Substance Abuse Disorders
Substance abuse is the detrimental use of psychoactive substances such as alcohol, cannabis, opioids, stimulants, and other prohibited drugs. The World Health Organization has revealed that substance abuse and addiction like alcohol, heroin, or cocaine is the leading cause of drug-related deaths across the globe. Excessive abuse of illicit drugs can also cause dependence syndrome or even addictive disorders. As a result of addiction, patients suffering from substance abuse disorders usually develop a strong desire to take drugs. Persistent use of illicit substances such as alcohol and cannabis affects the client’s brain as well as other vital body organs (Taylor, 2019). Not only does substance abuse trigger change in the behavior of the addicts, but it also makes them unable to control their daily intake of the prohibited medication. However, most clinicians and social health workers understand that addicts may continue using the drugs in little amounts without causing harm as a treatment measure. Most of the drug addiction cases reported started with people experimenting with recreational drugs. Besides, opioid addiction starts with prescribed drugs from a psychologist or a chemist. According to Jiang (2017), the level of addiction depends on the type of drug being abused. Some medications like opioids are very addictive when compared to other stimulants. Whereas attempts to stop using these illicit drugs lead to withdrawal symptoms, there is a need to have a more in-depth look at substance abuse disorders.
The first disorder we look at is an alcohol abuse disorder. Alcoholism involves two stages, alcohol abuse and dependence. A recent survey reveals that about 15 million people suffer from alcohol use disorder. The diagnostic criteria must be met for anyone to be diagnosed with alcohol use disorder. According to top social health workers, the criteria must be met as described in the Diagnostic Manual of Mental disorders (DSM). The current version of DSM being used checks for two criteria out of the possible twelve ones for twelve months (Jiang, 2017). The specifiers and severity of alcohol use disorder are centered on the number of criteria met by the patient. It is only after categorizing into a mild, moderate, or severe case that a diagnosis is issued. Nonetheless, a mild or moderate disorder can intensify, leading to severe damage to one’s health. The alcohol use disorder has various signs and symptoms. The first sign is not being in control of the alcohol one drinks. The second sign is experiencing many unsuccessful attempts at trying to stop drinking alcohol. The third symptom involves having a strong urge to drink alcohol, which causes the addictive disorder. Moreover, alcohol use disorder is revealed when one fails to work or fulfill significant obligations due to uncontrollable alcohol use. Lastly, not only does an alcohol addict reduce social and physical activities but also experiences withdrawal signs and symptoms like sweating, nausea, and even body shaking when no alcohol is taken.
A professional diagnosis should be carried out in order to establish if a person is suffering from alcohol use disorder. A doctor has the right to do a physical exam on the patient or use a questionnaire that checks alcohol use disorder to assist in the medical diagnosis of the condition (Carroll, 2017). Alcohol use disorder causes long-lasting damage to the liver and other vital organs. Too much alcohol intake makes it difficult for the liver to filter all the toxins in the bloodstream, thus leading to severe complications. There are several treatment methods of alcohol use disorder. The level of treatment varies according to the severity of a person’s addiction. Treatment might occur in several stages according to each patient’s diagnosis. The first stage is during withdrawal as it helps in detoxification, thus making the bloodstream free of alcohol. Besides, rehabilitation is a vital stage to administer treatment and, at the same time, shape behavior and skill set. Moreover, medical treatment in health centers can help control addiction. There are vital medications prescribed to treat alcohol use disorder that includes Naltrexone, Acamprosate, and Disulfiram. Naltrexone is a drug used by patients who have already detoxed from alcohol. Acamprosate is a drug that assists in establishing the original state of the brain before a person started abusing alcohol (Carroll, 2017). Disulfiram is an Antabuse drug that causes a person to vomit when he or she consumes alcohol. One of the new trends in alcohol use disorder is the establishment of early prevention measures, especially among teenagers. The best way to prevent alcohol abuse is by adults setting a good example for children and teenagers. Furthermore, parents should monitor their children’s behavior and educate them on the harmful effects of alcohol use.
Cannabis use disorder is a diagnosis given for frequent users of marijuana. Under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Cannabis use disorder is prescribed to be problematic, especially on marijuana abuse and dependence (Alavi, 2018). The diagnosis is established on several findings. First, the criteria follow upon a person who has abused cannabis for the last five years. Secondly, a patient suffering from this disorder has to have a strong urge to use cannabis. Moreover, the criteria check for withdrawal signs and symptoms when a patient does not use cannabis. If not treated, cannabis use disorder can become severe, leading to long-term damages to a person’s health. However, a study reveals that cannabis abusers can grow broad-mindedness to this drug, therefore, becoming difficult to detect when intoxicated. According to Alavi (2018), cannabis use involves a reddening of eyes, cannabis smell on clothes, yellow fingertips, and excessive craving for food. It has been scientifically proven that cannabis abuse leads to significant social and psychological impairment. The intoxication starts with an excellent euphoric feeling followed by uncontrollable laughter. Moreover, cannabis users suffer from impaired judgment and difficulty in handling complex mental procedures. If not checked properly, cannabis use can cause depression.
Cannabis withdrawal occurs when a user stops consuming marijuana. The withdrawal symptoms include aggression, paranoia, weight loss, abdominal pains, fever, headache, and insomnia. Several complications are arising from the abuse of cannabis. For example, cannabis use disorder in school usually causes a drop in academic grades and a reduced interest in learning. Cannabis use disorder among adults causes work impairment, laziness, as well as prejudiced social performance (Moyers, 2020). A study reveals that cannabis smoke contains carcinogenic elements such as THC that cause respiratory illnesses. One of the illnesses that can be easily triggered by cannabis smoke is Schizophrenia. Not only is cannabis a gateway drug to other forms of substance abuse, but it leads to alcohol use, tobacco use, or depression. The American prevalence rate for cannabis use disorder for twelve months is 3.4% among teenagers and 1.5% among adults. However, it is quite notable that the prevalence has amplified during the last decade. Moyers (2020) argues that the prevalence of use decreases with age, the highest rate being recorded from individuals between the age of 18 years to 29 years. The FDA has not approved any treatment or therapy for cannabis use disorder. However, there are pharmacological trials that clinicians are trying to administer to people suffering from an addictive disorder. The most prescribed drugs in these trials include Gabapentin and N-acetylcysteine, which have given some positive outcomes. The new trend of use of cannabis among teenagers is electronic vaping. Due to new technology, teenagers can now afford to buy electronic vape machines that enable them to smoke marijuana like e-cigarettes. This trend is worrying as it can cause lung cancer.
Opioid use disorder is the chronic use of opioids, causing impaired judgment. Most deaths in the United States are caused by opioid abuse. According to Burwell (2020), there is a need for a framework to treat addiction or dependence, both social and medically. Whereas clinicians make use of new therapeutic approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy, there is a need to look at multifaceted treatment approaches to address opioid dependence. Taylor (2019) argues that physicians prescribed about 72.5 opioid pain reliever (OPR) as well as 37.7 benzodiazepine medicament in a survey of every one hundred people in America. However, pharmacological treatment like hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, methadone, and oxycodone can be vital and yet treat acute and chronic pain. The first technique is to provide educational resources for training. The materials must include recent recommendations to assist clinical workers in making crucial decisions. The second technique is to expand the use of naloxone. Naloxone reduces the cases of deaths brought about by opioid overdose. According to recent research from the National Nurses Association reveal that it is essential to increase the use of medication-assisted treatment.
One of the opioid-related disorders is schizophrenia. According to Koob (2019), schizophrenia symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, and abdominal problems. The FDA has approved five medications to treat schizophrenia that include risperidone, olanzapine, aripiprazole, paliperidone, and quetiapine. To ensure the disorder is treated and goes to remission, the FDA has approved only risperidone and aripiprazole for the treatment of behavioral problems in clients. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can be used as a treatment for opioid use disorder. Cognitive therapy is a social intervention method that aims at improving mental health by relating experiences. The intervention focuses on altering obstructive cognitive deformations and behaviors, thus improving emotional parameters and the development of individual strategies to solve current problems. CBT helps challenge negative thoughts that, at times, worsen the emotional state of persons with an addictive disorder. The effect of triggering negative thoughts is that it leads to depression or anxiety among persons with addictive disorders. However, through CBT, negative thoughts can be identified and changed or replaced with more realistic yet positive thoughts.
However, there are some drawbacks to opioid abuse. The primary concern for the treatment, especially in children, is weight gain, diabetes, heart problems, and high levels of cholesterol. A study reveals that clients taking risperidone gained about eight pounds for seven weeks, while those taking olanzapine gained thirteen pounds on average (Moyers, 2020). An emerging trend during pharmacological treatment is that some clients are not internally motivated to remain abstinent. As an experienced practitioner, I have witnessed opioid addiction, and there is a need to focus on prevention and intervention measures. The addicts are usually mentally unstable, and clinicians need to step-up intervention measures to reduce the number of deaths related to opioid dependence. All in all, stakeholders and medical practitioners need to come together to combat opioid addiction.
Stimulant use disorder involves the rapid abuse of stimulants. The most commonly abused stimulant is amphetamines. Some of the locally known amphetamines include methamphetamine, dextroamphetamine, and hunger suppressants—most doctors issue prescriptions for amphetamines for ailments like narcolepsy and obesity. The disorder can be treated in two stages. The first stage is critical and is known as the chronic period is a period of continuous stimulant abuse without periods of abstinence. The next stage is known as the episodic period that involves periods of continuous stimulant abuse with other periods of complete abstinence. Severity in stimulant use disorder often leads to anemia, weight loss, and lack of individual sterility (Koob, 2019). However, in some cases, amphetamines may cause severe skin infection and psychosis as well. Some of the stimulant withdrawal symptoms include tiredness, amnesia, bad moods, and intense cravings for food. Nonetheless, there is a treatment method for stimulant use disorder known as Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP). Applicable treatment approaches must distinguish the impact that the stimulant abuse has on the person suffering from the disorder. The treatment approaches in TIP have been scientifically cross-checked for effective treatment of stimulant use disorder. These approaches focus on the specific problem that needs to be addressed for chronic or episodic stimulant users. An emerging trend among teenagers using stimulants is proactive behavioral counseling. Koob (2019) states that the new counseling program incorporates educative elements on the addiction process as well as the treatment plan. Not only is family support necessary, but also confrontational therapy helps cure stimulant related disorders.
All people must deal with stress at various levels every day; however, people who have addiction disorders are more susceptible to adverse psychosocial and emotional effects. With proper monitoring and regulation, stress can be mitigated for people with addiction and relapse prevention (Preston 2017). There are some financial and social impacts of substance abuse. Drugs can be costly when bought regularly, thus impacting the financial budget. Addiction can lead to overspending on drugs, which affects finances negatively. Moreover, substance abuse and addiction can change the way a person interacts with others socially. Most patients suffering from addictive disorder no longer seem interested in their old friends due to the more profound growth of dependency. Substance abuse has a significant devastating impact on a person’s health. According to Preston (2017), psychological and physical influence can easily change a healthy person into a frail addictive version of themselves. Substance abuse has prolonged consequences on the respiratory system, cardiovascular system, liver, kidneys, and the brain as well.
In conclusion, mental sickness is the end-term of substance abuse and addiction. There are many consequences of substance abuse that can dramatically impact the life of the abuser and the people around them. As an intervention to the treatment plan, Clinicians will lead the client in a discussion of the consequences that may be encountered by having the client identify and acknowledge their consequences. According to the current laws and policies, there is a need to focus on prevention and intervention guidelines to curb drug abuse and addiction. To win the war on drugs, politicians and social health workers need to work collaboratively and step-up the intervention measures, thus saving millions of lives.
References
Alavi, M. (2018). Behavioral addiction versus substance addiction: Correspondence of psychiatric and psychological views. International journal of preventive medicine, 3(4), 290.
Burwell, S. (2020). Multifaceted plan to combat opioid abuse: Focus on prescriber education, naloxone use, and medication-assisted treatment.
Carroll, D. (2017). Cognitive-behavioral interventions for alcohol and drug use disorders: Through the stage model and back again. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 31(8), 847–861. https://doi-org.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/10.1037/adb0000311
Jiang, S. (2017). Beyond face-to-face individual counseling: A systematic review of alternative modes of motivational interviewing in substance abuse treatment and prevention. Addictive Behaviors, 73, 216–235. https://doi- org.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.05.023
Koob, F. (2019). The dark side of emotion: the addiction perspective. European journal of pharmacology, 753, 73-87.
Moyers, T. (2020). The motivational interviewing treatment integrity code (MITI 4): Rationale, preliminary reliability, and validity. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. Volume 65, June 2016, Pages 36-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2016.01.001
Preston, K. (2017). Stress in the daily lives of cocaine and heroin users: relationship to mood, craving, relapse, triggers, and cocaine use. Pharmacology 218 (1): 29-37. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3157572/
Taylor, P. (2019). Success in fighting opioid abuse demands a multifaceted approach: Policy changes, education, community involvement play key roles.