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Prescription drug addiction: preventing, detecting and overcoming prescription drug abuse

Written by: DR EDWIN UGOH

Published: 23/03/2021

Edited by: EMMA MCLEOD

Even some of the most popular and commonly prescribed drugs can lead to prescription drug addiction. This can lead to harmful consequences like physical, mental and/or social complications. Here’s how to avoid and overcome it.

An outstretched hand with a batch of prescription drugs in its palm

The most commonly abused prescription drugs

Benzodiazepines, mainly Alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam ( Klonopin) and diazepam (Valium), which are commonly prescribed for anxiety, insomnia or panic attacks can be misused. Even when used as prescribed, they can also lead to physical dependence and addiction. Opioids such as codeine, morphine and tramadol are commonly abused and can lead to oversedation and in some instances, death from respiratory depression. Others are amphetamines and over-the-counter drugs like pseudoephedrine and dextromethorphan (found in cough syrup).

How prescription drugs become addictive

The chronic use of many drugs can lead to physical dependency, albeit therapeutic dependency in some cases, even if taken as instructed.

This manifests as a physical adaptation of the body to the drug, requiring more of it to achieve a certain effect (tolerance) and eliciting drug-specific physical or mental symptoms if drug use is abruptly ceased or reduced (withdrawal symptoms). Physical dependence in itself does not constitute addiction, but compulsive drug use despite harmful consequences with or without emotional dependency (self-medicating stressors or emotional problems) can be classified as an addiction.

How to know if you have an addiction

Core signs of addiction are:

When compulsive drug use leads to harmful consequences (either physical or mental) or social complications (such as inability to stop using a drug), which leads to failure to meet work, social, or family obligations.

Tolerance to the drug

Withdrawal symptoms

The best ways to prevent an addiction from forming

The best way to prevent addiction is to have awareness and understanding of how alcohol or substance abuse develops. Avoid using addictive drugs (illicit or prescribed) and avoid peer-pressure and triggers that cause temptation.

How patients can help themselves

Avoid self-medicating emotional problems and seek help from mental health professionals on time. Live a healthy, balanced life.

How psychiatrists can help

A psychiatrist can assess and recommend a personalised holistic treatment plan. Part of the assessment will cover physical health, mental health and social functioning to explore how these can cause or perpetuate addiction.

Vocabulary

  1. Prescription drug [prɪˈskrɪp.ʃən]- Рецептурная наркомания

  2. Prevent [prɪˈvent]-предотвращать, препятствовать, предупреждать

  3. Detect [dɪˈtekt]- обнаружение

  4. Overcome [ˌəʊvəˈkʌm] преодолевать, побороть, перебороть

  5. Harmful consenquences- Вредные последствия

  6. Abuse [əˈbjuːs]злоупотребление

  7. Anxiety [æŋˈzaɪəti]- беспокойство, тревога, тревожность

  8. Insomnia [ɪnˈsɒm.ni.ə]- бессонница

  9. Physical dependence- Физическая зависимость

  10. Therapeutic dependency - терапевтическая зависимость

  11. Opioid- [ˈəʊ.pi.ɔɪd]- опиоидный

  12. Overdose [ˈəʊvədəʊs]- передозировка

  13. Oversedation - перенасыщение

  14. over-the-counter drugs- безрецептурные препараты

  15. Respiratory depression- угнетения дыхания

  16. Addictive [əˈdɪk.tɪv]- вырабатывающий привыкание

  17. Withdrawal symptoms [wɪðˈdrɔː.əl] - Абстинентный синдром

  18. Awareness [əˈweə.nəs]- осознание, осведомленность

  19. Peer-pressure- Давление со стороны сверстников

  20. self-medication [self-medɪˈkeɪʃn]- самолечение

  21. complications [kɒmplɪˈkeɪʃnz]- осложнения

  22. prescribed [prɪˈskraɪbd] предписанный, положенный

  23. mainly [ˈmeɪnli] главным образом, большей частью

  24. cough [kɒf] кашель

  25. require [rɪˈkwaɪər] требующий

  26. achieve [əˈtʃiːv] достигать, добиваться, выполнять

  27. failure [ˈfeɪljə(r)] недостаточность, отказ, провал

  28. awareness [əˈweə.nəs] осознание, осведомленность

  29. assess [əˈses] оценивать, облагать налогом, облагаться

  30. perpetuate [pəˈpetʃ.u.eɪt] увековечивать, сохранять навсегда



Summary.

I`d like to tell you about my news article. The title of the article is “Prescription drug addiction: preventing, detecting and overcoming prescription drug abuse”. It was published in https://www.topdoctors.co.uk/. The author is Edwin Ugoh, well-known a top consultant psychiatrist. The article is addressed to people who are interested in this topic of medical.

The main idea of the article is prescription drug addiction: preventing, detecting and overcoming prescription drug abuse. The article consists of 3 parts. It begins with information that most commonly abused prescription drugs. Then the author writes about Benzodiazepines , mainly Alprazolam ( Xanax ), clonazepam ( Klonopin ) they can also lead to physical dependence and addiction . Much attention is given to the problem opioids are commonly abused and can lead to oversedation and in some instances, death from respiratory depression. It says that chronic use of many drugs can lead to physical dependency, albeit therapeutic dependency in some cases, even if taken as instructed.

The next paragraph is about core signs of addiction. The author shows that physical dependence in itself does not constitute addiction, but compulsive drug use despite harmful consequences with or without emotional dependency (self-medicating stressors or emotional problems) can be classified as an addiction. The article emphasizes the problem of avoid self-medicating emotional problems and seek help from mental health professionals on time.

The article ends with how specialists can help fight drug addiction. The purpose object of the article is to provide information about prescription drug addiction. Now I’d like to tell my own opinion. This article is informative and useful. Firstly, I found out that drug addiction can lead to harmful consequence. Secondly, I’ve chosen this topic because we use different medications in everyday life, for example, as painkillers, sedatives, nasal drops, not assuming that they can cause drug addiction. I agree that avoid self-medicating . Live a healthy, balanced life.