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WHAT IS SUBSTANCE ABUSE?

Substance abuse is the overindulgence in and dependence of a drug or other chemical leading to effects that are detrimental to the individual's physical and mental health, or the welfare of others. [(1998). Mosby's Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary. Edition 5]

The disorder is characterized by a pattern of continued pathological use of a medication (not medically essence), drug or toxin, that results in repeated adverse social consequences related to drug use, such as failure to meet work, family, or school obligations, interpersonal conflicts, or legal problems. There are debates as to the differences between substance abuse and substance dependence. Currently, the normal practice is to distinguish the two two by defining substance dependence in terms of physiological and behavioral symptoms of substance use, and substance abuse in terms of the social consequences of substance use.

Substance abuse may lead to addiction or substance dependence. Medically, physiologic dependence requires the development of tolerance leading to withdrawal symptoms. Both abuse and dependence are distinct from addiction, which involves a compulsion to continue using the substance despite knowing the negative consequences, and may or may not involve chemical dependency.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DRUG OR ALCOHOL ABUSE

There are several things one can watch for when substance abuse is suspected, before we go into these a few general notes.

To find out if someone uses drugs it is better to start a dialogue than to carefully watch for all kinds of signs. Before you start a conversation it is important to know why someone would conceal their drug use. Often it has to do with fear of a certain reaction. If you don't show blame but some interest, and are open about the situation, the user will probably be more willing to talk about it. It is also good to know what to do after you make the drug use subject of discussion. A lot of people only want to find out and then do nothing about it. In a next conversation, you could discuss the use and abuse of the drugs, or the reasons for drug use and possible alternatives.

The problem with many symptoms mentioned below is that they can also be related to something completely different. If you pay too much attention to certain symptoms, you may confuse innocent lovesickness with drug use, for example: A general characteristic of drug use is a change of mood: one minute someone can be very cheerful and the next minute very depressed. Continuous use causes less achievement and makes the user's life become more and more focused on drugs. The use of each substance has its own characteristics:

• Alcohol: breath smells like alcohol, dilated pupils, cheerful, noisy, more guts, loss of shyness.
• Marijuana/weed: red eyes, dilated pupils, cheerful, sleepy, slow, ignorant about what has just been said, giggling, hungry, heavy arms and legs.
• XTC: dilated pupils, cheerful, energetic and talkative. The days after: exhausted, down and empty.
• Amphetamines: dilated pupils, energetic, talkative, pale, and restless. The days after: down, empty, exhausted and irritated.
• Cocaine: dilated pupils (not always), go to the washroom often, cheerful, energetic, talkative, reckless, pale, restless, irritated, hot tempered. The days after: down, empty, exhausted.
• LSD: dilated pupils, weird ideas, hallucinations.
• Heroin: narrow pupils, almost closed eyelids, a faraway look, passive, quiet, slow breath.
• Gambling: total concentration on the game, the illusion of making quick money, borrowing money, often plays alone, bad sleep, less concentration.

ARE YOU WORRIED YOUR LOVED ONE MAY HAVE AN ADDICTION?

If you are concerned your loved one needs help, try our free Online Assessment

Please view a slide show about “Families and Addiction” created by Suzanne Shipley, a student at College of Lake County in Illinois who is working on a certificate to become an addictions counselor. Her insight into families has inspired Bob.

• View Slide Show on Families and Addiction Click here to save the file to your computer. When the download is complete, open the file to view the full-screen slide show. To exit the slide show at any time, press the "Esc" key on your keyboard.
• If you would like to download this file, and view it on your computer, right-click here and download it to your computer. You will need Microsoft PowerPoint to view this file.