Psychological Addiction vs Physical Addiction

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When it comes to the defining addiction, a semantic distinction is often made between psychological addictions and physical addictions. This distinction is most often brought up by laymen discussing the nature of addiction, but is also sometimes used by scientific and medical professionals in addiction-related fields. The assumption is that some forms of addiction are psychological in nature, while others are physical in nature. The problem is that as the medical and psychiatric communities’ understanding of addiction broadens and advances, it is becoming clearer that these terms are largely meaningless and perhaps even harmful to the process of understanding and thus overcoming addiction.
The truth is that the two forms of addiction are simply not mutually exclusive. Whether used to describe substance-based addictions or psychological dependencies on behaviors such as gambling, it is safe to say that all forms of addiction have both psychological and physical components. Indeed, recognizing this fact may be an integral step for patients trying to overcome their addiction.
There is certainly a spectrum of causes and influences to consider when discussing addictive behavior of any kind. On one end of the spectrum, severe chemical dependencies carry the risk of physical withdrawal symptoms which lend to the tendency to refer to them as physical addictions. On the other hand, addictions to certain behaviors such as gambling seem to carry no physical withdrawal symptoms for those who endeavor to quit, which is why they are considered psychological addictions.
On either end of the spectrum and for all the addictions in between, one cannot ignore either the physical or psychological factors involved. Chemically dependent individuals will need counseling to lower their risk of relapse long after their physical withdrawal symptoms have worn off. Likewise, a person addicted to video games should consider that they may be experiencing a very real chemical high when they play, which is making it more difficult to overcome their so-called psychological addiction.

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Anticipating and Dealing With Relapse

You may have heard the phrase, once an addict, always an addict’s. It is true that many forms of addiction can haunt a person for the rest of their lives, no matter ho long they’ve been clean. The process of ridding oneself of a serious addiction can be broken down into multiple phases of difficulty. First, the initial period of time immediately after an addict has ceased indulging their addiction is the most difficult. This period may be marked with physical withdrawal symptoms and painful detoxification processes. This early period of the quitting process also comes with the strongest psychological challenges, as the imprint of habit on the brain hasn’t begun to fade.
If an addict manages to get past the early stage of the quitting process, they can look forward to a medium period during which they experience light, fading physical cravings as well as a slight psychological longing. The toxins have already left the body and brain chemistry has returned to normal, however, the mind and body still remember.
After a varying period of time, an addict reaches the final phase of difficulty in the quitting process. The cravings are gone and the habit is effectively kicked. This phase of the quitting process lasts the rest of the addict’s life. There will always be the slightest little craving, and there is still some risk of relapse. These risks are greatest during times of great stress when feelings of hopelessness start to take over. It is important to remain vigilant to avoid relapse forever.
During the first of these phases, relapses are very common. In fact, most addicts start to quit, relapse, then later try again and relapse again, over and over again before finally succeeding. It is important to keep trying, even if you relapse right of the bat. During the middle stage, risk of relapse is still high, and relapse is incredibly frustrating since the addict often feels like they have come so far only to fail. It is still important to pick yourself up after this type of relapse and restart the process anyway.

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Prescription Drug Abuse vs Legitimate Pain Medicating.

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News of increased prescription drug abuse in America and abroad may not surprise anybody. Most of us probably know somebody personally who has become addicted to a prescription medication. Prescription drugs are often cheaper, easier to acquire, and safer to consume than their illicit counterparts. There is, however, something that they have in common with drugs like heroine, cocaine, and methamphetamine; prescription drugs can be just as addictive.
The prescription drugs that are most often abused by addicts are usually prescribed as pain medication. One common reaction to the growing problem of prescription drug abuse is to crack-down and make it more difficult to acquire prescription drugs. This ignores the fact that pain itself is also a serious human problem, and medicating to fight real pain is a legitimate use of certain drugs. If we make it abundantly more difficult to acquire certain medications, then we also make it harder for legitimate pain patients to get the drugs they need.
Certain local jurisdictions as well as federal investigators have recently cracked down on doctors who prescribe pain medication. While there are certainly doctors out there who prescribe medications unscrupulously, and they should no doubt be dealt with under the law, there are also doctors who have stopped prescribing pain medication entirely, for fear of being labeled a -drug dealer’ by their own government. Fewer doctors prescribing pain medication means certain doctors will have more pain patients to deal with, which ostensibly spreads them thin and causes more mistakes.
Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem. Cracking down on access to medications is no way to fight drug abuse, and may even exacerbate the problem. The only way to help an addict fight their addiction is to treat the addiction itself instead of attempting to eradicate the drug. We need to strike a balance in order to fight prescription drug abuse without harming pain patients in the process.

Dual Diagnosis

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The term dual diagnosis is used to describe the very common situation in which a person who suffers from a substance abuse problem can also be diagnosed with a specific mental disorder. This situation is well documented and may even affect a majority of drug addicts, although many people suffering from dual diagnosis have not formally been diagnosed with a disease. This is simply because so many mental disorders go undiagnosed, which does not make them any less real.
For an addict, suffering from a mental disorder inevitably makes the addiction much more severe. Even a mild mental disorder can impede the process of quitting and exacerbate the addiction. The most common mental illness, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, is depression. Feelings of depression and hopelessness represent the largest impediment to quitting for any addict; you can only imagine how difficult this can be for a clinically depressed person.
Dual diagnosis is a general idea and most doctors and counselors prefer to approach the addiction problem before worrying about other possible disorders. This is because substance abuse often causes psychological symptoms that mimic mental disorders, making it difficult to diagnose pre-existing conditions.
Dual Diagnosis is understandably common. It is no secret that mental disorders and substance abuse go hand in hand. This may be because mental disorders predispose a person to begin using drugs. This is known as self-medicating, and is a prevalent cause of drug and alcohol addiction. Another reason dual diagnosis is so common may be that long term substance abuse can actually cause mental disorders and psychosis that would not have otherwise occurred.
Treating individuals with dual diagnosis can be very difficult. Many rehabilitation and addiction treatment facilities will not accept patients with dual diagnosis because they are not staffed with professionals who specialize in mental disorders outside of addiction. Whatever the course of treatment for these individuals, it is important to treat both the addiction and the mental illness in order to maximize the possibility of success.

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