Thursday, August 19, 2010

Addiction and Recovery

Addiction and Recovery

Addiction to substances is considered as a major threat to Individual, family and society. It damages homeostasis of physical, psychological and social functioning. Family members are pushed to myriad of problems including regular conflicts, financial problems, and decaying of social respect and acceptance. Clinically it has been observed most of the families take persons with addiction disorders for only when they are burnt out of care taking. It is always better to give treatment at early stages. World health organization has identified six cardinal symptoms of addiction disorders. Those are craving, withdrawal symptoms, tolerance, loss of control, salience and continued use despite of harmful effects. Three or more symptoms are signs for addiction. Craving is an individual’s intense urge to use substance, withdrawal symptoms are difficulties such as shivering of hands, seizure, difficulty to get sleep and body aches, which are experienced when people stop use, tolerance is understood as difficulty to get satisfaction with usual amount, and salience is a stage where drug use would be the main priority than other responsibilities of daily life.

Bio psycho social factors or interaction of these three factors can cause addiction. Biological factors such as genetical vulnerability, temperament and brain adaptations, psychological factors such as mood status, anxiety, and emotional conflicts, social reasons such as learning habits from faulty role models, peer socialization and adverse social situations like poverty and social exclusions are found consistently as causal factors in addiction related researches.
Addiction causing substances, behaviors and situations are as follows. Substances are nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, opioids like pain killers’ tablets and injunctions and cough syrups, sleeping tablets, heroin, and inhalants like whitener diluter, thinner and petrol. These are most common addiction causing substances seen in India. Playing cards, betting on race horses, or taking lotteries can also become addiction. This type of addiction is known as pathological gambling. Internet addiction, addiction to sexual activities and mobile are being reported for professional help.

Treatment for addiction can be divided into three stages. Motivating persons to seek help or stop, giving help to adjust with withdrawal symptoms, and stabilizing abstinence behavior with the support of medicines and psycho social training are these stages. Holistic and long term professional help from psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric social workers and trained nurses as a team and self help groups (alcohol anonymous groups and family support groups) can help persons to stop or reduce the consumption of substances or frequency of addiction causing behavior.
Specialized care for persons with addiction is available in all medical colleges in India as part of the department of Psychiatry. De addiction Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore is one of the leading centers in Asia.

Author
Mr. Sojan Antony (Ph.D Scholar in Department of Psychiatric Social Work & Psychiatric Social worker in De addiction Centre, NIMHANS, Bangalore-29). He is the gold Medalist of MPhil in Psychiatric Social Work.
sojan47@gmail.com

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