SUD: A Case Study

The VA runs the largest substance use disorder treatment program in the world. Treatment of veterans with SUDs and co-occurring psychiatric disorders is one of the following three paradigms; parallel, sequential, and integrated. Most VA programs are parallel, where the patient receives treatment for SUD in one program and treatment for PTSD in another. Many SUD-PTSD veterans may be unable to navigate the separate systems or make sense of the disparate messages about PTSD treatment and recovery. One challenge to dissemination and implementation of EBTs is that of dual disorders, particularly SUD and PTSD. These patients use costly inpatient services, tend to have frequent relapses, and are less likely to adhere to or complete treatment.

During the state of SUD it is question whether the individual suffering from such a disease should be held accountable for their actions. Another distinguishing factor between SUD and abuse is that SUD are not static entities but rather evolve over time (Doweiko, 2015). This evolution or rather stages are ranged from 0-4 which include total abstinence to middle to late stage addiction. SUD must also meet certain criteria’s in the DSM-5 manual. There are 4 general categories to determine if an individual suffers from SUD (Doweiko, 2015). The categories consist of impaired control over substance, multiple attempts to quit, activities center around getting substance, using, or recovering from using, and pharmacological effects of the drug. Manifestations, spiritual, vocational, primary disease, and potential to be fatal is also considered in the diagnosis criteria of SUD. Substance abuse on the other is used when individual uses a substance or compound for no medical reason or the substance is used in excess (Doweiko, 2015). Abuse has no physical dependency from the chemical, has no automatic physical

The choices he used to cope with his life events created his disorder. It almost seemed as inevitable for him to avoid this path because the cues that presented themselves were all just factors that amplified his poor mental health outcome. The biological indicator, the alcohol dependence for stress relief, and then the substance abuse that was evoked by the physicians were all measures that built on top of each other. The DSM-V categorizes substance use disorder as a combination of substance abuse and substance dependence. It is said that only two symptoms need to be apparent in order to be diagnosed with the disorder. Mark’s pharmacological effects of tolerance and withdraw of the pain medication are alone enough criteria for the diagnosis. In conclusion, Mark substance use disorder is a cluster oh his behavioral, cognitive, and physiological symptoms which resulted in his continue use of the substances despite the evident

Treatment for co-ocurring disorders fall under the outpatient spectrum for addiction rehabilitation, however, it is an essential and successful form of treatment specifically for veterans. For many civilians who have not been to combat it is difficult to comprehend the toxic combination of pride, anger, duty, anguish and anxiety many veterans feel after their time in the service. Consequently, adjusting back to civilian life is a difficult task to accomplish; while some veterans sustain only minor physical and psychological wounds from combat, others aren’t as lucky. As mentioned above, for veterans, PTSD is considered a mental health condition caused by the traumatic events experienced in wartime. Thus often causing veterans to drugs or alcohol to self-medicate. If left unaddressed, PTSD and substance abuse in veterans can be

Practice: This article first identifies the scope of the problem, followed by the effect of dual diagnosis on treatment outcome, followed by how individual PTSD treatments work and how they view substance abuse, followed by addressing the problems with sequential treatment of PTSD/SUD, lastly addressing the integrated treatment approaches. These implications are supported by empirical data collected from various studies.

The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute (2002) states that substance abuse can occur in many clients who also have anxiety/stress disorders. The user believes that using alcohol or drugs will help lessen the feelings they have and somehow enable them to “cope” (The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, 2002). Unfortunately, most users like James are unable to realize the substances are not helping their problems. Most people with alcohol and other drug use disorders who also suffer from other mental health disorders require an integrated care plan for the best chance at recovery (Sterling, Chi, & Hinman, 2011).

There is also research, which reveals that around 75% of those in programs for substance use disorder, also require treatment for co-occurring mental health disorder. Furthermore, individuals reporting mental health problems report a higher alcohol consumption rate at higher risk levels. Not only does this show a high rate of mental health and substance use co-inhabiting in massive numbers of patients, but also indicates that there is a need for not just treating substance use disorder but also treating mental health disorders as well. The co-occurrence of mental health and substance use is known commonly as Dual Diagnosis. It is estimated that dual diagnosis effects between 30% and 90% of those in substance use treatment (Crome, etc.

PTSD is just a precursor to abuse of drugs and alcohol. The study further states that Viet Nam vets had the larger percentage of drug users than all the other war veterans of WWII, Korea, Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan, to date. The study presented evidence that spouses of veterans were diagnosed with PTSD more than civilians and that they were more likely to abuse substances. Research confirmed that those that exhibited symptoms of PTSD from dealing with the outbursts of the vets would self-medicate with the illicit use of drugs and alcohol to combat the stress that their partners put upon

Substance abuse, or substance use disorder (SUD), is recognized by the medical community as continual overindulgence of an addictive substance such as drugs and alcohol. The extent of a person’s involvement in the disorder is measured by the amounts normally consumed and the length of time between periods of consumption. Substance abuse does

It now is by, and large recognized that these patients have needed to explore divided frameworks and that they have gotten treatment that is less open and less compelling than the medical services framework can convey. For quite some time the presence of a co-occurring disorder diagnosis has been ignored, overlooked or misdiagnosed, health care providers and policymakers now perceive that these conditions are prevalent and that the dominant part of patients with substance abuse issues doubtlessly has a co-occurring disorder.

Eventually, the abuse of these substances can form into Substance Use Disorder (SUD), and treatment ought to be given for both PTSD and SUD to prompt fruitful recuperation. The uplifting news is that treatment of co-happening (occurrence in the meantime) PTSD and SUD lives up to expectations.

Results- High rates of comorbidity suggest that PTSD and substance use disorders are functionally related to one another. Most published data support a pathway whereby PTSD precedes substance abuse or dependence. Substances are initially used to modify PTSD High rates of comorbidity suggest that PTSD and substance use disorders are functionally related to one another symptoms. With the development of dependence, physiologic arousal resulting from substance withdrawal may exacerbate PTSD

SUDEP is defined as the “sudden, unexpected, witnessed, or unwitnessed, nontraumatic and nondrowning death in patients with epilepsy, with or without evidence for a seizure and excluding documented status epilepticus, in which postmortem examination does not reveal a toxicological or anatomic cause for death” (Nashef 1997). The majority of SUDEP is unwitnessed, making it difficult to identify associated factors at the time of death (Lamberts et al. 2012. Epilepsia). However, risk factors have been revealed through retrospective analysis of SUDEP cases. These risk factors include Dravet syndrome (Le Gal et al. 2010; Kalume 2013), sleeping in prone position (Liebenthal et al. 2015), a lack of supervision by personnel capable of intervention (Nashef

Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects many different people in different ways. Along with post-traumatic stress disorder often comes a co-morbid aspect that patients see as coping mechanisms for the post-traumatic stress disorder that they know little about. Post-traumatic stress and alcohol/substance abuse addiction often find themselves closely related due to the vast amount of individuals who use alcohol or other substances to treat the symptoms of PTSD. When a patient takes on substance abuse, they no longer have one disorder to deal with, they have two. Patients and counselors

Drug and alcohol addiction is a very serious and widespread problem in America, and across the globe. Drug addiction is a constant craving, seeking, and using of a substance, despite the negative consequences it may have on the addict or those around them. When drug use becomes more frequent, it is considered drug abuse. Once an individual’s drug abuse is can no longer be controlled, and they are using the drug to get through everyday life, it beomes an addiction. A person on drugs has an altered way of thinking, behaving, and perceiving. There are treatment facilities all over the world dedicated to help those suffering with drug addictions. All