Psychiatric Syndromes that Co-Occur with Drug and Substance Abuse Among Adolescents

Psychiatric Syndromes Co-Occur Disorders
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Psychiatric Syndromes Co-Occur Disorders
Psychiatric Syndromes that Co-Occur with Drug and Substance Abuse Among Adolescents
Issues of addiction and substance are complex and complicated. They affect the brain to a large extent. Abusers are unable to control their drug use despite the fact that these drugs are harmful to their health. They are intensively focused on over-using certain substances until these substances overtake their lives. It is not all adolescents that abuse drugs, and those that do are influenced by certain psychiatric factors. The following are the psychiatric syndromes that co-occur with substance use disorders and addiction during adolescence.
The first syndrome is depression. Adolescents that undergo depression are normally driven to use drugs. But the extent of drug use depends on how serious the depression is. Adolescents who are depressed resolve to using drugs and abusing substances as a way of relieving stress. Studies performed have shown that there is a close relationship between depression and substance use disorders and depression among adolescents. According to Edlund et al (2015),over 70% of adolescents who abuse drugs undergo depression. Depression is a big risk factor for drug and substance abuse among adolescents (Edlund et al., 2015).
The next psychiatric syndrome that normally co-occurs with drug and substance abuse among adolescents is “anxiety disorders”. Adolescents with anxiety disorders normally tend to try to overcome their symptoms through substance abuse (Kotov et al., 2010). Post-traumatic stress disorder is especially associated with abuse of strong illicit drugs. Social factors, peer influence, level of support influence how adolescents used drugs(Doremus-Fitzwater,Varlinskaya& Spear, 2010). Other psychiatric factors that co-occur with drug and substance abuse among adolescents include conduct and “attention deficit hyperactivity” disorders. In conduct, the social lives of children have been shown to play a key role in drug and substance abuse.
Combine Impact of Substance Used Disorders and Psychiatric Syndromes among adolescents
When adolescents with psychiatric syndromes abuse drugs and substances, the consequences can be devastating. The adolescents can undergo problems that lead to mental health issues. On most occasions, these adolescents may undergo mental health issues like paranoia and delusions. Even if the drugs wear off, the mental effects may remain with the adolescents. Decision-making among these adolescents is normally poor. They are more prone to breaking the law and d engaging in criminal activities because their best judgement is clouded. A large number of adolescents with mental illness abuse drugs.
These adolescents become antisocial and are unable to live normal lives like other kids. They lose focus in life and are more driven towards meeting their drug demands and overcoming their psychiatric syndromes rather than pursuing a meaningful future. For them, the world stops at being able to get drugs and they would go extra lengths to ensure they get the drugs they need. Normally, they are moody and cognitively impaired (Crews & Hodge, 2007). In the families of these adolescents, there are constant conflicts. They are unable to function normally and meet their life goals. In fact, they never have any goals at all and if they do, they never focus on achieving those goals. Drug abuse and depression affect the physical health of adolescents. The adolescents would be prone to mood swings and would have trouble managing their responsibilities at home and school.
How DSM Analysis Affects Adolescents
New publication of DSM-5 is plagued with controversies and has not been universally accepted. Many people agree that it affects children and adolescents more. The document gives clinicians a detailed description of symptoms, making it easier to relate diagnosis criteria with symptom representation (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Through the DSM analysis, clinicians can diagnose mental disorders that they cannot easily identify through symptoms such as normal health issues. The manual also gives medical practitioners great insights into analysis of many disorders that affect the adolescents. The DSM analysis aims at capturing the symptoms and experiences in a precise and detailed manner. The analysis covers how childhood conditions manifest throughout the lives of the adolescents.
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