Mechanisms of Addiction Flashcards
What makes a substance addictive?
It has a pleasure producing potency, rapid onset of action and short duration of action.
What is addiction?
Mental and behavioural disorder where there is continued repetition of a behaviour despite adverse consequences due to loss of substance control and a compulsion to use the substance. It takes over areas of life like daily responsibilities. There is physiological features of withdrawal.
Why is addiction maintained?
Due to physiological symptoms of withdrawal which has acute effect of 5-10 days but has protracted symptoms (months).
What is the biology of addiction?
Substances like alcohol enhance GABA to supress the CNS which relieves anxiety and stimulates euphoria, inhibits other receptors. Chronic consumption leads to changes to the prefrontal cortex.
What is the psychology of addiction?
Being from poorer socially excluded groups, adverse childhood experiences, lower education attainment, poor housing, low paid employment that leads to financial hardship and difficulty affording healthcare.
What envirinmental factors maintain addiction?
Affordability, promotion of substance in media, accessibility, peer pressure, positive expectations/effects and poor family support.
What is the cycle of addiction?
Addictive substances suppress CNS by targeting GABA and change from a pleasure seeking behaviour to a negative reinforcement to reduce stress, maintained by habit.
What are the treatment outcomes for addiction?
Majority relapse in the year following treatment, especially in the first 3 months. Poorer outcomes associated with social instability, alcohol-free network, mental ill health, previous failed attempts
What are the social cultural attitudes towards addiction?
Stigma, moral fault, causes social disintegration, failure to recognise addiction as a mental and behavioural disorder.
What are the cultural attitudes of addiction?
People with addiction are considered dangerous, criminal, weak willed . Failure to recognise addiction as a disease.
What is motivational interviewing?
Express empathy through reflective listening, determine the barrier between the patient’s goals and their current behaviour, avoid argument, adjust to resistance and support self-efficacy and optimism.
What are TRAPS?
Question and answer, acting as the expert, labelling, blaming, confrontation-denial trap. These can be avoided with open-ended questions, listening reflectively, and eliciting self-motivational statements.
