Topic 1: Addiction Worksheet

Shana Nunnally

Grand Canyon University

PCN – 501

1/17/18

Topic 1: Addiction Worksheet

Part One Directions: Provide short answers of 200-350 words each for the following questions/statements. Include at least three scholarly resources beyond the course textbook in your response and listed as a reference at the bottom of the worksheet.

Hallucinogens are substances that produce psychological effects and changes in perception, thought, and feeling and also increase sensory signals. Hallucinogenic drugs have many short and long-term effects. Short term effects normally begin to happen 20-90 minutes after taking the drug and can last up to 12 hours . Some of these effects include, increased blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature, dizziness and sleeplessness, loss of appetite, dry mouth, and sweating, numbness, weakness, and tremors. Long term effects include persistent psychosis, which causes visual disturbances, disorganized thinking, paranoia, mood disturbances, and Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD), which causes hallucinations and symptoms sometimes mistaken for neurological disorders, such as, stroke or brain tumors .

1. What are the pharmacological and physiological effects of substance use?
2. Pharmacology is the study of how a drug interacts with the body and how the body interacts with the drug, whereas, physical dependence of a drug is a condition in which the body has become accustomed to the occurrence of a drug and signs of withdrawal happen when stopping use.For a drug to work, it has to generate a change in the way a cell will function and eventually causes a person to have physical and/or mental effects.The effects that a drug has on a person’s body depends on whether the drug is a depressant, stimulant, hallucinogen, or psychotherapeutic agent and how they are used. Reoccurring substance use often leads someone to have a difficult time completing everyday tasks. For example, repeated absences from work or school, neglecting children or household related responsibilities, communication issues, and negative physical behavior. Chronic use of some drugs can also lead to both short and long-term changes in the brain, which can lead to mental health issues including paranoia, depression, anxiety, aggression, hallucinations, and other problems.
3. Select two substances from the following and describe at least two pharmacological and physiological effect of each (200-350 words each).
   • Opioids
   • Stimulants
   • Cannabinoids
   • Hallucinogens
   • Another DSM Substance Use Disorder of your choice

   Cannabinoids produce euphoria, enhancement of sensory perception, tachycardia, difficulties in concentration, and impairment of memory . The main effect from cannabinoids is memory impairment because THC alters how the hippocampus processes information. As a person gets older, they naturally lose neurons in the hippocampus, which reduces their ability to absorb new information, so, someone that chronically uses THC may experience loss of hippocampal neurons and speed up their loss of neurons.Marijuana has the highest addictive potential due to rapid and efficient drug delivery from the lungs to the brain and has been shown to affect the pharmacokinetics of other drugs, which means that it slows down the absorption of other drugs and may also enhance or delay the penetration of drugs into the brain.

   Process addiction is when a person is dependent on a type of behavior, but it doesn’t involve drugs or alcohol and a substance use disorder is a condition in which the use of one or more substances leads to a clinically significant impairment or distress . Process addiction and substance abuse have a lot in common. Someone that uses drugs is not worried about what the effect will be right after they use the drug and someone with a process addiction if not thinking about the negative impact their actions are going to have at the time it is happening. Some similarities of process addiction and substance use include, tolerance, withdraw symptoms, and failure to stop. Someone with a substance use disorder may take more of a drug to achieve the desired effect, while someone with a process addiction will increase the frequency or severity of their behavior for the same reason. Substance users frequently experience more physical symptoms, but someone with a process addiction may experience anxiety or stress of they cannot participate in their behavior of choice. Both someone with a process addiction and substance use disorder have a very difficult time stopping their drug or behavior of choice. In order to establish a treatment relationship to work with a client that has a substance use disorder or process addiction I would, maintain a recovery perspective, manage and monitor psychiatric symptoms, use supportive and empathetic counseling, and always increase structure and support.

   1. What is a process addiction? What is a substance use disorder? How are the two similar and how are they different? How would you establish a treatment relationship to work with a client with substance use disorder or process addiction?

   “According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, roughly 23.5 million Americans over the age of 12 have abused substances as recently as 2011 and among those individuals, only about 2.6 million, or 11.2 percent, seek treatment” .The early history of substance abuse and addiction mainly relates to the growth of medications and new skills that have helped improve the healthcare system.Before the 1960s laws were implemented in an effort to minimize the abuse of substances like heroin and cocaine. Over the years the drug of choice or popularity of drugs fluctuated, but marijuana is a drug that has been, and still is continuously used. In addition to marijuana, some of the other most common substances used today are, alcohol, opiates, cocaine, and stimulants. The development of multidisciplinary teams in regard to the treatment of addictions is something that should be used and gets the best results due to all people and addictions being different and it takes a team to use and implement a multidisciplinary approach. The process would start by having an intake process. Per HIPPA law and for the safety of the healthcare professional and client, there has to be a clear understanding on what and why the clientis being seen or treated for. The client would then be given a primary therapist, followed by a psychiatrist, possibly be put on any needed medication, and lastly, be assigned a case manager to help the client with any resources and/or contacts needed by the client and to evaluate if they are happy with the process and treatment they have received thus far.

   1. Briefly explain the history of substance abuse treatment in the United States over the past 100 years. How did the early practices differ from what is being done today? Briefly describe the development of multidisciplinary teams in regard to the treatment of addictions.

   Part Two Directions:It is widely understood that there is a biopsychosocial model of addiction. Within the biopsychosocial model, there are multiple psychological theories and biological theories. Complete the table below by comparing and contrasting the selected biological and psychological theories of addiction.

   Theory and Brief Description	Similarities	Differences
   Personality Theory	Family historyRewiring of brain to fix the problemChange in behavior effects decision makingRequires a choice or treatment to help fixCan be passed onCan cause more addictions and mental illnessBehavioral issues	Establish relationships with others to reduce pain and/or stressorsPersonality changesCross addictionsDifferent personalities can trigger other addictions, mental illness, or impulsive behaviorA wide range and variety of personality disorders
   Genetic Theory	Family historyRewiring of brain to fix the problemChange in behavior effects decision makingRequires a choice or treatment to help fixCan be passed onCan cause more addictions and mental illnessBehavioral issues	Predisposition to drug usePredisposed reaction to drugs due to chromosomes or genesRuns in familiesExisting mental health issues

   References