The number of people suffering from addiction in the US is astounding. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimates that in 2017 alone, over 19 million adults in America aged 12 years and above battled substance use disorder. Approximately 73 percent of these people were suffering from alcohol addiction, and 38 percent of them drug-addiction. Besides, nearly 9 million Americans in 2017 suffered from both mental disorders and substance use disorder. American society uses more than $750 billion annually in addiction healthcare expenses. Therefore, this current study analyzes the impact of addiction and provides recommendations on how nursing care is essential in assisting the client with mental disorders.
Discussion
Addiction refers to when a person depends on a substance and cannot stop even if they want to. According to Bickel et al. (2019), addiction is a psychological and physical failure to stop using a drug or alcohol substance. Recent studies clarify that addiction does not only mean using drugs such as cocaine and heroin, but also the failure to cease using a particular drug or chemical. For instance, some addiction involves the failure to stop pursuing activities such as gambling, eating, or even working. On the other hand, substance dependence refers to a situation in which a person is unable to stop using a particular drug or chemical. In contrast, behavioral addiction is when a person is unable to stop doing some activities such as drinking.
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Several types of research acknowledge that excessive usage of some medication can also lead to a chronic disease resulting in addiction. As pointed out by Heinz et al. (2020), the overuse of medicine that is prescribed can also lead to addiction. For instance, the overuse of prescribed opioid painkillers can also lead to addiction. The kind of addiction causes over 120 deaths daily in the US. When people experience addiction, they are unable to control how to use the substance. They entirely become used to it in order to cope with daily life activities. Statistics show that the US spends over $750 billion in treatment costs of addiction to alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, and prescription opioid painkillers. Many people begin engaging in substance abuse involuntarily. As they continue using the substance, addiction takes over and reduces their self-control.
However, it is essential to note that drug addiction and drug misuse are different. As explained by Nestler & Lüscher (2019), the excessive use of a substance that alters the body and mind is drug misuse, while the long-life failure to stop using an element is drug addiction. However, misusing a content cannot necessarily lead to addiction. For instance, a person can drink heavily on one night and feel the bad-side effects. This does make one an addict until that person feels the urge to drink the same amount of alcohol daily. People that have not experienced any slight addiction have a high chance of being put off by the severe side effects of the drink, such as vomiting and hangovers. When a person is addicted, he/she will go on misusing the substance despite being affected by the severe side effects.
The main symptom of addiction is uncontrollably searching for drugs. People suffering from addiction are not able to control themselves and end up seeking those drugs each time they feel like. Another addiction symptom is the uncontrollably engaging in habits that are harmful and developing less interest in doing activities without using a substance. Addiction causes people to lose interest in doing anything that does not involve substance abuse. They do depend on the substance and cannot perform any activity without it. In addition, addiction makes it impossible for people to stop substance use even if they know it may cause severe health problems or even death. Addiction also causes changes that profound in appearance, such as abandonment of proper hygiene.
Recent studies show that when people were suffering from addiction stop using the substance, they may experience specific effects. When a person is addicted to using a particular substance, he/she experiences specific symptoms when they stop using the drugs. Some of these symptoms include increased anxiety levels, getting easily irritated, tremors and shaking, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and lack of appetite. Besides, sudden withdrawal from substance use without medical supervision can lead to fatal effects and even death.
People suffering from severe substance disorder tend to have an intense focus on using the substance. In agreement with Bickel et al. (2019), addiction, especially drug and alcohol addiction, tend to take over the lives of the users. The users keep on using the substance despite being aware of the health consequences. Addiction causes people to have thinking that is distorted. Their behaviors and body function as well get distorted. Addiction causes brain wiring changes making people have an intense craving for the substance. Recent studies in brain imaging show that addiction causes severe changes in the brain parts that relate to judgment, decision making, learning, memory, and behavior control. Addiction causes critical changes in brain function.
Addiction disorder can be categorized into four parts, impaired control, social problems, risky use, and drug effects. Impaired control refers to the intense craving to use the substance and failed attempts to stop, while social issues are when the use of the substance causes people to fail to finish their activities at works, school, or even home. People give up doing those activities because they are unable to function without substance use. Risky use refers to how people continue to use the substance despite knowing its severe effects. In contrast, drug effect refers to the need for getting massive amounts of the substance to gain a similar outcome.
Addiction can also lead to mental problems. Many people who develop substance addiction are also diagnosed with psychiatric problems. Multiple studies show that almost have of people experiencing addiction will certainly experience mental illness during their lives. For instance, adolescents experiencing drug addiction have a high chance of experiencing mental illness in the future. Addiction causes serious mental illness such as severe depression, Schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Schizophrenia patients tend to have higher rates of alcohol, tobacco, and drug addiction than the rest of the population. Early alcohol and drug use act as the primary factor for addiction and later on mental illness.
Addiction Treatment
The recent advances and progress in the medicinal field have assisted the health care system in coming up with several methods of managing addiction. Some of the ways include providing patients with behavioral therapy, using specific medicine and drugs to treat the habit, and using medical equipment that processes addiction ( Orlova et al. 2019) . Also, managing addiction requires special care to avoid relapsing. However, the addiction treatment is highly personalized and often needs the support of the family as well as the entire community. Besides, the procedure usually takes a very long time, making it complicated. This is because addiction is a chronic situation that has a wide range of effects that are both psychological and physical. Each of these effects requires different ways of management and hence takes time and sometimes becomes complicated. Furthermore, the first step a person can take to treat addiction is recognizing the problem and self-acceptance. The process of recovery requires commitment, and denial makes it hard for the person to accept treatment.
The Importance of Nursing Care in Helping Client Work toward Mental Health
Many studies acknowledge the importance of mental health in nursing. As pointed out by Heinz et al. (2020), mental health is hugely significant in nursing as it assists the nurses in psychologically managing their patients, activities, and personal lives. Nurses are always prepared to deliver patient care, even for patients with a mental disorder. Mental illness patients often display specific symptoms such as sadness, aggression, and violence. Nursing cares assists patients with psychiatric disorders in recovering and improving the quality of their lives. The nurses offer specialized care to mental health patients. The nurses also create a treatment plan for the mental health patients, provides support and education to the patient and their family on mental health care. Generally, nursing care plays a vital role in providing care to patients with mental health issues.
Conclusion
Addiction, especially alcohol and drug addiction, affects most of the youth population in many countries. In the US, addiction is a severe problem that has changed a considerable number of youth and adult populations. Drug and alcohol addiction has caused many people to have a mental illness such as Schizophrenia. When people get addicted to using a substance, they are unable to control the urge of not using it. The medical field has come up with several ways of managing addiction. However, the first step in managing addiction is accepting the problem and seeking medical help. On the other hand, nursing-care plays a significant role in assisting patients with mental issues to manage themselves as they seek treatment psychologically.
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.
