Addiction is the dependence on a chemical, activity, substance, or drug as much as it is causing both physical and psychological harm on a person.
When an individual experiences addiction, he or she cannot manage how to utilize that substance and become dependent on it to cope with day to day life (Bickel, Crabbe & Sher, 2019).
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Signs and symptoms of addiction
Some signs and symptoms that are prevalent for a person experiencing addiction. The main signs and symptoms of addiction include:
Tolerance - The need to participate in the addictive behavior to get the desired effect.
Withdrawal – occurs when an individual does not take a drug or participate in the activity making them experience unpleasant symptoms (Heinz et al., 2020).
A person experiences extreme mood swings – he or she may become sad, happy, anxious, and excited.
A person neglects or loses interest in activities that do not contribute to harmful behavior or substance.
An individual changes in energy with unexpected and extreme tiredness.
A person may seem unwell at certain times and better at other times.
The pupils of the eyes may seem smaller or bigger than usual or a person may seem unwell at certain times and better at other times.
Effects of addiction on work
Poor decision making
Heightened likelihood of causing trouble with colleagues or supervisors
Efficiency loss or reduced productivity
A high rate of turnover
Lower morale of colleagues
Injuries and accidents at work
Effects of addiction on family
Increased conflicts that may result from the miscarried expression of anger
Parental inconsistency in decision making
Financial hardships in families
Unrealistic parental expectations
Effects of addiction on social functioning
Loss of friends due to changes in behavior
Loss of jobs
Legal and ethical concerns surrounding addiction
Individuals that use drugs are not aware of the impact ethics can have on both the use and treatment of addiction.
Involuntary and civil commitment – involuntary commitment occurs when an addicted person is involuntarily committed to an inpatient substance abuse program while civil commitment occurs when police go to the home of the addicted person and take him or her to the hospital involuntarily.
Lack of communication and continuity between clinical practice and research
Lack of agreement over the basic professional credentials
Unusual circumstances of informed consent
Treatment options for addiction
There are various types of therapies used for addiction treatment. They include;
Cognitive-behavioral therapy – this therapy assists individuals with coping skills, identifying risk situations and what to do about them
Contingency management – encourages or enhance sobriety by offering material rewards as motivation for desirable behaviors.
Motivational interviewing – resolve ambivalence in recovering people to permit them to embrace their treatment efforts to change their problematic substance utilization behavior (Marcovitz et al., 2020).
Addiction medications
Benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and clonidine are medications used to different types of withdrawal symptoms.
Benzodiazepines decrease irritability and anxiety of withdrawal from cocaine and opiates. However, benzodiazepines' side effects include; confusion, impaired coordination as well as trembling (Orlova, Kaliuzhnaia & Strelnikov, 2019).
Antidepressants such as Zoloft and Prozac relieve feelings until the brain can generate happiness. The side effects of antidepressants include fatigue and drowsiness, insomnia, and nausea.
Clonidine treats alcohol and opiate withdrawals. The side effects include dizziness, dry eyes, and sleeping problems.
Evidence-based nursing intervention for addiction
Exercise is one of the evidence-based nursing practices that can be used to minimize stress and release uncomfortable emotions.
Meditation has a positive influence on depression, anxiety, and overall health.
Yoga is another EBP intervention that minimizes stress and physical tension of a person making him or her feel more self-aware, stronger, peaceful, and physically fit.
Nurse-client relationship in caring for people with addiction
The nurse-client relationship is a relationship that is aimed at improving the well-being of a client. The nurse-client relationship majorly relies on the interaction of feelings, thoughts, and actions (Nestler & Lüscher, 2019).
The ethical concerns that may arise in caring for the patient with this mental health conditions include
autonomy and informed consent to treatment
breaches of patient confidentiality
Unethical practices of nurses as well as surrogate decision making.
Boundaries are important segments in the relationship between nurses and patients.
They represent
Invisible structures created by ethical
Professional and legal standards of nursing that respect both nurses' and clients’ rights.
The Need theory by Virginia Henderson is one of the nursing theories that can help nurses in caring for clients.
This theory emphasizes on the significance of heightening the independence of clients to facilitate their continued healing after hospitalization.
The Need theory makes nurses help people, sick, or well in their practice of activities that may contribute to their recovery or health.
In my opinion, caring clients with addiction needs a lot of commitment because it is a physically and emotionally demanding job. Caring a person with addiction brings unique challenges such as tardiness, anger, and communication problems that may lead to conflict between the caregiver and the client. In the case of decompensation, it is important to communicate with other staff to know where and when you are interacting with patients. Secondly, avoid putting these patients in closed or secluded environments. Finally, it is important to alert security and further use de-escalation techniques to deal with this kind of patient. I am interested in working with clients with addiction because it allows me to help those that are hopeless to regain hope in their lives and be productive people in society.
References
Bickel, W. K., Crabbe, J. C., & Sher, K. J. (2019). What is addiction? How can animal and human research be used to advance research, diagnosis, and treatment of alcohol and other substance use disorders?. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 43(1), 6-21.
Heinz, A., Kiefer, F., Smolka, M. N., Endrass, T., Beste, C., Beck, A., ... & Bermpohl, F. (2020). Addiction Research Consortium: Losing and regaining control over drug intake (ReCoDe)—From trajectories to mechanisms and interventions. Addiction Biology, 25(2), e12866.
Marcovitz, D. E., Sidelnik, S. A., Smith, M. P., & Suzuki, J. (2020). Motivational Interviewing on an Addiction Consult Service: Pearls, Perils, and Educational Opportunities. Academic Psychiatry, 1-4.
Nestler, E. J., & Lüscher, C. (2019). The molecular basis of drug addiction: linking epigenetic to synaptic and circuit mechanisms. Neuron, 102(1), 48-59.
Orlova, V. V., Kaliuzhnaia, O. S., & Strelnikov, L. S. (2019). Study of solving the problem drug addiction.
