|
This
is a lot of new words. Can you summarize these for me?
Yes, these terms can be confusing and are often used in
misleading ways in the popular press.
People may start to Use
alcohol or another substance for all sorts of reasons -
or for no very good or specific reason at all.
The social Use of some drugs such as alcohol
or cannabis may not result in negative consequences and
may not progress to a problem of Substance Abuse.
Substance Abuse refers
to excessive use, persistence of use despite negative consequences
or evidence of loss of control over use of alcohol or another
substance.
Some drugs are so dangerous that first
use or any other use is clearly Substance Abuse. This is
true for any use of crack cocaine, methamphetamine, glue
sniffing or heroin. Any use of any drug by injection is
dangerous and by definition, Substance Abuse.
A seemingly unexplainable but driving
compulsion to use drugs is referred to as Addiction.
The emotional turmoil, denial, disordered thoughts and addictive
behaviors are all symptoms of the sickness of Addiction.
Inherited vulnerability, family learning
and the regular use of a substance to get ‘high’
are the most important reasons why some persons will develop
an Addiction while others may not.
An addicted person may or may not have
a Physical Dependence on their drug or
choice. Some drugs are more likely than others to cause
Physical Dependence. Some drugs rapidly cause Physical Dependence
while others do not do so at all.
Physical Dependence is largely a result
of taking a certain type of drug regularly for a long time.
The reason why you are taking the drug does not so much
matter.
Sleeping pills of the benzodiazepine family
or opiate drugs such as oxycodone, morphine or heroin are
notorious examples of drugs that may cause Physical Dependence.
Taking a sleeping pill every night may
result in a Physical Dependence, but not necessarily an
Addiction. Regular use of an opiate drug to get ‘high’
will result in a devastating condition of both Physical
Dependence and Addiction.
Drinking or using a drug regularly to
change how you feel, to treat symptoms of social anxiety,
relieve stress or to boost confidence may all indicate a
problem of Psychological Dependence.
Self treatment of emotional symptoms with
alcohol or drugs, habitual use and Psychological Dependence
are all indications of Substance Abuse and may eventually
result in Substance Addiction, Physical Dependence or both.
The tendency towards Addiction and risk
of relapsed use may be life long. Active Addiction refers
to a person with Addiction and who is actively using alcohol,
drugs or is behaving in a way that will lead to use.
Abstinence refers to
a person with Addiction but who is not using at present.
Recovery refers to an active process of
learning to enjoy life without the use of alcohol or drugs.
Cross Addiction refers
to the expression of addiction in different ways and/or
at different times in life. The Cross Addicted person may
be addicted to both alcohol and gambling or may be addicted
to crack cocaine when young and an opiate drug when older.
|