mental health conditions. Imaging scans, chest X-rays, and blood tests can show the damaging effects of long-term drug use throughout the body.

4. What are individual factors of substance abuse?

Early aggressive behavior, lack of parental supervision, academic problems, undiagnosed mental health problems, peer substance use, drug availability, poverty, peer rejection, and child abuse or neglect are risk factors associated with increased likelihood of youth substance use and abuse.

5. What are evidence based practices for substance abuse?

Evidence-based Practices are treatment and prevention interventions related to mental health and substance abuse, shown by evidence to be effective. Some of the most common Evidence-Based Practices used in addictions treatment include: Motivational Interviewing. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

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