Addiction Process

The Addiction Process is characterized by five stages:

1). Experimental

2). Social

3). Instrumental

4). Habitual

5). Compulsive

Experimental Stage

The motive for experimental use includes:

• Curiosity

• Risk taking

• Peer Pressure

• Thrill for adventure (Thrill Seeking)

• Rebellion

Instrumental Stage

 Individual learns to use substances purposely to manipulate emotions and behavior of other people.

 The individual discovers that alcohol and other drugs can affect feelings and actions in the following ways;

• Suppress feelings

• Enhance feelings

• Dis-Inhibit behavior

Social Stage

The primary motivation for use is social acceptance; The individual remains functional.

This level of use is rarely identified as risky by adolescents and youth adults. Warning and cautions are ignored and no one believes that negative consequences will happen to them.

Habitual Stage

Symptoms of dependence start to appear.

 The abuser’s lifestyle becomes progressively centered on using the drug as a means of coping and recreating.

 The individual uses the substances to relieve their discomfort arising from non-use.

 The individual starts to sense their impending dependence and reacts to it by establishing various self-imposed rules and limits.

 They begin to break the rules; Drugs become ‘medicine’ for problems.

Compulsive Stage

 The individual is now pre-occupied with drug use to the extent that getting high or planning for it is all he does and thinks about.

 The only relationship the addict has is with his/her drug of choice.

 Compulsive use is totally out of control and chemicals in the drug are now running the individuals life.

Drug Addiction Equation

REASON FOR ABUSING DRUGS + DRUG + TIME = IMMEDIATE PLEASURE + LONG - TERM PAIN.

Leading to drug use and the equation continues in vicious cycle

Treatment and Rehabilitation

Chemical dependence/Addiction affects all areas of a person’s life; body, mind, soul, family, work and relationships

a). Treatment

Treatment is the provision of one or more structured interventions designed to manage health and other problems to improve or maximize personal functioning and Social Reintegration.

Treatment is part of rehabilitation and includes counseling, skills training and drug therapy. Drug therapy involves:

 Detoxification

 Treatment of incidental psychological or psychiatric problems e.g. depression

b). Rehabilitation

The process from identification of substance abuse, through treatment and follow up to the time the abuser is reintegrated into society.

Social Reintegration

The process of getting a drug abuser back into main stream society. It Entails working with families and communities to help in reestablishment of substance abusers

Goals in Treatment and Rehabilitation

 To maintain physiological and emotional improvements initiated during detoxification and stabilization.

 To support behavior that leads to improved personal health, social function and reduced threats to public health and safety.

 To motivate behavioral and lifestyle changes that are incompatible with substance abuse.

 To initiate and maintain a prolonged abstinence from drugs.

 To identify and develop a healthier means to cope with stressors and other triggers for relapse.

 To acquire or develop a healthy/productive lifestyle.

 To be reintegrated into normal family and societal life.

Benefits of Treatment and Rehabilitation

 Reduction of crime by 40% to 60%.

 Increase of employment prospects by 40%.

 Improved workplace productivity.

 Less expensive than not treating or sentencing to jail.

 Reduced interpersonal conflicts.

 Fewer drug related accidents.

Treatment Process

 Patient must acknowledge honestly the pattern of substance use.

 Develop a plan for implementing an active recovery program.

 Identify impact of his/her substance use on family and friends.

 Voice motivation for continued abstinence and outpatient treatment.

 Verbalize understanding of factors such as personality, social, and family that foster chemical dependence.

 List and follow recreational and social activities that will replace the old habits of abuse.

 Agree to make amends with significant others who have been hurt by his/her abuse.

 Identify positive impact that sobriety will have on others’ lives.

 Make appropriate arrangements to terminate any settings or environment that may hinder recovery.

 Develop an aftercare plan that will support long term recovery and sobriety.

 Generally accept chemical dependence as a disease that needs treatment, often lifelong.

Principles to Remember

 No single treatment is appropriate for all individuals.

 Treatment needs to be readily available.

 Effective treatment attends to multiple needs and service plans must be assessed/modified to ensure they meet a person’s changing needs.

 Remaining in treatment for an adequate period is paramount.

 Individual or group behavioral therapies are critical components of effective treatment.

 Medications are important and should be combined with counseling and behavioral therapies.

 Coexisting mental disorders should be treated in an integrated way.

 Early detection of drug use can prevent against drug addiction.

 Medical detoxification is only the first stage of treatment and does little to change the long term drug use.

 Treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective.

 Patients should be assessed and treated for other underlying illnesses like hepatitis B, tuberculosis, etc.

When Do You Refer?

Referral is necessary when a case is beyond the counselor’s competence or ability to help. That is, medical complications, psychiatric cases and cases with conflict of interest, for instance within the workplace:

 To a colleague.

 To another member of staff whom you feel would benefit the person.

 You should discuss this with the person before referring to the counselor.

If the person is willing to seek counseling services, it should not be imposed UNLESS VERY VITAL. Even then, the person SHOULD be allowed to choose who to see.

Outside the workplace:

 Necessary when is felt that the person needs specialized counseling services.

 The person should be informed of this in a professional manner.

 Relatives should be informed.

(These measures all ensure support of the mentioned people)

Conclusion

Dependency/Addiction Treatment is often a long-term process and may require multiple episodes of treatment.