Working with addicted populations

Running Head: HEALTHCARE
0
Working with addicted populations
7/18/2019

HEALTHCARE
1
The essay brings about the discussion on the concept of addiction, substance abuse
and the related aspects. Substance use disorder or drug addiction is the terms interchangeably
defined as a disease which influences the brain and behaviour of an individual. Therefore,
the essay will describe the concept of drug addiction, methods of treatment, interventions, or
strategy available to manage them. The substances such as alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine
are also considered as drugs, caused due to a number of factors (Squeglia, L. M. & Gray,
2016). The essay will enlist the current methods of addiction treatment along with the
negative aspects of the brain disease model of addiction. Therefore, discussion will represent
some of the major counter agreements in respect to the issue of drug addiction. Thus, readers
will gain an understanding of the methods of addiction treatment with the suitable scholarly
based literature.
The discussion base arguments on the influence of the substance use disorder on the
health and wellbeing of individuals. Drug addiction, is also known as substance use disorder
is described as condition or disease that influences the ability of a person to exert control on
the consumption of drug. It impacts the brain and behaviour of the individual, and thereupon
influences our daily life activities. It has been found that drug addiction and drug dependence
are considered as two components of the substance use disorders. However, severity of the
substance use disorder can differ depending on the impact on the person i.e. mild, moderate,
and severe. Around the world, it has been found that more than 275 million people are
estimated to be using illicit drugs. Therefore, when a person becomes addicted to using drug,
they may continue using it despite the harm it may create to their health. The risk of drug
addiction varies from the type of drug i.e. such as opioid painkillers contain a high risk of
addiction (Everitt & Robbins, 2016).
Becoming addicted to the consumption of drug generally develops the feeling of
taking more drug, and involving in the activities that increase the influence of drugs. To
state the symptoms that people are being noticed under the influence of drug includes:
A sense of euphoria or feeling high, reddening of eyes, dry mouth, increased level of
cravings, low concentration or difficulty in remembering things. This indicates about poor
mental health of the person, therefore it is stated to be a brain disease.
Substance use or addiction is treated as brain disease because addicted brain implies
to the notion or idea that consuming the drugs exert the actions of people through specific
structures of the brain. This gives rise to the aspect of brain differences, which occurs as the