Substance Disorders: A Psychological Analysis

Since I was young I was told I was a quiet child, very mousy like who was always hiding behind her mother’s leg. I would never leave my mother's side and if I was greeted by a stranger, I would retreat from them, so I was shy. My mom would encourage me to go and say hi to others or play with a child that asked me to join in a game. I would at times play with them, but I would always go back to my mom when I had enough playing or was stressed. While I am comfortable to explore and later going to my mom when I want to be safe, I was avoidance of others and never felt comfortable, but I did have fun when I was comfortable.

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

Annotated Bibliography Thesis: In the American society today, many families today and individuals are affected by the constant abuse of drugs and alcohol. Both alcohol and drug abuse victimize children and teens of all ages, ruin lives and damage families. Crimando, William, and T. F. Riggar.

Volkow explains that drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by uncontrollable drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences and changes in the brain. The addiction starts when someone consumes a drug, Nora explains. But as time goes on, the person’s ability to stop the use of the drug becomes very difficult. The reason behind this is that there is a dangerous substance used in the majority of these products called nicotine, which is very addictive. However, there is a treatment for this addiction, but it involves a lengthy treatment.

Substance use disorder is not a brain disease, and it will be proven in this paper. Drugs are addicting, and habit forming. Does this make it a brain disease? There can be many different brain diseases, including infections, seizures, trauma, tumors, etc. People could become dependent on a drug the first time they use it, or after chronic use. It really depends on their tolerance to that particular drug. The fact-based accounts from recovered addicts commonly point to the role of monetary and family apprehensions, that is, possibilities other than those directly connected to obtaining and taking drugs, as being main features in their termination of drug exploitation. They basically have an alternative choice that changes from abuse of a drug

When referring to quality of life for an individual with substance abuse, also referred to as substance use disorder (SUD), through practice and research, the nurse is able to identify, test, and apply interventions that promote quality of life (QOL). According to Lubkin and Larsen (2013), “Application of research findings to an individual’s quality of life enables nurses in clinical practice to plan and deliver evidence-based care” (p. 183). With the use of evidence base practice, the nursing interventions can be individualized to the preferences and values of the client, which will ensure better adherence to along term commitment plan. Quality of life assessments can be used to evaluate the impact of substance abuse on the client and their

Across all addictions, there is a central theory as to how such an addiction can occur. The common mechanism of all addictive substances is the activation of the brain’s “reward system”, made up of dopaminergic neurons of the midbrain and their extensions to the limbic system (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3272277/). This system is normally used in advancing evolutionary fitness promoting activity, such as sex, food, or social interactions (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3272277/). In such normal natural behaviors, the reward system activity is relatively brief and weak. However, addictive substances abuse the system’s circuitry, causing

It is said that pain is the touchstone of spiritual growth. Oftentimes it takes intense emotional trauma to cause a person to discover a spirituality of rare depth. Many past and present recovering alcoholics and junkies can attest that they first had to be reduced to a state of hopelessness by their addiction, forced to look into the maw of the Beast, before becoming desperately willing to latch onto a spiritual way of life that solved their problems. Even after abstinence is achieved, periodic episodes of emotional suffering met by renewed faith in a Higher Power is necessary to fuel spiritual progress. Following here is a discussion of how substance-use disorder (SUD) can serve as the spiritual crisis that precipitates recovery, including

Substance use Disorder is the new term that the DSM-5 uses to replace substance use and substance dependence. Analyzing the criteria of the individual the disorder is labeled mild moderate or severe. Evidence of a substance use disorders is found when the use of alcohol or drugs leads to significant impairment, such as health problems, disability, and failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school, or home. According to the DSM-5, a diagnosis of substance use disorder is based on the amount of control of the impairment, social impairment, risky use, and pharmacological criteria. The most common substances of abuse are alcohol, tobacco, cannabis (marijuana), stimulants, hallucinogens, and opioids. Taking a closer look at each of the

The Cognitive Behavioral View suggests that operant conditioning may play a big role in addiction because the high produced by the substance, is what they continually seek, so they do it over and over, forming an addiction. Then, the more they abuse the substance, a tolerance occurs and they must use more and more to feel the high. The Cognitive Behavioral View also believes that those who abuse substances do it in an attempt to self-medicate when they feel tense. This is done possibly because they have not learned the correct way to de-stress without the mean of

Reported heroin use in the United States is rising. Recent data suggest that almost 700,000 Americans consumed heroin last year, which represents an almost 40% increase from 2007 (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association, 2014; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association, 2008). An overwhelming increase in the dependence on prescription opioid analgesics over the last two decades combined with a supply heavy market of high quality-low cost heroin imported from South America may be concurrent factors driving this trend (Cicero, Ellis, Surratt, & Kurtz, 2014; Mars, Bourgois, Karandinos, Montero & Ciccarone, 2014; Lankaneau et al., 2011).

He is the best nurse on the floor. Everyone admires him – patients, fellow nurses, doctors, administration. He works extra shifts in the emergency department, sometimes as often as six shifts per week despite chronic back pain. What about the seasoned staff nurse? You notice a change in her. She is moody, appears dazed, and is making mistakes frequently. She is late and unkempt, and is not as social as she once was. While one may be quick to assume substance use from the second nurse, in reality, the first nurse is just as likely to be working while impaired. Substance use disorders can – and do – have a very serious impact on the nursing community. Determining, labeling, and reporting a substance use problem is not always easy. This is why, when entering the nursing workforce, it is important to have a working knowledge and understanding of substance use. This includes familiarity with risk factors and signs of substance use, as well as knowing how to seek help for oneself or a colleague. With an awareness of the implications of substance use on nursing, new nurses may be better equipped to take action against this ever-present occupational hazard (NCSBN, 2011).

Substance use disorders are critical problems reported to influence the U.S. population at a dire scale. Hazardous alcohol use is a leading grantor to high risk behaviors and negative health concerns; for this reason, the exposure of alcohol use disorders aggregates an enormous implications for public health care providers across several different continuums (Westermeyer, 2004). Screening apparatuses for alcohol consumption continue to be a topic of regard; several tools have been created to screen for alcohol use and numerous measures have been found to look for particular drug use (Maisto & Saitz, 2003). This paper will provide a synopsis of three screening and assessment operations that may best serve this

After reading through the biological approaches section in chapter 8, it became glaringly obvious what works and what does not work. When talking about the treatment of substance use disorders, detoxification is extremely important, but that seems to be only part of the solution. Chemical cravings to drugs and alcohol seem to be overwhelming and almost impossible to do by oneself, and the use of professional help seems almost necessary.

Substance use may be viewed as recreational to some, however to others, it is the beginning of the road to an addiction. According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-V (2013), a diagnosis of substance use disorder is based on evidence of impaired control, social impairment, risky use, and pharmacological criteria. Substance use disorders occur when recurring drug use, including alcohol, causes clinically and functionally significant damage, such as health problems, disability, and failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school, or home. These criteria are nearly identical to that of addiction, which is a reason they are used interchangeably. In the last decade, substance use, particularly illicit drug use, has been increasing ("DrugFacts: Nationwide trends | National Institute on Drug Abuse", 2014). Is this due to the high stress society in which we live, or an individual’s predisposition to addiction? In all likelihood it is a combination of both, as well as emotion regulation, a process which allows for the evaluation, monitoring, and modifying of emotional reactions to accomplish goals. This paper will address the possible role of emotion regulation on substance use disorders and the research behind it.