Posts Tagged Substance abuse

Stages of Substance Use

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction on March 25th, 2010

There are different stages of substance use. It starts from simple experimentation to hard addiction. Whichever stage one is in, there are mediation strategies to help steer clear from drug abuse. It is not necessary for someone to hit rock bottom before he can benefit from effective mediation and treatment.

Experimentation

This stage is where the use is basically voluntary. A teen may be curious of how using a particular substance, say marijuana, feels, and so he tries it. A child is angry with how his family has been broken by the divorce of his parents and he tries drugs to vent out his anger. A man lost his girlfriend or wife and he uses alcohol to mask the pain. These are possible ways of starting substance abuse – mere experimentation, and this can lead to regular use.

substance abuseRegular Use

After discovering that alcohol, marijuana and other drugs can make one forget, albeit just temporarily, certain problems in life, one uses the substance more often.

Risky Use

Regular use leads to risky use, when one starts to disregard the safety risks involved in frequent alcohol drinking or drug use. Take, for example, a man who has taken a few bottles of beer then disregarding the risk of driving under the influence,  and drives anyway.

Dependence

While one may still be able to maintain relationships and keep himself useful at work, it becomes necessary to use drugs at certain periods, like at night to facilitate sleep or in the morning as an energy booster.

Addiction

At this stage, the user becomes too involved with substance abuse leading to serious psychological and physical changes. The user now not only seeks the effects of the drugs, but also craves for it. It becomes a part of his life and he feels that he cannot function without it.

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Approaches of Primary Prevention for Drug and Substance Abuse

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Other Addictions on September 28th, 2009

primary prevention

The use of substances has been a very common practice amongst people in all cultures since the earliest times. But today the pattern of abuse as well as the nature of substances has changed considerably thereby affecting the consequences.

Newer substances are being found. The present day youth can also design drugs! But citizens like us, who have taken up the challenge to combat against this hydra headed monster, are also finding out better ways of reaching out to people and sensitizing them against the issue and the results have been quite rewarding. 

Globally primary preventive activities are being adopted and implemented to control substance abuse. The approaches basically aim at reducing risk factors and strengthening protective factors at the individual and environmental levels. In order to make primary prevention effective the involvement of the government, communities and others is an absolute necessity.

The Individual Approach of primary prevention aims at imparting necessary knowledge and developing skills and resources which helps in bringing about a change in the attitude, beliefs and values of the individual. Peer Education has proved to be very effective since it involves young people both as receivers and providers of information.

Building social and personal/cognitive skills improves young people’s abilities to interact socially, clarifies values and enhances self awareness. Participation in group projects providing leadership opportunities, discussion of feelings, values and perception through role play motivate young people to resist social pressure and teach them skills like decision making, problem solving and goal setting. Developing vocational and livelihood skills can increase work opportunities and increase independence.

The Environmental Approach aims at developing positive social norms by providing a safe and supportive environment. Providing interesting recreational activities, participation in community service projects, etc. helps in social bonding which acts as a protective factor. Availability of adequate resources and referral system, involvement of key persons in the local community are prime factors in primary prevention.

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Influence of Drugs on Memory and Learning

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on September 22nd, 2009

brain

Recently a study conducted by researchers on freely moving mice showed how the use of addictive drugs influence the neural processes associated with learning and memory.

The use of drugs, as is known to all, affects the level of dopamine secretion in the brain and this neurochemical has a pivotal role to play in the brain’s reward system. Dopamine also takes part in the neural processes involved in learning by strengthening the neural connections known as synaptic potentiation. Research evidence has also pointed out that the hippocampus, a brain structure involved in formation of new memories, is also responsible for development of drug addiction. 

Physiologically relevant quantity of nicotine, the addictive component of tobacco was applied to freely moving mice and the corresponding changes in the brain were recorded by the researchers. It was noted that nicotine induced synaptic potentiation correlated with the mice learning to prefer a place associated with nicotine use. But these effects require a local dopamine signal within the hippocampus.

“Although addictive drugs like nicotine have been shown to influence the induction of synaptic potentiation, there has been little or no research in freely moving animals that monitors ongoing induction of synaptic potentiation by a biologically relevant drug dose,” explains senior author Dr. John Dani from the Department of Neuroscience at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

“An animal’s memories or feelings about the environment are updated when the dopamine signal labels a particular event as important, new, and salient. Normally these memories help us to perform successful behaviors, but in our study, those memories were linked to the addictive drug.

When specific environmental events occur, such as the place or people associated with drug use, they are capable of cuing drug-associated memories or feelings that motivate continued drug use or relapse,” concluded Dani.

The study has been published in the journal “Neuron.”

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Drug Abuse: A Faulty way to cope with Life

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on September 16th, 2009

drug abuse teen

Drug abuse, as I had mentioned in my earlier post, is a maladaptive way to cope with one’s life and its problems. Interaction between certain factors increases the vulnerability of an individual to use drugs as a support to overcome the hurdles in life. There are some other factors which make the younger generation even more prone to abuse drugs. An understanding of these aspects is essential for the parents as well as the service providers so as to deal with the problem of teenage drug abuse more effectively.

Young people are curious and love to experiment with new things. Peer influence is maximum during this age. Peer group acts as the main source of information which may not be correct or appropriate. Their behavior, lifestyle, values, beliefs, personal self concept are more likely to be influenced by them. They might end up with peers who may not necessarily be good role models. They might get exposed to unhealthy behavior patterns through them.

Young people are constantly striving to be accepted by others. They make every effort to be a member of a group. If substance abuse is a culture of the group, the young members adopt it to be accepted by the group. It is also a way of showing that they are matured and are not afraid to be a member of the group.

Gaining personal independence and establishing a personal identity are major characteristics of adolescents and young adults. They seek separation from their family, gain a self determination, choose an occupation and develop their personal values. In an attempt to achieve all these they turn rebellious and suffer from low self esteem. In order to cope with these challenges they might turn to drugs.

Boredom is yet another risk factor since they get bored very easily. Feelings of inadequacy and anxiety regarding low performance in school could also act as precipitating factors.

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Global Awareness Campaign to Fight Substance Abuse

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on September 12th, 2009

SPSARV

A yearlong awareness campaign to fight substance abuse and related violence is being launched by the United Methodist Special Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence (SPSARV). National Recovery Month, the annual US observance in this month is serving as a channel to start the global initiative. This year’s theme is “Together We Learn, Together We Heal” and its objective is to uphold the necessity of spreading the awareness about substance abuse and also the importance of developing and accessing effective treatment and recovery services. The target group of this awareness campaign is the church leaders who will be encouraged to effectively respond to issues related to substance abuse in their congregations and communities.

The activities of SPSAVR in collaboration with the General Board of Church and Society’s Alcohol, Other Addictions and Health work area includes advocating for public policy on substance abuse and related violence. It works through its United Methodist Inter-Agency and Standing Committee Task Force to distribute resources throughout the global church.

The World Health Organization estimates that globally there are 76.3 million people suffering from alcohol related problems and 15.3 million people suffering due to substance abuse. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in 2007 around 20.8 million people in the country were in need of treatment services for alcohol or substance abuse problem but had no access to it.

Melissa H Davis, executive director of SPSARV said, “We hope the campaign will demonstrate to United Methodists throughout our church’s connectional system the sheer magnitude of the global alcohol and drug problem and encourage congregations to launch addiction ministries and advocate for just public policies in response.”     

The campaign will distribute educational articles to educate church leaders on issues related to substance abuse, identify clergy who are working for the cause and also disseminate The Big Book.

If you wish to have more information on SPSARV, you may please visit www.umspsarv.org.

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Choose the Right Intervention Program to prevent Drug Abuse

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on September 6th, 2009

Drug Abuse

Dealing with substance abuse has two aspects – Prevention and Intervention. While prevention deals with controlling addiction at the root level, intervention is required for those who are having a problem with drugs.

An intervention program acts as a lifesaver in many cases. The dependents, under the strong influence of drugs, fail to realize the necessity of such programs. They are often confused and fail to find out any solution for their suffering. It then becomes the responsibility of the family members, non-users friends and support group members to help him realize that drug abuse intervention program is the first step towards his recovery. In the eastern part of the globe, particularly in India, the social welfare organizations working for the cause, often utilize community resources to identify chemical dependents and guide them as well as their family members regarding the issue.

Deciding to take help for drug addiction is a very important step but selecting the right program is even more important. There are different types of programs offering diverse facilities. It depends upon you to select the suitable one. Be aware of some of these basic steps before you select one:

1. Find out whether the facility has an assortment of programs that can meet your needs. There are inpatient and out-patient services, minimal stay homes and full time residential facilities. Take the help of the medical personnel and the counselor to understand which one is required for you.
2. The next factor to be considered is the cost of the program. In this case you are the best judge to decide.
3. Medical-based treatments have been proved to be more successful. Since it provides a combination of therapies with prescription treatment to overcome the compulsion.
4. Select one that encourages the participation of the client’s family members and friends.
5. The program that ensures quality after care facilities even after discharge is highly beneficial.

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