• Addiction is the continued involvement with a substance or activity despite ongoing negative consequences of that involvement. Addiction is behavior resulting from compulsion; without the behavior, the addict experiences withdrawal. In contrast, habits can be broken without much discomfort. All addictions share four common symptoms: compulsion, loss of control, negative consequences, and denial.
• Codependents are typically friends or family members who are controlled by an addict's behavior. Enablers are people who knowingly or unknowingly protect addicts from the consequences of their behavior.
LO 2 Addictive Behaviors
• Addictive behaviors include disordered gambling, compulsive buying, exercise addiction, and technology addiction.
LO 3 What Is a Drug?
• Drugs are substances other than food that are intended to affect the structure or function of the mind or the body through chemical action. Almost all psychoactive drugs affect neurotransmission in the brain.
• The six categories of drugs are prescription drugs, OTC drugs, recreational drugs, herbal preparations, illicit (illegal) drugs, and commercial drugs. Routes of administration include oral ingestion, inhalation, injection (intravenous, intramuscular, and subcutaneous), transdermal, and suppositories.
LO 4 Drug Misuse and Abuse
• OTC medications are drugs that do not require a prescription. Some OTC medications, including sleep aids, cold medicines, and diet pills, can be addictive.
• Prescription drug abuse is at an all-time high, particularly among college students. Only marijuana is more commonly abused. The most commonly abused prescription drugs are opioids/narcotics, depressants, and stimulants.
• People from all walks of life use illicit drugs. Drug use declined from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, but has remained steady since then. However, among young people, use of drugs has been rising in recent years.
LO 5 Common Drugs of Abuse
• Drugs of abuse (both legal and illegal) include stimulants; cannabis products, including marijuana; narcotics/depressants; hallucinogens; inhalants; and anabolic steroids. Each has its own set of risks and effects.
LO 6 Treating and Reducing Drug Abuse
• Treatment begins with abstinence from the drug or addictive behavior, usually instituted through intervention by close family, friends, or other loved ones. Treatment programs may be outpatient or residential and may include individual, group, or family therapy, as well as 12-step programs.
• The drug problem reaches everyone through crime and elevated health care costs. Public health and governmental approaches to the problem involve regulation, enforcement, education, and harm reduction.
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