Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders

Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders

Addictive behaviour — whether it involves the excessive intake of high-calorie food leading to extreme obesity, or the abuse of substances like alcohol or cocaine — is one of the most severe problems facing society today. Disorders related to maladaptive behaviours that result from regular and consistent use of a substance are included under this category. These disorders involve problems associated with the use and abuse of alcohol, cocaine, tobacco, and opioids, among others, which alter the way people think, feel, and behave.

While many disorders are listed under this category, the textbook discusses a few frequently used substances in detail.

Alcohol

People who abuse alcohol drink large amounts regularly and rely on it to help them face difficult situations. Eventually, the drinking interferes with their social behaviour and their ability to think and work. Their bodies build up a tolerance for alcohol, meaning they need to drink even greater amounts to feel its effects. They also experience withdrawal responses when they stop drinking.

Alcoholism destroys millions of families, social relationships, and careers. Intoxicated drivers are responsible for many road accidents. It also has serious effects on the children of persons with this disorder — these children have higher rates of psychological problems, particularly anxiety, depression, phobias, and substance-related disorders. Excessive drinking can seriously damage physical health.

Effects of Alcohol on Health and Psychological Functioning

• All alcoholic beverages contain ethyl alcohol. This chemical is absorbed into the blood and carried into the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), where it depresses or slows down functioning.
• Ethyl alcohol depresses those areas in the brain that control judgment and inhibition. As a result, people become more talkative and friendly, and they feel more confident and happy.
• As alcohol is absorbed, it affects other areas of the brain. Drinkers become unable to make sound judgments, speech becomes less careful and less clear, and memory falters. Many people become emotional, loud, and aggressive.
• Motor difficulties increase. People become unsteady when they walk and clumsy in performing simple activities. Vision becomes blurred, hearing is affected, and they have difficulty driving or solving simple problems.

Heroin

Heroin intake significantly interferes with social and occupational functioning. Most abusers develop a dependence on heroin, revolving their lives around the substance. They build up a tolerance for it and experience a withdrawal reaction when they stop taking it. The most direct danger of heroin abuse is an overdose, which slows down the respiratory centres in the brain, almost paralysing breathing, and in many cases causing death.

Cocaine

Regular use of cocaine may lead to a pattern of abuse in which the person may be intoxicated throughout the day and function poorly in social relationships and at work. It may also cause problems in short-term memory and attention. Dependence may develop, so that cocaine dominates the person's life, more of the drug is needed to get the desired effects, and stopping it results in feelings of depression, fatigue, sleep problems, irritability, and anxiety. Cocaine poses serious dangers to psychological functioning and physical well-being. …