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UNDERSTANDING DRUG AND ALCOHOL ADDICTION

Presented by: Judith GissyPCC, LICDC, NCAC II, SAP

“© 2017 Bethesda Healthcare, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copying or reproducing this document is strictly prohibited."

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TriHealth EAP is a part of the Corporate Health division of the TriHealth Healthcare

System. We provide:

• Assessment

• Referral

• Counseling

• Crisis Intervention

• Work/life services

• Management Consultation

• Workplace Training

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TRAINING GOALS

• To define drug addiction

• To answer the most common questions asked about drug addiction

• To describe how to help someone who is suffering from an addiction

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QUESTIONS ABOUT ADDICTION

• Addiction to drugs causes untold damage in this country.

• Addiction can be devastating to the person, their families, the workplace, and the entire community.

• Most everyone knows someone who has an addiction.

• Through scientific advances, we know more about the disease of addiction than ever before.

• The better we all understand the nature of drug addiction, the better we can help those people we know who are suffering from the disease.

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WHAT IS DRUG ADDICTION?

• Drug addiction is a complex and chronic brain disease

• It is the use of mood-altering chemicals that results in abnormal reactions in that person’s brain, causing symptoms of addiction.

• It is the use of drugs that results in severe problems in the individual’s life, and despite those problems, the person continues using the drug.

• It can affect any person in any job position, any neighborhood, and any socio-economic status.

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IS ADDICTION REALLY A DISEASE?

• It has been widely accepted in the medical community that addiction is a disease.

• Most people have a choice about using a drug; they don’t have a choice, regarding what that drug does to their brains and the rest of their body once they do use it.

• There is evidence that the brain of someone who is addicted processes mood-altering drugs in a different way.

• For example, they experience a greater “high,” have a high tolerance, and an inability to quit once they start.

• There is evidence that the individual’s brain is permanently changed by the disease of addiction.

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HOW DO DRUGS AFFECT THE BRAIN?

• Mood-altering drugs release a surge of the “feel-good” neurotransmitter, dopamine, which causes euphoria.

• The brain remembers these pleasurable feelings and wants them repeated.

• Over time, the brain producing less dopamine, so the person is unable to feel happy without the drug.

• Long-term abuse causes changes in other brain chemical systems, affecting the ability to learn, decision making, memory, and behavior control.

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HOW ABOUT OTHER ADDICTIONS, LIKE FOOD, GAMBLING, AND SPENDING?

• While there is no chemical being introduced into the body, there are similarities between drug addiction and addiction to other behaviors, like overeating, sex, gambling, and over-spending.

• There is evidence that these behaviors can set off dopamine in the brain, that the person becomes addicted to the dopamine, and develops a tolerance.

• There is also evidence that addictions come in “clusters,” i.e. if a person is addicted to one behavior, they are more likely to become addicted to another.

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WHY WOULD SOMEONE EVEN TRY A DRUG?

• Most people who are addicted start using as teenagers.

• Most people who get addicted were introduced by a friend, family member, boyfriend or girlfriend.

• Many people try a drug in order to self-medicate emotional pain.

• Many people get addicted to alcohol first, resulting in poor judgment.

• Often there is a “honeymoon period” when first using a drug, when the “high” is euphoric and problems are few.

• Most people don’t believe that they will get addicted.

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CAN PARENTS PREVENT CHILDREN FROM HAVING A DRUG PROBLEM?

• Studies have shown that there are things parents can do to lessen the chance their teenagers will get involved with illegal drugs.

• In general, if parents provide an emotionally healthy environment, open communication, & good supervision, they can make a difference in that teen’s chance of getting involved with drugs.

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PARENTS CAN PREVENT DRUG USE BY:

• Staying aware of their child’s friends, social life, and after-school activities

• Talking to their teens about drugs on a frequent basis

• Being a good role model regarding responsible use of alcohol and abstaining from illegal drugs

• Building strong family ties with their children

• Limiting the accessibility of alcohol, over the counter medications, and prescription medications in the home

• Imbuing their children with a strong sense of community

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WHAT DRUGS ARE PEOPLE

GETTING ADDICTED TO?

• The particular drugs involved in addiction are different in each area of the country, and change over time, as the availability and “popularity” of different drugs change.

• Alcohol remains the most widely-abused drug, and the most frequently used “drug of choice” in addiction.

• According to the Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network, the illegal drugs being abused in Ohio, in order, are: heroin and fentanyl, marijuana, prescription opiates, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, & sedatives

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IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PHYSICAL ADDICTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ADDICTION?

• Psychological addiction means that the drug is satisfying an emotional need, and/or the person’s emotions cause them to crave the drug.

• Physical addiction means that the body develops a tolerance, and experiences withdrawal symptoms when quitting.

• Many drugs start out as psychologically addicting, and develop over time into becoming physically addicting.

• However, all drug addiction is still physical, because even psychological addiction occurs in the brain.

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WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF ADDICTION?

• High tolerance --- needing to use more and more of the drug to get the same effect

• Loss of Control – Using much more than intending to

• Relief Use – Using drugs to cope with negative emotions

• Drug-Centered Lifestyle – The person’s social life, friends, revolve around their drug use

• Life Problems – the drug problems with the relationship, finances, the law, and the job

• Withdrawal Symptoms – Painful physical effects when the person stops using the drug.

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ARE ALCOHOLISM & DRUG ADDICTION DIFFERENT?

• The side effects of each drug is different, depending on how the drug affects other parts of the brain.

• Each drug is different in their availability, how they’re used, their level of legality, their level of addictiveness, other side effects, and the progression of the disease.

• There are more similarities than differences in addiction to alcohol and addiction to other drugs.

• The symptoms of all drug addiction are essentially the same, no matter which drug is involved.

• If the individual is addicted to one drug, they are addicted to all drugs.

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THE DISEASE OF ALCOHOLISM

• The progression of alcoholism is slower than the progression of addiction to many other drugs.

• Because alcohol is legal and socially acceptable, it often takes longer to identify that the person has a drinking problem.

• Because of the effects of alcohol on the brain, there are symptoms of addiction only prevalent in alcoholism, like blackouts and personality change.

• Alcoholism results in withdrawal symptoms only in the late stage.

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ARE SOME DRUGS MORE ADDICTIVE THAN OTHERS?

• Because all mood-altering drugs have slightly different effects on the brain, some are more quickly & severely addicting than others.

• Some drugs go to the brain quicker, and cause affects in the brain that causes more severe cravings.

• With some drugs, there is a higher rate of users who become addicted to them than others.

• A 2012 Danish study used a complex scale to identify the ten most addictive drugs in the world.

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THE TOP TEN MOST ADDICTIVE DRUGS

1.Heroin

2.Crack Cocaine

3.Nicotine

4.Methadone

5.Alcohol

6. Methamphetamine

7. Powder Cocaine

8. Amphetamines

9. Benzodiazepines

10. GHB

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IS THERE A CURE FOR DRUG ADDICTION?

• There is no known cure for drug addiction, but there is recovery.

• We now know that addition makes permanent changes in the brain’s reward system neurons.

• While much of the brain damage addiction causes does improve, the neurons remain the same.

• If an addicted person uses a drug, they will experience symptoms of addiction.

• If the person never uses a drug again, they can lead a completely normal life without drugs and alcohol.

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HOW DOES ADDICTION AFFECT

FAMILY MEMBERS?• When one person has addiction, it

affects everyone else in the family.

• The family often experiences a series of crises, that get worse.

• The family’s life begins revolving around that member’s addiction.

• The family often feels guilty.

• Often the family develops a “no talk, no feel” rule as a defense.

• Each family member feels isolated, overwhelmed, and neglected.

• Family members often try everything they can to stop the person from using drugs, but it feels like nothing works.

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HOW CAN I HELP A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER WHO’S ADDICTED TO DRUGS?

• Learn more about the disease of drug addiction.

• Get help yourself, through counseling or support groups like Al-Anon.

• Express your concerns about their drug abuse.

• Practicing detaching emotionally from the disease.

• Establish boundaries and set limits with the individual.

• Consider whether an intervention would be an option.

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WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO

GET CLEAN AND SOBER?• One of the challenges to getting sober

is being able to accurately see the problems that the drugs are causing.

• The next essential step is quitting the use of all mood-altering drugs.

• Treatment helps the person to learn the basics of addiction and begin the journey of recovery.

• Support groups helps give the person encouragement, friendship and guidance.

• Ongoing recovery includes changing friendships and social activities, and coping with emotions without the use of mood-altering drugs.

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WITH A GOOD UNDERSTANDING

OF ADDICTION, WE CAN HELP TO

MAKE RECOVERY A REALITY FOR

EVERYONE.