Substance Abuse
[Author’s name]
Substance Abuse
Abstract
Today, substance abuse or drug abuse is one major concern specifically in the case of young individuals. It is one chronic health concern because it eventually restricts the proper functioning of the individuals in normal life. There is a need for proper identification of all the associated factors to this specific issue to offer useful preventive measures. The implications of the problems of substance abuse reveal in case of various physical, psychological, and behavioral concerns. Evaluation of these perspectives makes it easy for the policy-makers and healthcare services providers to deal with the drug abusers according to the actual requirements. This form of consideration helps to examine the actual intensity of the problem that appears in the case of the problem of substance abuse. The inappropriate use of any form of substance needs to be eliminated to give proper opportunities of development in life to every individual without any biasedness. Active involvement of all stakeholders is essential to properly handle the growing concern of the issue of substance abuse. This form of consideration is vital to save the future of many young individuals.
Substance Abuse
Introduction
Substance abuse or drug abuse is recognized as the one major health concern that is affecting many people around the globe. It is characterized as a great risk for human beings that require immediate fixation. It is important to critically understand this particular phenomenon and adopt practical measures accordingly. The issue of substance abuse defined as the systematic pattern of using harmful drugs that are not legal. The prospect of substance abuse adopted by the people for the sake of mood- altering. The facet of substances can be considered in different forms of illegal drugs such as alcohol ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"DOO3nHmh","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Mennis, Stahler, & Mason, 2016)","plainCitation":"(Mennis, Stahler, & Mason, 2016)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2063,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/3M9G8369"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/3M9G8369"],"itemData":{"id":2063,"type":"article-journal","title":"Risky substance use environments and addiction: a new frontier for environmental justice research","container-title":"International journal of environmental research and public health","page":"607","volume":"13","issue":"6","author":[{"family":"Mennis","given":"Jeremy"},{"family":"Stahler","given":"Gerald"},{"family":"Mason","given":"Michael"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Mennis, Stahler, & Mason, 2016). Consideration of these substances eventually turned as abuse when it is used by the individual without any proper recommendation or prescription. A detailed explanation of this particular issue is essential because the negative consequences of this health concern can observe in many different forms. Rapid solutions to this matter are necessary to save the lives of drug abusers and help them with their health and social struggles. Former research studies on this issue clearly indicate that alcohol/substance abuse greatly influence drug abusers in different forms such as physical and psychological effects. It is worthy to figure out the negative implications of this problem to propose better solutions. Effective solutions to this problem can never successfully offer without the deep understanding of its effects on behavioral domains of the users. This research paper focuses to identify characteristics of alcohol/substance abuse to critically analyze its physical and psychological effects on users.
Literature Review
There is extensive previous research work available in which researchers focused to explore different and crucial dimensions of the issue of substance abuse. Detailed consideration of the relevant research material is essential to examine the actual implications of the alcohol/drug abuse when it comes to mental, emotional, spiritual alterations. This form of exploration further helps to identify the various aspects associated with the broad concern of drug abuse. Consideration of credible research sources is necessary to properly understand the perspective of substance abuse. Substance abuse established as a critical disorder that influences people in different forms. It is vital to observe the impact of different aspects that play a critical role in the growing concern of drug abuse. Mennis, Stahler, & Mason (2016) focused to observe the impact of the risky environment that cause the issue of substance abuse and various forms of addiction. It is critical to examine how the environment can play its role in the growing issue of substance abuse considering its specific characteristics. Researchers of this study come up with the opinion that the issue of substance abuse and addiction can never be resolved without the proper consideration of the associated environmental factors ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"DOO3nHmh","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Mennis, Stahler, & Mason, 2016)","plainCitation":"(Mennis, Stahler, & Mason, 2016)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2063,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/3M9G8369"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/3M9G8369"],"itemData":{"id":2063,"type":"article-journal","title":"Risky substance use environments and addiction: a new frontier for environmental justice research","container-title":"International journal of environmental research and public health","page":"607","volume":"13","issue":"6","author":[{"family":"Mennis","given":"Jeremy"},{"family":"Stahler","given":"Gerald"},{"family":"Mason","given":"Michael"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Mennis, Stahler, & Mason, 2016). It is established by the researchers that access and exposure to substance are the major environmental domains that linked with the behavioral perspectives of the substance abusers. There is a need for observing environmental risks to minimize the growing hazards of substance abuse especially in the case of adolescents. This form of consideration is important to consider because this specific approach ultimately impacts different and useful preventive measures for the drug abusers.
Physical and psychological effects are the concerns that appeared in the case of substance abuse. Inappropriate use of illegal drugs such as alcohol influence the functioning of the victim in different physical and psychological forms. Steven, Murphy, & McKnight (2003) conducted a research study to examine the approach of traumatic stress (TS) in the case of adolescents who are suffering from the issue of substance abuse. The main objective of this form of consideration is to identify the psychological implications of the disorder of drug abuse. It is revealed by the researchers that young individuals who are drug abusers have greater tendency to face the problem of traumatic stress (TS) and the other forms of mental complications such as post-traumatic social disorder (PTSD). Another critical aspect explored by the researchers that gender difference also play a critical role when it comes to examining the existence of TS symptoms in substance abusers. Results of this study indicate that females have the higher propensity as compared to males in case of measuring the connection between substance use and different forms of physical and psychological illness ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"BZzLmtWk","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Stevens, Murphy, & McKnight, 2003)","plainCitation":"(Stevens, Murphy, & McKnight, 2003)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2064,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/KVVYQMRM"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/KVVYQMRM"],"itemData":{"id":2064,"type":"article-journal","title":"Traumatic stress and gender differences in relationship to substance abuse, mental health, physical health, and HIV risk behavior in a sample of adolescents enrolled in drug treatment","container-title":"Child maltreatment","page":"46-57","volume":"8","issue":"1","author":[{"family":"Stevens","given":"Sally J."},{"family":"Murphy","given":"Bridget S."},{"family":"McKnight","given":"Katherine"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Stevens, Murphy, & McKnight, 2003). It is concluded by the researchers that suitable treatment of the substance abuse disorder is only possible by examining the risk factors in the forms of behavioral and psychological concerns.
The research study conducted by Guillen, Roth, Alfaro, & Fernandez (2015) critically focused the behavioral prospects of the young individuals who involved in the issue of alcohol abuse. The main objective of this form of consideration is to identify all the potential risk factors that appear in case of the behavioral domain of the drug abuser. According to researchers, the examination of the behavioral features of alcohol users is essential to propose better protection against the issue of substance abuse. It is established that it is mandatory for the policy-makers to have complete understanding about the objectivity of the issue to propose suitable social policy. Comprehensive understanding of different forms of impacts of substance abuse is critical to evaluate the actual condition of this specific concern. Adoption of the particular behavioral domains by the alcohol abusers recognized as the necessary condition to understand in order to propose successful practical measures. Various forms of behavioral and emotional upheavals eventually increase the risk of substance abuse in the case of young individuals. Age, parental observation, parent-adolescent association, peer pressure, and the domain of antisocial behavior defined as the main behavioral aspects link with the issue of substance abuse ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"YXCxPRcC","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Guill\\uc0\\u233{}n, Roth, Alfaro, & Fern\\uc0\\u225{}ndez, 2015)","plainCitation":"(Guillén, Roth, Alfaro, & Fernández, 2015)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2065,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/GPYKRIIM"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/GPYKRIIM"],"itemData":{"id":2065,"type":"article-journal","title":"Youth alcohol drinking behavior: Associated risk and protective factors","container-title":"Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología y Salud","page":"53-63","volume":"6","issue":"2","author":[{"family":"Guillén","given":"Natalie"},{"family":"Roth","given":"Erick"},{"family":"Alfaro","given":"Alhena"},{"family":"Fernández","given":"Erik"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Guillén, Roth, Alfaro, & Fernández, 2015). Existence of concerns in this manner enhances the risk of substance-using in adolescents.
Discussion
Consideration of the detailed research work on the issue of substance abuse clearly reveals that there are many hazards involves in case of this particular concern. Identification of the physical and psychological implications of drug abuse is an imperative step to propose better solutions to substance abuse disorder. The phenomenon of substance abuse directly linked with the mental approach of the users. It is critical to evaluate all the changes that appear in case of substance abuse disorder concerning various forms. Substance abuse disorder defined as the medical condition that influences users in different forms that requires necessary and immediate attention. Identification of these particular aspects ultimately leads to offering better forms of treatment and prevention for the drug abusers. Substance abuse characterized as the disease that immensely affects a user particularly in the forms of brain functioning and behavioral approach. Extensive use of any form of the drug ultimately makes it impossible for the user to control different body functions. The main calamity of this specific issue is that drug abuser can never easily resist using the drug despite all the damages it causes. The adverse effects of the disorder of substance abuse can observe in different forms such as the physical and psychological impacts of this health concern.
Characteristics of Alcohol/Substance Abuse
Identification of the actual characteristics of alcohol/substance abuse is the primitive step to enhance understanding level about the actual concern in the form of drug abuse. This form of consideration assists to identify those factors that motivate individuals to become the substance abuser. Specific characteristics of substance abuse defined as the strong indicators to measure the actual intensity of the problem. Health specialist has the consensus that substance abuse is a serious disease of the brain that can better overcome through proper prevention and treatment. The objectives of necessary prevention and treatment can only achieve by identifying the significant characteristics of this particular problem. The characteristics of substance abuse defined as the serious signs or symptoms of this disease that should not be ignored.
The major characteristic of substance abuse reveals as the constant craving of using drugs. The victims start feeling that they have to use drugs on a regular basis. Growing usage of the substance is the sure sign of the chronic issue of substance abuse. It is also observed that with the passage of time, they start increasing the dose of the drug for a longer period of time. As days passing, their urge for the extra amount of drugs such as alcohol is enhancing. Excessive use of substance eventually negatively impact the routine functioning of the users. Completion of the daily obligations become greatly tough for substance users as they fail to attentively perform their tasks. Another critical characteristic associated with the issue of alcohol/substance abuse that patients of this disease start investing a huge amount of money on drugs. They adopt all means to meet their growing requirements of substance use. A detailed assessment of this issue also indicates that victims of the issue of substance abuse spend a large portion of their day to getting and consuming any form of substance to fulfil their growing requirements of the drugs. Extreme use of drugs ultimately makes it almost impossible for drug users to quit this practice and perform their daily tasks and responsibilities effectively and efficiently ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"YXCxPRcC","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Guill\\uc0\\u233{}n, Roth, Alfaro, & Fern\\uc0\\u225{}ndez, 2015)","plainCitation":"(Guillén, Roth, Alfaro, & Fernández, 2015)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2065,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/GPYKRIIM"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/GPYKRIIM"],"itemData":{"id":2065,"type":"article-journal","title":"Youth alcohol drinking behavior: Associated risk and protective factors","container-title":"Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología y Salud","page":"53-63","volume":"6","issue":"2","author":[{"family":"Guillén","given":"Natalie"},{"family":"Roth","given":"Erick"},{"family":"Alfaro","given":"Alhena"},{"family":"Fernández","given":"Erik"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Guillén, Roth, Alfaro, & Fernández, 2015). Identification of all these characteristics of the issue of substance abuse indicates that this particular issue can damage someone’s life. This form of consideration demands the timely assessment of the issue and offer suitable preventive measures to save many lives.
Physical and Psychological Effects of Substance Abuse
The concern of substance abuse greatly influences the neurological structure and actions of the users. Changes in case of brain functioning ultimately impact the physical domains of the individuals who are suffering from the issue of alcohol/ substance addiction. The effects of the neurological changes ultimately appear in case of physical health of the substance abuser. The major physical implications of this issue can observe in the form of typical features.
Symptoms of Withdrawal
Withdrawal is the major physical aspect concerning the issue of substance abuse in case of regular addictive form. It is observed that if the needs of the substance never meet then it ultimately cause increased frustration level in case of users. They start experiencing different and painful signs of constant cravings and withdrawal. These particular symptoms can observe in the forms of panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia, shakiness, headache etc.
Growing Tolerance
The increasing domain of tolerance is another explicit physical domain associated with the health issue of alcohol/substance abuse. With the passage of time as the dependency level of the drug abusers increases, they start consuming larger quantities of the drugs. Consideration of the high tolerance level makes it possible for the substance abusers to gain a large amount of the drugs that ultimately turned as the problem of overdose.
Physical Appearance
Clear changes in the appearance of the substance abusers is another major physical effect of this specific problem. Alterations in the physical appearance of the victims mostly observe in the form of extremely dry eyes, tooth decay, weight loss, pale skin, etc.
Increasing Risk of Illness
Frequent issues of illness is another major physical sign of the problem of substance abuse. It is established that excessive use of any form of a substance directly damages the immune system of the users and makes it difficult for them to fight against any form of the disease.
Serious Physical Health Concerns
Continuous use of any form of the substance increases the risk factor for the users in case of appearance of different chronic physical disease. Heart diseases, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol level are some of the serious physical ailments that can appear due to the inappropriate use of alcohol/substance.
Risk of Mental Illness
The psychological hazards of the issue of substance abuse can also be never ignored as it affects the daily functioning of the victim. It is observed that the excessive use of substance leads individual to suffer from different forms of mental illness ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"YXCxPRcC","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Guill\\uc0\\u233{}n, Roth, Alfaro, & Fern\\uc0\\u225{}ndez, 2015)","plainCitation":"(Guillén, Roth, Alfaro, & Fernández, 2015)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2065,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/GPYKRIIM"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/GPYKRIIM"],"itemData":{"id":2065,"type":"article-journal","title":"Youth alcohol drinking behavior: Associated risk and protective factors","container-title":"Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología y Salud","page":"53-63","volume":"6","issue":"2","author":[{"family":"Guillén","given":"Natalie"},{"family":"Roth","given":"Erick"},{"family":"Alfaro","given":"Alhena"},{"family":"Fernández","given":"Erik"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Guillén, Roth, Alfaro, & Fernández, 2015). With the passage of time, it becomes immensely difficult for the substance abuser to make rational decisions as substance dependence makes it difficult for them.
Condition of Denial
It becomes almost impossible for substance abusers to make rational decisions in their lives. They start adopting the approach of denial in order to protect themselves from the actual reality of life.
Hallucination and Delusions
Hallucination and delusions are the other major psychological aspects that appeared in case of the growing concern of substance abuse. These concerns of psychological approach mostly appear in case of the extreme edge of the problem of substance abuse ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"BZzLmtWk","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Stevens, Murphy, & McKnight, 2003)","plainCitation":"(Stevens, Murphy, & McKnight, 2003)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2064,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/KVVYQMRM"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/KVVYQMRM"],"itemData":{"id":2064,"type":"article-journal","title":"Traumatic stress and gender differences in relationship to substance abuse, mental health, physical health, and HIV risk behavior in a sample of adolescents enrolled in drug treatment","container-title":"Child maltreatment","page":"46-57","volume":"8","issue":"1","author":[{"family":"Stevens","given":"Sally J."},{"family":"Murphy","given":"Bridget S."},{"family":"McKnight","given":"Katherine"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Stevens, Murphy, & McKnight, 2003). It is recognized as one of the most adverse effects of the issue of alcohol/substance abuse.
Effects of Substance Abuse on Behavior
Behavioral changes are one clear effect that can be easily observed in case of the growing problem of substance abuse. It is established that the excessive dose of any form of substance influence the behavioral spectrums of the users in a different manner. This form of assessment is mandatory to measure the actual intensity of this particular concern of the brain functioning. The behavioral changes due to the concern of substance abuse can observe in many different forms such as the emotional, spiritual changes in case of substance abusers.
Consideration of the Manipulative Behavior
Improper brain functioning due to the excessive use of the substance makes it difficult for users to rationally analyze every life situation. They start lying to gain their benefits at any cost that might appear in case of obtaining resources to fulfil their needs for substance use. They never feel any hesitation to hurt others for the sake of their benefits. Trapping by the problem of substance abuse makes it complex for the abusers to analyze the entire situation and make a decision rationally.
Blaming Others
The concern of substance abuse eventually makes it difficult for drug users to take responsibility for their decision. They start believing that all the problems in their lives are due to the improper and unsupportive actions of others. They are never able to adopt a rational approach and analyze the situation. It is observed that excessive use of drugs compels users to think that life and other people are greatly unfair to them.
Neglected Behavior
Adoption of the neglected attitude is one common behavioral concerns that exist in case of concern of substance abuse. It is a common phenomenon that extreme use of any form of substance makes it difficult for the users to concentrate on their daily responsibilities. Excessive substance abusers wants to escape from every important matter of their life. The neglected behavior by the substance users can observe in case of their social role as a family member, friend, or an employee etc. Increasing focus on the consumption of substance ultimately makes it complex for the substance user to take any responsibility as the accountable individual.
Increasing Focus on Drugs
The medical issue of substance abuse causes chronic issues for drug users in the form of appropriate focus level. It is established that inappropriate use of drugs enhances difficulty level for the drug users to focus on other things except for different forms of the substance.
Higher Chances of Involving in Criminal Activities
The behavioral influence of the issue of substance abuse can clearly observe in case of drug user’s inclination towards various criminal activities. It is one common practice that drug users are willing to do anything to gain financial benefits, so they become able to buy more quantity of the substance. It is one alarming concern in the form of behavioral influence of the issue of substance abuse. Involving in different activities of stealing is recognized as the common behavioral effect of the issue of substance abuse. The growing urge of the dose of the substance compels drug users to adopt any means to fulfil their requirements of drug use. The increasing obsession of drug consuming makes it complex for the drug abuser to make a wise decision by considering different social and moral considerations.
The feeling of Guilt and Shame
The influence of substance abuse can observe in case of the emotional domain of the drug users. It is examined that the concern of substance abuse ultimately causes some clear changes in the emotional spectrums of the drug users. It is common to approach that sometimes drug abusers immensely faced ashamed due to their incompetence of quitting drugs.
Conclusion
To conclude the discussion about the chronic issue of substance abuse, it is integral to mention that this specific health concern can only properly address by considering different relevant characteristics. Detailed examination of the physical, psychological, behavioral, and emotional influences of the substance abuse helps to figure out the actual implications of this medical concern. Identification of the relevant aspect is the only viable measure to develop better practical domains in the forms of prevention and treatment for the victims of the issue of alcohol/substance abuse.
References
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Guillén, N., Roth, E., Alfaro, A., & Fernández, E. (2015). Youth alcohol drinking behavior: Associated risk and protective factors. Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología y Salud, 6(2), 53–63.
Mennis, J., Stahler, G., & Mason, M. (2016). Risky substance use environments and addiction: A new frontier for environmental justice research. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(6), 607.
Stevens, S. J., Murphy, B. S., & McKnight, K. (2003). Traumatic stress and gender differences in relationship to substance abuse, mental health, physical health, and HIV risk behavior in a sample of adolescents enrolled in drug treatment. Child Maltreatment, 8(1), 46–57.
