Describing Addiction

• What is addiction?

  • The compulsion touse a substance or engage in behaviour depsite harmful consequences
  • Characterised by an inability to stop
  • Leads to failure in work social or family responsibilites
• What are key features of addiction?

  • Compulsion to use despite negative consequences
  • Inability to stop
  • Tolerance
  • Withdrawal symptoms
  • Physical dependence
• What is tolerance?

  Tolerance is when an individual needs increasingly larger amounts of a substance to achieve the same effect as the first experience
• How does homeostasis relate to tolerance?

  • Brain tries to maintain balance (homeostasis)
  • Regular drug use causes the brain to adjust
  • This raises the threshold for drugs effect, resulting in tolerance
• What is cross-tolerance

  When tolerance to one drug results in tolerance to another drug in the same family (e.g alcohol and benzodiazapines)
• What is Metabolic Tolerance?

  • Body metabolises the drug more efficiently resulting in reduced concentrations in the blood at the sites of the drug action - making the effect weaker
• What is cellular tolerance?

  • Prolonged drug use leads to changes in the receptor density
  • Reduces the response to the normal dose of the drug
• What is withdrawal syndrome?

  A set of unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms that occur when a person stops taking a drug after regular use
• What causes withdrawal symptoms?

  • The brain has readjusted to the drug being in the system
  • When thee drug is removed the body reacts negatively as it tries to readjust to the absence of the substance
• What are examples of withdrawal symptoms?

  • Low mood
  • Nausea
  • Body aches
  • Flu-like symptoms
  • Shaking and tremors
  • Symptoms are often the opposite of the drugs effects
• What factors affect the severity of withdrawal?

  • The type and drug and its half life - The amount of time it takes to eliminate half the drug from the body. The shorter half-life = more intense the withdrawal
  • Amount consumed
  • Frequency and pattern of drug use - If the drug use is frequent and regular then it will be in the body for most of the day. physical dependence and withdrawal would be greater
• What are the two phases of withdrawal syndrome?

  • Acute withdrawal: Physical symptoms, intense cravings (lasting weeks)
  • Post-acute withdrawal: Long-term emotional / psychological instability (lasting months/years)
• What is physical dependence?

  • When a person needs the drug to feel normal and avoid withdrawal symptoms.
  • Often develops from long-term, heavy use
• What are the key signs of physical dependence?

  • Tolerance (needing more of the drug for same effect)
  • Withdrawal symptoms when drug use stops
  • Using the drug to function normally
• Does physical dependence always mean addiction?

  • No
  • A person can be physically dependent without being addicted, although the two often go together.
• What is psychological dependence?

  When a person feels emotionally or mentally reliant on a substance or activity, making it central to their thoughts, feelings, and behaviour.
• What are symptoms of psychological dependence?

  • Strong urges or cravings
  • Anxiety when abstaining
  • Feeling unable to cope without the drug or activity
  • Obsessive thoughts about using or doing it again
• What is a craving?

  • An intense desire to repeat the experience of using a drug or engaging in a behaviour.
  • Common in both physical and psychological dependence.
• Can psychological dependence occur without physical dependence?

  • Yes. It can occur with non-substance addictions like gambling or excessive exercise.
• What causes psychological dependence according to Epstein (1994)?

  • A conflict between two mental systems: the rational (logical thinking) and the experiential (emotional, automatic).
  • Dependence arises when the emotional system dominates.
• What is the rational system?

  • Conscious and analytical
  • Based on rules and reasoning
  • Helps decide appropriate behaviour
• What is the experiential system?

  • Preconscious and automatic
  • Emotionally driven
  • Often overrides rational thinking in cases of dependence