Understanding Alcoholism and Substance Use Disorders: Causes, Effects, and Treatment, Exercises of Abnormal Psychology

Download Understanding Alcoholism and Substance Use Disorders: Causes, Effects, and Treatment and more Exercises Abnormal Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! Abnormal Psychology – PSY404 VU ©Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 174 LESSON 37 ALCOHOLISM AND SUBSTANCE RELATED DISORDERS II Why do we need to study drug use? 1-We take aspirin to reduce headache. 2-We take an antibiotic to fight an infection. 3-We take tranquilizer to calm ourselves after facing a trauma. 4- We drink coffee or tea in the morning to get going. 5- Smoke a cigarette to relax our nerves. Examples 1- Sherlock Holmes a famous detective, a fictional character who took drug stimulants to keep himself alert. 2- Sportsmen take drugs to enhance their performance but in the long run their body develops drug dependence. The term drug applies to any substance other than food that changes our bodily and mental functioning. There are many substances that are capable of harming the body or adversely affecting the behavior and mood. The misuse of drugs has become one of the most disabling problems of the society. Drug misuse may lead to a temporary mental syndrome such as intoxication but chronic excessive use of drugs can lead to a substance use disorder. Substance use disorder can take two forms 1- Substance abuse 2- Substance dependence 1- Substance abuse A pattern in which people rely heavily on a drug and they structure their lives around a drug. 2- Substance dependence In which people show all symptoms of substance abuse plus physical dependence on the drug. It is believed that approximately 7 % of all adults in United States currently display some form of substance use disorder. Substance Dependence, the more severe in these two forms, refers to a pattern of repeated self- administration of increased amounts of the drug to achieve intoxication; withdrawal, unpleasant physical and psychological effects that the person experiences when he or she tries to stop taking the drug; and compulsive drug-taking behavior. The Concept of Substance Dependence Many psychological features or problems are associated with dependence on chemical substances. One such feature involves craving. Craving is a forceful urge to use drugs, but the relationship between craving and drug use is actually very complex. People who are dependent on drugs often say that they take the drug to control how they are feeling. Some clinicians refer to this condition as psychological dependence. As the problem progresses, it is not unusual for the person who abuses drugs to try to stop. Unfortunately, efforts at self-control are typically short-lived and usually failed. Tolerance and withdrawal are usually interpreted as evidence of physiological dependence. The explanation for drug abuse can be done by using the following perspectives docsity.com Abnormal Psychology – PSY404 VU ©Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 175 1- Biological 2- Psychodynamic 3- Behavioral 4- Socio-cultural • The biological view or perspective suggests that that people inherit a predisposition to drug addiction based on their research of twin and adoptee studies. • The psycho dynamic perspective view that people who turn to drugs have an inordinate dependency needs and they turn to drugs. • Behavioral perspective suggests that drug use is reinforced because it reduces tension and raises spirits. • Socio-cultural perspective suggests that the people most likely to develop a pattern of drug abuse are those where societies create stress and their families tolerate drug abuse. Integrated Systems • We can conclude that alcoholism and other forms of addiction clearly result from an interaction among several types of systems. • Various social, psychological, and biological factors influence the person’s behavior at each stage in the cycle, from initial use of the drug through the eventual onset of tolerance and withdrawal. The drugs that we will focus in this chapter fall into three categories 1- Depressants are substances which slow the activity of central nervous system they include • Alcohol • Sedative-Hypnotic drugs • Opioids. 2- Stimulants are substances that increase the activity of the central nervous system, resulting in the increased blood pressure, heart rate, intensified activity, thought processes and alertness. The important stimulants are • Cocaine • Amphetamines • Nicotine • Caffeine 3- Hallucinogens are substances that cause changes primarily in sensory perception. They include • LSD • Cannabis drugs 1- Depressants a- Alcohol • Alcohol affects virtually every organ and system in the body. • After alcohol has been ingested, it is absorbed through membranes in the stomach, small intestine, and colon. • The rate at which it is absorbed is influenced by many variables, including the concentration of alcohol in the beverage, the volume and rate of consumption, and the presence of food in the digestive system. • After it is absorbed, alcohol is distributed to all the body’s organ systems. • Almost all the alcohol that a person consumes is eventually broken down or metabolized in the liver. • According to DSM-IV-TR, the symptoms of alcohol intoxication include slurred speech, lack of coordination, an unsteady gait, nystagmus (involuntary to-and-fro movement of the eyeballs docsity.com Abnormal Psychology – PSY404 VU ©Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 178 • Both impair motor and cognitive functions. • It contributes to lung disease. Treatment for substance abuse disorders Treatment for substance abuse disorders include 1-Biological therapy 2-Insight therapy 3-Behavioral techniques (Aversive therapy and Relapse prevention training) 4- Self help groups 5-Therapeutic communities The goals of treatment for substance use disorders are a matter of controversy. 1- Some clinicians believe that the only acceptable goal is total absence from drinking or drug use. 2- Others have argued that, for some people, a more reasonable goal is the moderate use of legal drugs. 1- Biological Therapy a- Detoxification • Alcoholism and related forms of drug abuse are chronic conditions and their treatment is typically accomplished in a sequence of stages, beginning with a brief period of detoxification—the removal of a drug on which a person has become dependent—for 3 to 6 weeks. b- Medications • Following the process of detoxification, treatment efforts are aimed at helping the person to maintain a state of remission. • Several forms of medication are used to help the person refrain from drinking. • If a person who is taking medicine consumes even a small amount of alcohol, he or she will become severely ill. 2- Insight Therapy • Insight therapies try to help the clients become aware of and address the psychological factors that contribute to their pattern of drug use. 3- Behavioral Techniques a- Cognitive Behavior Therapy • Cognitive behavior therapy teaches people to identify and respond more appropriately to circumstances that regularly precipitate drug abuse. • One element of cognitive behavior therapy involves training in the use of social skills, which might be used to resist pressures to drink heavily. • Most people who have been addicted to a drug will say that quitting is the easy part of treatment. • The more difficult challenge is to maintain this change after it has been accomplished. b- Relapse Prevention Model • Alan Marlatt, a clinical psychologist at the University of Washington, and his colleagues have proposed a cognitive behavioral view of the relapse process. • The relapse prevention model addresses several important issues that confront the addict in trying to deal with the challenges of life without drugs. • Another important feature of the relapse prevention model is concerned with the guilt and perceived loss of control that the person feels whenever he or she slips and finds himself or herself having a drink (or a cigarette or whatever drug is involved) after an extended period of absence. c- Aversive Therapy Aversive conditioning in which an unpleasant stimulus is paired with the drug that the person is taking. docsity.com Abnormal Psychology – PSY404 VU ©Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 179 4-Self-Help Groups: Alcoholics Anonymous • Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is maintained by alcohol abusers for the sole purpose of helping other people who abuse alcohol become and remain sober. • AA is not officially associated with any other form of treatment or professional organization. • The viewpoint espoused by AA is fundamentally spiritual in nature. • In this 12 step procedure in which the first step is the person must acknowledge that he or she is powerless over alcohol and unable to manage his or her drinking. • The remaining steps involve spiritual and interpersonal matters such as accepting “a Power greater than ourselves” that can provide the person with direction; recognizing and accepting personal weaknesses; and making amends for previous errors, especially instances in which the person’s drinking caused hardships for other people. 5- Therapeutic communities • Therapeutic communities or residential therapeutic communities where addicts live, work and socialize in a drug free environment. • There is social and cultural disapproval and unacceptability for drinking, smoking and use of drugs because it has become one of the most disabling problems of the society. • Just say no to drugs. • It feels good. • YOU can get help in saying no to drugs from your own self, family, friends and others. docsity.com