Substance Related DisordersSavipra GorospeSAN BEDA COLLEGE ALABANG

Definition

• Substance-related disorders are disorders of intoxication, dependence, abuse, and substance withdrawal caused by various substances, both legal and illegal.

• These substances include: alcohol, amphetamines, caffeine, inhalants, nicotine, prescription medications that may be abused (such as sedatives), opioids (morphine, heroin), marijuana (cannabis), cocaine, hallucinogens, and phencyclidine (PCP).

Description

• According to the mental health clinician's handbook, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the DSM), fourth edition text revised (DSMIV-TR), all of the substances listed above, with the exceptions of nicotine and caffeine, have disorders of two types: substance use disorders and substance-induced disorders.

Substance Disorders

• Substance use disorders include abuse and dependence.

• Substance-induced disorders include intoxication, withdrawal, and various mental states (dementia, psychosis, anxiety, mood disorder, etc.) that the substance induces when it is used.

Substance Dependence

• Substance Dependence is characterized by continued use of a substance even after the user has experienced serious substance-related problems. The dependent user desires the substance ("craving") and needs more of the substance to achieve the effect that a lesser amount of the substance induced in the past.

Tolerance

• This phenomenon is known as tolerance. The dependent user also experiences withdrawal symptoms when the substance is not used.

• Withdrawal symptoms vary with the substance, but some symptoms may include increased heart rate, shaking, insomnia, fatigue, and irritability.

Substance Abuse

• Substance abuse is continued use of a substance in spite of school- or work-related or interpersonal problems, but the user has not gotten dependent on the substance. The individual who abuses a substance may experience legal problems and may have problems fulfilling responsibilities, such as caring for a child.

Intoxication

• Intoxication is the direct effect of the substance after an individual has used or has been exposed to the substance. Different substances affect individuals in various ways, but some of the effects seen in intoxication might include impaired judgment, emotional instability, increase or decrease in appetite, or changed sleep patterns.

Substance-Related Disorders

Depressants

Stimulants

Hallucinogens

Depressants

Depressants

• A depressant, or central depressant, is a drug or endogenous compound that lowers or depresses arousal levels and reduces excitability. Depressants are also occasionally referred to as "downers" as they lower the level of arousal when taken.

Depressants

• Depressants are widely used throughout the world as prescription medicines and as illicit substances.

• When these are used, effects often include pain relief, sedation, and cognitive/ impairment, as well as in some instances euphoria, muscle relaxation, lowered blood pressure or heart rate, respiratory depression, and anticonvulsant effects, and even complete anaesthesia or death at high doses.

Indications

• Depressants are used medicinally to relieve the following symptoms:

• Anxiety• Insomnia• They are also used recreationally for the

following purposes:• To temporarily boost mood or induce euphoria• To reduce social anxiety and improve sociability

TYPES OF DEPRESSANTS

Ethanol (Alcohol)Alcohol is a legal depressant for people over the age of 21. It suppresses the activity of the mind and body of those who consume it.

BarbituratesBarbituates are a prescribed medication for anxiety and insomnia. Some examples include Phenobarbital, Nembutal and Amytal. Barbituates are known as sedative-hypnotics.

BenzodiazepinesBenzodiazepines are a prescribed medication for anxiety and for their tranquilizing effect. Examples include Valium, Atavan and Xanax.

TYPES OF DEPRESSANTS

Gamma Hydroxybutyrate

GHB is a depressant associated with sexual assault. It is odourless and tasteless and consumers of this drug often do so unknowingly.

Marijuana and InhalantsMarijuana is a depressant as well as a minor hallucinogen. Some inhalants are also depressants.

Slang TermsSlang terms for depressants include booze, downers, forget-me-pills, roofies and yellow jackets.

Stimulants

Stimulants

• Stimulants (also referred to as psychostimulants) are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical functions or both.

• Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others. Due to their effects typically having an "up" quality to them, stimulants are also occasionally referred to as "uppers".

Effects of Stimulants

• Stimulants produce a variety of different kinds of effects by enhancing the activity of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

• Common effects may include: enhanced alertness awareness, wakefulness, endurance, productivity, and motivation, increased arousal, heart rate, and blood pressure, and the perception of a diminished requirement for food and sleep.

• Many stimulants are also capable of improving mood and relieving anxiety, and some can even induce feelings of euphoria.

Effects of Stimulants

• However, many of these drugs are also capable of causing anxiety and heart failure, even the ones that may paradoxically reduce it to a degree at the same time.

• Stimulants exert their effects through a number of different pharmacological mechanisms, the most prominent of which include facilitation of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and/or dopamine activity (e.g., via monoamine transporter inhibition or reversal).

Medical Uses

To counteract lethargy and fatigue throughout the day

while at work or while doing other activities.

To reduce sleepiness and to keep the person awake when

necessary, as well as to treat narcolepsy.

To decrease appetite and promote weight loss, as well

as to treat obesity.

To improve concentration and focus while at work or school,

especially for those with attentional disorders such

as ADHD.

Occasionally, they are also used off label to treat clinical depression, more particularly,

non-typical depression and treatment-resistant

depression.

Types of Stimulants

AmphetaminesThese drugs can only be consumed by people who have prescriptions from psychiatric and medical professionals. These stimulants are usually prescribed to people who are suffering from ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder.

EphedrineIt lowers blood pressure and it is a nasal congestion treatment. Even if it’s a natural stimulant or supplement, it has the same structure as methamphetamine, but it has lesser effect on the central nervous system.

CaffeineThis chemical is found in kola nuts, tea, coffee, and cocoa. Caffeine stimulates the body’s central nervous system to make the muscles relax. The urine flow will increase too.

Types of Stimulants

Nicotine This stimulant is addictive. That’s why lots of people can’t stop smoking cigarettes. The American Heart Association states that the body will immediately react with the nicotine through increase heart rate and blood pressure.

MethamphetaminesThey are strong drug stimulants and are manufactured illegally. They are usually bought as OTC medications. They occur as powders or crystals that are dissolved in alcohol or water before being injected.

Cocaine It is another powerful stimulant that is illegally manufactured. Some people snort this powder to get high, while some dissolve the powder in water before injecting it into the body.

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens• Hallucinogens are a general group of pharmacological agents

that can be divided into three broad categories: psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants. These classes of psychoactive drugs have in common that they can cause subjective changes in perception, thought, emotion and consciousness.

• Unlike other psychoactive drugs, such as stimulants and opioids, these drugs do not merely amplify familiar states of mind, but rather induce experiences that are qualitatively different from those of ordinary consciousness.

• These experiences are often compared to non-ordinary forms of consciousness such as trance, meditation, dreams, or insanity.

Dissociatives

• Dissociatives are a type of hallucinogen that work by creating sensory deprivation in the brain so that the mind creates its own perceptions without the interference of actual external stimuli.

• Examples of dissociatives include PCP, DXM, magic mushrooms, and ketamine or Special K as it is often referred to on the streets.

Dissociatives

Psychedelics

• Psychedelic drugs alter the way you perceive the world around you and are said to expand the mind-that is, turn off your brain's selective perception function and allow you to perceive everything around you.

• Examples include LSD, mescaline and peyote.

Deliriants

• Unlike the two aforementioned types of hallucinogens, deliriants are actual hallucinogens in that they produce completely false perceptions that aren't based in reality.

• Examples include mandrake, deadly nightshade (commonly known as Atropa belladonna) and some medications like Benadryl and Dramamine when taken in high doses.

Resources• American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic

and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fourth edition, text revised. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000.

• http://www.gallusdetox.com/blog/82-understanding-stimulants-uses-examples-and-effects

• http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/drug-types/types-of-hallucinogens.htm