{"id":127,"date":"2015-11-09T02:39:10","date_gmt":"2015-11-09T08:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/?p=127"},"modified":"2018-06-15T23:27:29","modified_gmt":"2018-06-16T04:27:29","slug":"abuse-vs-dependence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/?p=127","title":{"rendered":"Abuse vs. Dependence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swsecrets.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/11\/chrysanthemum.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-129\" src=\"https:\/\/swsecrets.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/11\/chrysanthemum.jpg?w=300\" alt=\"Chrysanthemum\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>There is a lot of gray area and uncertainty when it comes to addiction, and one area in\u00a0particular is the differences between substance abuse vs. dependence. Addiction comes in many different forms, and looks different for everyone affected. Not only is the person who is addicted affected, but so is their family and friends, coworkers, and everyone they come in contact with. <em>Both abuse and dependence\u00a0are considered an addiction<\/em>, regardless of how often or how much of the drug is consumed. The difference between the two\u00a0relates to the way the addiction affects the individual&#8217;s every day life,\u00a0and how it affects those around them.<br \/>\nThis topic strikes a cord with me because of\u00a0the many\u00a0former patients\u00a0with addiction I had the opportunity to work with. Some of those patients would not see binge drinking on occasion, for example,\u00a0as an addiction. This would make working on a treatment plan for these individuals challenging as they would not view their drug use as an addiction, therefore\u00a0obtaining treatment felt unnecessary to them. This was always concerning to me because of course I wanted those patients to get better! But, the choice must come from the patient to <em>want<\/em> to receive the help and understand that there may be an issue to come to terms with. There are many different ways to receive help, and\u00a0sometimes obtaining treatment\u00a0from a facility may\u00a0feel intimidating and foreign. There are many other ways to receive help, and I want people to know that!<\/p>\n<p>Below is more detailed information on abuse and dependence which\u00a0can be\u00a0helpful in deciding what type of treatment to utilize or how to ask for help, and having a better understanding of addiction in general.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ABUSE<br \/>\n<\/strong>Substance use that harms you physically and\/or your mental health causing anxiety, pain, or sorrow.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ongoing legal problems related to substance use (DUI, paraphernalia&#8230;).<\/li>\n<li>Continuing to use substances\u00a0even though it is\u00a0causing problems in your social\u00a0 life (canceling plans, arguing with peers, physical fights&#8230;).<\/li>\n<li>Repeated substance use which\u00a0affects your ability to complete responsibilities\u00a0in your\u00a0home life (spending time with family, getting yard work completed&#8230;),\u00a0affects your ability to work (late, &#8216;no-show&#8217;), or affecting your ability\u00a0to be successful in\u00a0school.<\/li>\n<li>Repeated substance use regardless of the usage being physically dangerous (drinking and driving, unsanitary needle use&#8230;).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DEPENDENCE<br \/>\n<\/strong>A pattern of substance use leading to pain, sorrow, or anxiety if\u00a0demonstrated in 3 or more points below:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The individual often takes the substance in mass\u00a0amounts, or for longer periods than they expected.<\/li>\n<li>There is ongoing, unsuccessful attempts to cut down or control the substance use.<\/li>\n<li>A lot of the individual&#8217;s time is spent in activities closely related to substance use or that provide the ability to gain the substance (selling drugs, working at a bar&#8230;.).<\/li>\n<li>Give up or greatly reduce enjoyable social or recreational activities due to ongoing usage.<\/li>\n<li>Tolerance- a need for increased amounts of the substance to obtain intoxication or the sought-after affect. Or the substance seeming to be less effective over time with the same amount of consumption. (If typically it would take\u00a0a person\u00a05 beers to be intoxicated,\u00a0over time\u00a0this would increase to 10 beers before the individual felt any effects.)<\/li>\n<li>Withdrawal- if the\u00a0definition\/attributes\u00a0of withdrawal for the specific substance being abused is what the individual&#8217;s symptoms are. Or the same substance is taken to avoid\/relieve the withdrawal symptoms. (Waking up and consuming alcohol to avoid a hangover).<\/li>\n<li>The individual lies about their using or is in denial of their use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>*There are self assessment tools available online to help people determine if they are suffering from either abuse or dependence.<br \/>\nAs mentioned earlier, both abuse and dependence are considered an addiction. This is so important to understand when\u00a0trying to come to terms with\u00a0addiction and get the help you, or someone you know, may need.<\/p>\n<p>Steps to take to help yourself or someone you know:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Utilize\u00a0an online self assessment tool to gain a better understanding of your addiction.<\/li>\n<li>Research research research! There is TONS of helpful information and resources for free on the internet.<\/li>\n<li>Tell someone you trust about your addiction. Recovering from addiction is much easier when you have guidance, support, and encouragement from others. It is so easy to fall back on old patterns when you do not gain support and understanding from others.<\/li>\n<li>Attend NA\/AA meetings in your area (trust me, there are tons being offered daily)<\/li>\n<li>Challenge yourself- try to eliminate substance use for a certain amount of time to see if you&#8217;re able to accomplish that. With time, hopefully you notice how much better, clearer, healthier, and happier you feel. Setting goals, such as\u00a0this challenge, is great practice in figuring out what you are capable of accomplishing on your own!<\/li>\n<li>Think about how your substance use is affecting things in your life that are important to you.\u00a0Remind yourself not only to make the\u00a0change for yourself, but also for\u00a0the people and things you love.<\/li>\n<li>Speak with an addiction counselor or\u00a0individual therapist\u00a0(your information is kept confidential). Most addictions are the root of a pre-existing problem such as depression or trauma.<\/li>\n<li>Contact local agencies who specialize in addiction to discuss options they have to assist you. Check online to find options in your area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Please\u00a0remember that it takes <strong>courage<\/strong> to get the help you need. It is no easy task; do not give up on yourself. Most addicts are not successful on their first try, and that is okay! Any amount of time sober is worth celebrating. Be<strong> proud<\/strong> of yourself for recognizing there is an issue. Be <strong>proud<\/strong> of yourself for attempting to gain education and get the help you need. It takes time, commitment, and motivation to make the change and become a healthier you. We all know change is hard, so if you&#8217;re prepared and ready for that you can make this happen!<\/p>\n<p><em>Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. Create a life you can be proud of. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8211;<\/em>keep shining<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is a lot of gray area and uncertainty when it comes to addiction, and one area in\u00a0particular is the differences between substance abuse vs. dependence. Addiction comes in many different forms, and looks different for everyone affected. Not only is the person who is addicted affected, but so is their family and friends, coworkers, and everyone they come in contact with. Both abuse and dependence\u00a0are considered an addiction, regardless of how often or how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[343],"tags":[30,31,32,33,38,51,68,78],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":331,"href":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions\/331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/swsecrets.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}