Dysthymia And Substance Abuse Within Adults And Treatments Used For Recovery

“Substance use disorders” or “substance-related disorders” are intended synonymously and are used interchangeably when referring to the broad category of addiction to psychoactive substances. Additionally, the word “drug” should be considered in the context in which it appears and can refer to alcohol specifically and/or other psychoactive substances such as cocaine or heroin etc. Again, this is because of the large overlap within the broader category of substance use and the high prevalence of polysubstance use. For the sake of clarity, “drug” as used in North America to generally refer to any illicit or controlled substance has been avoided. Instead, “medication” will be used to denote a prescribed substance used to treat physical symptoms. However, many legally prescribed medications (such as morphine) can and are abused and have addictive quality, making them just as devastating as “street drugs” or alcohol (Compton & Volkow, 2006).

The significance of the proposed research is three-fold: (1) Treating METH relapse. METH abuse is the most serious drug problem in the majority of US counties1,2 with behavioral modification therapy being the only support available to METH users after rehabilitation. The development of addiction to drugs of abuse is regulated by a variety of factors, including pre-existing vulnerability. Important basic research in this area addresses questions such as mechanisms driving the shift from controlled to compulsive intake3. As a complement to this work, it is critical that we understand the factors that confer vulnerability to relapse after rehabilitation. These factors include depressive symptoms, stress and motivation, both conscious and unconscious,

Depression is a clinical condition associated with the normal emotions of bereavement and sadness. However, this condition does not pass on when the external causes of these emotions dissolve and is usually inconsistent to their cause. In essence, the classic severe conditions of depression have not been attributed to external precipitating cause. One of the most common conditions of depression is Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), which is a psychiatric condition that impairs moods, behavioral patterns, and thoughts for a protracted duration. This psychiatric illness tends to impair the patient’s social functioning and quality of life due to its impacts on cognitive functioning. Some of the most common symptoms of the condition include difficulty in concentration, weight change, minimal interest in pleasure, high rate of suicide, and physical impairment. The severity of this disease was evident in the year 2000 when the World Health Organization ranked it as the fourth cause of disability and premature death across the globe.

Substance abuse and mental illness are connected in a few ways. Regularly, a man experiences dysfunctional behaviors, for example, sadness and post- traumatic anxiety issue (PTSD) utilizing alcohol or drugs to self-sedate. At times utilizing the drug itself prompts psychological instability, as may happen with the delayed utilization of stimulating drugs. At last, dependence on drugs and alcohol themselves are viewed as dysfunctional behaviors in their own right. The connection between substance abuse and mental illness is frequent to the point that individuals who are getting treatment for drug dependence are normally accepted to have basic emotional well-being issues. The casualties of nervousness issue frequently turn to depressants, for example, alcohol and prescription narcotics to diminish stress and help in relaxation. So also, individuals who have chronic depression once in a while depend intensely on stimulants and drugs that adjust state of mind to dormancy self-cure and defend you from unhappiness. The combination of substance abuse and mental illness often makes it impossible for the victim to function normally in daily life. The effects of substance abuse often include difficulty maintaining personal

The typical description of a disease would be something that causes unwanted effects on the body; however, mental illnesses show few physical symptoms and cause problems that outsiders can rarely see. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), to be specific, is a complex disorder that occurs when a person has five of the following symptoms: a depressed mood, diminished pleasure, weight loss or gain, insomnia, lethargy, problems with concentrating, fatigue, feeling worthless, or having thoughts of suicide (Myers 3). While MDD is chronic, depression is the infrequent counterpart. The official etiology of depression is important because it is widespread and is becoming increasingly more common. Knowing why an illness occurs, in theory, can help physicians

The substance-related disorders are composed of two groups: the substance-use disorders (dependence and abuse) and the substanceinduced disorders (intoxication and withdrawal). Other substanceinduced disorders (delirium, dementia, amnesia, psychosis, mood disorder, anxiety disorder, sexual dysfunction, and sleep disorders) are included in the chapters with which they share symptomatology (e.g., substance-induced mood disorders are included in Chapter 6; substance-induced sexual dysfunction is included in Chapter 10, etc.).

Substance Use Disorder’s (SUD) have become an escalating issue in the mental health field over the last few decades. The alarming incline to drug related and co-occurring maladaptive behaviors has created a dedicated science to better understand and define this problematic situation. Definition allows the therapeutic process to evolve around the symptomatic problem in order to deliver the hope of recovery. Social stigmas often view drug abuse and addiction as one in the same, but when viewed by the clinician, they take on an important role in defining treatment. Drug abuse is viewed as a reoccurring use of a substance outside of its intended purpose resulting in negative consequences. The use of drugs in any form, is often voluntary and has a high risk factor of developing dependency that leads to addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine has characterized addiction by the inability to consistently abstain, impaired behavior control, craving, diminished cognitive behavior in regards to relationships, and dysfunctional emotional response (ASAM, 2011). At this point, the progressive substance use cannot be changed without a course of treatment. The therapist’s subscription to a particular pharmacological theory, such as the disease model, behavioral/environmental model, or diathesis-stress model can determine the therapeutic approach.

A person may be suffering from depressive symptoms and use narcotics with the hope of acquiring some kind of relief. Depressive symptoms can develop as a result of using mind altering substances or as part of withdrawal symptoms when taking breaks from drugs. Low mood in withdrawal can be short and self-limiting, though sometimes it may lead to a very serious and prolonged depressive illness. A person will take drugs to escape or forget a problem in

Substance use disorder (SUD) occurs regardless of age, ethnicity or gender. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) organizes substance use disorders into substance abuse and substance dependence. Substance abuse is a maladaptive pattern leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by one (or more) of the following, occurring within a 12-month period. If the abuse pattern and dependency are not addressed, it can cause a various spectrum of dysfunction in physical, psychological and social. Per impairment, the individual is enable to participate a meaningful occupation which eventually decreases one’s quality of living (QOL). Because having QOL and ADL participation are very

Major Depressive Disorder, also known as "Clinical Depression" is a psychological disorder that targets emotions of sadness and melancholy. Major depression affects an individual's ability to perform well at their job and at school. It may also affect the person's sleeping habits and eating habits (Belmaker and Agam Ph. D, 2008). For their eating habits, there have been records of MDD linked to anorexia and bulimia in adults ranging between 20%-80% in a lifetime (Fernandez-Aranda, 2007). MDD has also been correlated to patients experiencing sleep disorders, with different types of Insomnia,, such as "sleep onset Insomnia" and "sleep maintenance Insomnia" (National Sleep Foundation, 2005). Depression has been linked to substantial problems to

This research process involved analysing innumerable data that already exist and exhibits the increasing number of deaths as a result of methamphetamine abuse. This allowed me to research the most common causes of these deaths further and found that suicide and overdose were the most occurring causes. This broadened my insight of methamphetamine abuse and led me to my research question and to study how methamphetamine induces depression as it is customarily linked to suicidal attempts. These sources were dependable due to its currency and were sourced from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, National Drug Strategy Household Survey, National Minimum Dataset, Hospital Morbidity Data and

One major change in the category of the substance-related disorders is that DSM–5 uses an overarching concept “substance use disorder” rather than two distinguished concepts in DSM–IV, which are “substance abuse” and “substance dependence.” As the diagnostic categorization changed, two sets of criteria – 4 aspects for “abuse” and 7 aspects for “dependence” – are replaced with a single set of criteria – 11 aspects for “substance use disorder” – with 3 levels of severity (mild: 2-3, moderate: 4-5, or severe: 6 or more) sub-classification. The contents of criteria are almost same, however, a criterion of legal problem is omitted and a new criterion that asks craving to use the specific substance is added. Another change is that DSM-5 classifies 10 classes of substances in addition to 1 addictive disorder whereas DSM-IV-TR recognizes 13 classes of substances. For example, DSM-5 puts together Amphetamine-Related and Cocaine-Related Disorders into Stimulant-Related Disorders with sub-categories (Amphetamine-type, Cocaine, or other stimulants). On the other hand, for almost all substance-induced disorders, the same criteria of intoxication and withdrawal are used in both DSM-5 and DSM-IV-TR (e.g. Alcohol intoxication, and alcohol withdrawal).

Major life stressors, chronic illness, medications, and relationship or work problems may cause Dysthymia. Now that you know a little bit more about Dysthymia, you are probably wondering, what are some of the symptoms? Some of the symptoms of Dysthymia are: sadness or depressed mood most of the day or almost everyday, loss of enjoyment of things that were once pleasurable, major change in weight ( weight loss or gaining weight), insomnia or excessive sleep throughout the day, Fatigue, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness or guilt almost everyday, thoughts about death or suicide. Now that you know some of the symptoms of Dysthymia, you might wonder, How are you diagnosed with it? A mental health specialist or a psychologist, generally makes the diagnosis based on the symptoms of the person. There is no blood, x-ray, or any other lab test that can find out if you have Dysthymia. Now that that’s clear, the final question is… Is it curable!? Although Dysthymia is a severe illness; it is also very treatable. As with any chronic illnesses, early diagnosis and medical treatment may reduce the intensity and duration of symptoms, and also reduce the likelihood of it developing into major depression. To treat Dysthymia doctors may use psychotherapy, more commonly known as, seeing a therapist, along with taking antidepressants. Dysthymia can be treated by a primary care physician. Now, last but not least is “Genetic Depression”. It has been known that depressive illness can run in families. Genes that we inherit from our parents can determine lots of things such as gender, hair and eye color. Our genes also determine which illnesses we may be vulnerable to at some point in our lives. Every cell in our body contains around 50,000 to 100,000 genes. They are all made up of DNA ( deoxyribonucleic acid). Genes are located on chromosomes within the nucleus of

Persons who suffer from untreated and/or undiagnosed mental illness are prone to turn to substance abuse in their attempts to self-medicate. Due to the mood-altering effects of substances, those who may experience anxiety, depression, and psychotic symptoms, tend to find temporary relief from such symptoms in their drug usage, however the adverse effects

The term depression is widely misused in today’s society. All human beings experience periods in life where they are sad for a relatively short period of time, which is considered normal. Those who experience sadness for extended periods may be suffering from depression. Two terms used to reference the classifications of depression, are Major Depressive Disorder, and Dysthymia. Individual diagnosis of these classifications is dependent on the length of time, and severity of symptoms experienced by the individual. The causes for these depressive states can be due to genetics or the insufficient production of neurotransmitters, which provide the brain with the data necessary to regulate one's psychological well being. Two examples