This essay focuses on opioid addiction  If you had a friend or family member suffering , what sort of help would you recommend.

opioid addiction

For this week’s main post, answer the following questions. Be sure to include factual, properly cited information in your post.

Firstly,         What are some ways that opioid addiction is affecting the United States?
Secondly,        What are some forms of treatment available to those suffering?
Thirdly,         If you had a friend or family member suffering , what sort of help would you recommend they seek?

Addiction is a chronic brain disease that causes a person to compulsively seek out drugs, even though they cause harm. The risks of dependence and addiction are higher if you misuse the medicines. Misuse can include taking too much medicine, taking someone else’s medicine, taking it in a different way than you are supposed to, or taking the medicine to get high.

Opioid misuse, addiction, and overdoses are serious public health problems in the United States. Another problem is that more women are misusing opioids during pregnancy. This can lead to babies being addicted and going through withdrawal, known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Opioid misuse may sometimes also lead to heroin use, because some people switch from prescription opioids to heroin.

The main treatment for prescription opioid addiction is medication-assisted treatment (MAT). It includes medicines, counseling, and support from family and friends. MAT can help you stop using the drug, get through withdrawal, and cope with cravings. There is also a medicine called naloxone which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and prevent death, if it is given in time.

To prevent problems with prescription opioids, be sure to follow your doctor’s instructions when taking them. Do not share your medicines with anyone else. Contact your doctor if you have any concerns about taking the medicines.

References:

Brown, A. R. (2018). A systematic review of psychosocial interventions in treatment of opioid addiction, Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/1533256X.2018.1485574

Coon, D., Mitterer, J.O., & Martini, T. (2019). Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior (15th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Volkow, N. D., Frieden, T. R., Hyde, P. S., & Cha, S. S. (2014). Medication-assisted therapies — tackling the opioid-overdose epidemic.

New England Journal of Medicine, 370(22), 2063-2066. doi:10.1056/NEJMp1402780

PSY1012 Week 2 Discussion Brown-2018.pdf PSY1012 Week 2 Discussion Brown-2018.pdf – Alternative Formats

PSY1012 Week Two Discussion Volkow-2014.pdf PSY1012 Week Two Discussion Volkow-2014.pdf – Alternative Formats

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