Substance Abuse And Mental Health

The correlation of mental health and substance use in adolescence is very problematic. Many believe that the relationship between the two are so strong that it plays a causative role in the development of adolescents. It places adolescents at risk for problems within their families, communities, and as an individual. This disease can be severe enough that it impairs the adolescent 's ability to function as a person. Both mental health and substance abuse are entangled within one another, that it makes it difficult to decipher which condition is causing each symptom. However, several research studies concluded that adolescents who suffer from mental illness may self-medicate their symptoms by using drugs. The juvenile justice systems suffer from adolescents with mental health disorders, substance abuse or even both.

According to the Diagnostic Statistic Manual 5 (DSM-5) substance use disorder is when the individual has a dependency on alcohol or drug, followed by penetrating craving and antisocial behavior to acquire the substance. The terms substance abuse and substance dependence refer to substance use disorder, which has been separated into three classifications as follows

The human and economic toll of co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders in this country demands immediate attention. Though the problems associated with co-occurring disorders have long been acknowledged and discussed, there has been little consensus about how to accomplish needed system change. In this time period, there are many different disorders and illnesses that go unnoticed, and unknown.

Did you know that 19.9 percent of adult Americans had some sort of a mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (samhsa.gov, 2015, Para. 3). This is a total of 45.1 million adults in America suffering with mental health disorders (samhsa.gov, 2015, Para. 3). There are also currently 20.8 million adults in America who suffer from substance use disorder ever year (NAMI.org, 2015). Both of these are alarming statistics of the wellbeing of the American citizens. To make matters worse, these two groups intertwine to a population of people known with a co-occurrence of mental illness and substance use or, more commonly known as, dual diagnosis.

This treatment should help the person by stopping the use drugs, staying drug-free, and being productive in the family, at work, and in society. The addiction is treated with detoxification, behavioral counseling, medication, an evaluation and treatment for co-occurring mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and a long-term follow-up to prevent relapse. Some drugs can vary in treatment, but all go through a similar process. This article is important for our project because it shows the numerous ways someone can get treatment. According to SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 22.5 million people (8.5 percent of the U.S. population) aged 12 or older needed treatment for drug or alcohol

Co-occurring mental health disorders (MHD) and substance abuse disorders (SUD) are increasingly prevalent in youth. According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), nearly 1.3 million adolescents ages 12-17 years old had a SUD in 2014 (2014). Co-occurring MHD and SUD can limit one’s ability to function in everyday life. MHD alone can compromise judgement and behavior (SAMHSA, 2014). Substance abuse may worsen or trigger symptoms of MHD in adolescents. Youth that are diagnosed with a MHD are twice more likely to develop a SUD than the general population (Anthony, Taylor, & Raffo, 2010). An estimated 21% of adolescents in the United States have a diagnosable MHD or SUD that affects their ability to function daily (SAMHSA, 2011).

There is a wealth of literature about the relationship between substance use and mental illness. Bahorik, Newhill, and Eack (2013) reported that individuals who have a mental illness have a higher prevalence rate of substance use than individuals who do not have a mental illness. Fluery, Grenier, Bamvita, Perreault, and Caron (2014) cite that at least one half of people who develop a substance abuse problem report being diagnosed with a co-occuring mental disorder. There is an abundance of information in the field that provides support for the assertion that there are high rates of comorbidity, which leads into the question of why the two constructs are often found together. Specific factors such as demographics, types of mental illness and motivation for engaging in substance use are considered. Ratnasingham et al. (2013) conducted a study in Ontario on the burden of mental illness and found that the burden of living with comorbid substance use and mental illness increases the risk of early mortality and decreases overall quality of life, so much so that the consequence of living with each ailment is greater than the consequences of the four most common types of cancer and all other infectious diseases. The primary motivation for substance abuse is to cope with psychological distress or negative emotions stemming from

There has been growing research in the realm of social implications for one of the major minority groups, Pacific Islanders. This paper examines an underlying correlate of high substance abuse, impact on mental health, and internalized oppression as the dissonance between modern day Islander culture and Western culture. The research intertwines how acculturation plays a role in this and how treatment toward well-being in this culture, differs from Western customs. For many young Pacific Islander Americans, and Hawaiian’s such as myself, there’s been a sense of limited information on the history and culture of my heritage. This has caused me consternation, as my culture and ethnic identity is important to me. My experience with my relatives reflect ambivalence to the many situations Hawaii people face. As a personal exemplar, my grandma, who is fully Hawaiian, becomes visibly upset and angry when she recounts her life experiences. This to me represents a culture identity conflict due to intrusion of Western Culture.

Educating the public about the high rates of substance abuse in wealthy communities is important as data shows the relationship between adolescents’ socioeconomic status and risk of alcohol or drug abuse. Also, providing adequate resources to families with a history of substance abuse is another way to prevent teens from nurturing the same behaviors. Implementing more policies that regulate alcohol and drug advertising is critical as these industries focus on targeting the youth to make them lifelong consumers. Efforts to combat substance abuse among adolescents continues to be a national health issue but with the appropriate services, it can be

As the use of illegal drugs and alcohol continues, substance abuse across America has become a very serious social problem. It is mental illness that has an effect on different races, classes and genders. The affects of substance abuse has caused countless of people to feel heartache and develop feelings of hopelessness. With alcohol and drugs readily available through prescription or on the streets (Butler,2010), it is obvious why many are acquiring addictive patterns to these accessible substances, and that the continual abuse of these substances has a severe long-term effect. Characteristics such as age, gender, race, socio-economic class, sexual orientation, different social groups, and geographical location are contributing factors

The cost of alcohol and substance abuse in the United States reaches heights of four hundred eighty four billion dollars per year (“Drug Abuse is Costly, n.d.”). That’s about seven hundred eighty times the amount it cost to diagnose and treat sexually transmitted diseases in the year 2000 (Chesson, 2000). The social issue I will be analyzing in this writing is substance abuse. Much of my childhood and adolescence was spent dealing with the consequences of substance abuse of many of my family members. I would not only like to help bring more awareness to this issue, but also help in some way to end the stigma associated with substance abuse, because it is a mental illness all on its own. And these individuals do need proper intervention and care.

Substance abuse complicates almost every aspect of care for the person with a mental disorder. When drugs enter the brain, they can interrupt the work and actually change how the brain performs its jobs; these changes are what lead to compulsive drug use. Drug abuse plays a major role when concerning mental health. It is very difficult for these individuals to engage in treatment. Diagnosis for a treatment is difficult because it takes time to disengage the interacting effects of substance abuse and the mental illness. It may also be difficult for substance abusers to be accommodated at home and it may not be tolerated in the community of residents of rehabilitation programs. The author states, that they end up losing their support systems

Mental health recovery is a journey of healing and transformation enabling a person with a mental health problem to live a meaningful life in a community of his or her choice while striving to achieve his or her full potential (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery 2006, as cited in Synovec, 2015, p. 51). Therefore, there should be recognition by the clinician that recovery means having an opportunity to live a meaningful, satisfying and purposeful life and this emphasises on the the notion that there is hope for recovery. In Daphne’ s case, I would ensure that her discharge action plan focuses on effective management of her depression, preventing relapse and

According to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, tobacco use in America starts during youth and young adulthood. 88% of adults who smoke tobacco said that they began smoking or using tobacco products before the age of 18. The use of tobacco products causes many deathly body affects such as lung cancer and heart diseases. Another substance that is popular among youth is the drug called marijuana. In America, over 10% of people ages twelve to seventeen smoke marijuana. Some of these users smoke almost every day. Although marijuana has started to become used for medical purposes, there are still negative side effects for people of such young ages. For example, since marijuana goes directly to the bloodstream it affects brain functions and learning abilities, coordination, as well as judgment. Despite the fact that the amount of youth using drugs is still higher than most Americans want it to be, in earlier decades it was much worse. During the 1980’s over fourteen percent of youth were using just marijuana. Those youth were also using drugs like cocaine, meth, and tobacco products. During the 1980’s, the percentage of youth in prison began to rise. A study was conducted to see how many of these children in jail used drugs before their arrests and from these tests, it was observed that over 56% of them used drugs. The reason for such a high percentage in youth is that drug dealers and drug users began to target schools. Students would be

Shi (2014) conducted his study at the University of California in San Diego. The 39,133 participants were non-institutionalized adults from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The participants age ranges were between 18 and 65. Shi (2014)