Substance abuse

1. SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Dr SAJEENA S
POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW
(ICSSR)
SCHOOL OF PEDAGOGICAL SCIENCES
MG UNIVERSITY, KOTTAYAM

2. •People are most likely to begin abusing drugs including
tobacco, alcohol, and illegal and prescription drugs during
adolescence and young adulthood.
•There are many reasons adolescents use these substances,
including the desire for new experiences, an attempt to deal
with problems or perform better in school, and simple peer
pressure.

3. •Adolescents are “biologically wired” to seek new
experiences and take risks, as well as to carve out
their own identity.
•Trying drugs may fulfil all these normal
developmental drives, but in an unhealthy way that
can have very serious long-term consequences.

4. • Many factors influence whether an adolescent tries drugs,
including the availability of drugs within the neighbourhood,
community, and school and whether the adolescent’s friends
are using them.
• The family environment is also important: Violence, physical or
emotional abuse, mental illness, or drug use in the household
increase the likelihood an adolescent will use drugs.

5. • Finally, an adolescent’s inherited genetic vulnerability; personality
traits like poor impulse control or a high need for excitement; mental
health conditions such as depression, anxiety, or ADHD; and beliefs
such as that drugs are “cool” or harmless make it more likely that an
adolescent will use drugs.

6. • In cases when a teen does develop a pattern of repeated use, it can pose serious social and
health risks, including:
• • school failure
• • problems with family and other relationships
• • loss of interest in normal healthy activities
• • impaired memory
• • increased risk of contracting an infectious disease (like HIV or hepatitis C) via risky sexual
behavior or sharing contaminated injection equipment
• • mental health problems—including substance use disorders of varying severity the very real
risk of overdose death

7. • How drug use can progress to addiction.
• Different drugs affect the brain differently, but a common factor is that they all
raise the level of the chemical, dopamine in brain circuits that control reward
and pleasure. The brain is wired to encourage life-sustaining and healthy
activities through the release of dopamine.
• Everyday rewards during adolescence—such as hanging out with friends,
listening to music, playing sports and all the other highly motivating experiences
for teenagers—cause the release of this chemical in moderate amounts.
• This reinforces behaviours that contribute to learning, health, well-being, and
the strengthening of social bonds.

8. • Drugs, unfortunately, are able to hijack this process.
• The “high” produced by drugs represents a flooding of
the brain’s reward circuits with much more dopamine
than natural rewards generate.
• This creates an especially strong drive to repeat the
experience.
• The immature brain, already struggling with balancing
impulse and self-control, is more likely to take drugs
again without adequately considering the consequences

9. •If the experience is repeated, the brain reinforces the neural
links between pleasure and drug-taking, making the association
stronger and stronger.
• Soon, taking the drug may assume an importance in the
adolescent’s life out of proportion to other rewards.

10. • When substance use disorders occur in adolescence, they affect key
developmental and social transitions, and they can interfere with
normal brain maturation.
• These potentially lifelong consequences make addressing adolescent
drug use an urgent matter.
• Chronic marijuana use in adolescence, for example, has been shown
to lead to a loss of IQ that is not recovered even if the individual quits
using in adulthood.

11. • Impaired memory or thinking ability and other problems caused by
drug use can derail a young person’s social and educational
development and hold him or her back in life.
• Teachers are important sources of information for students who
have questions about drugs and alcohol. Most young people spend
more time at school than at home with their parents.

12. • Most young people spend more time at school than at home
with their parents.
• Because of this, the social environment of the school is a key
factor influencing the development of young people.
• Research has shown that a positive relationship with school,
which creates a greater sense of community, attachment,
and performance, is associated with reduced risk of drug-
related harm.

13. • As a teacher, you can help a student have a positive relationship with their school by:
• ● Setting clear rules and boundaries which are consistently enforced in a reasonable and
measured manner;
• ● Keeping an open mind and asking students for their opinions;
• ● Giving praise and reward students’ good behaviour, achievements and accomplishments; ●
Encouraging constructive use of time;
• ● Modelling a sense of optimism and a positive view of learning;
• ● Encouraging participation in extracurricular activities;
• ● Being a good listener;
• ● Correcting common misperceptions that young people have about drugs and alcohol.
Overestimations of rates of use can normalise alcohol and drug use for young people;

14. • TALKING TO A YOUNG PERSON ABOUT DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
• Some students may feel more comfortable talking about their personal issues with
a trusted teacher than with a family member.
• Teachers can play an important role by listening actively to the student’s concerns
and helping to link them with appropriate resources or support.
• When suspecting drug use, duty of care procedures must be followed.

15. If you think a student or someone else is affected by drug use, here are some
tips to allow you to support them and communicate effectively with them
about their drug use:
• ● Prepare for the conversation by informing yourself about drug effects and
organising your thoughts so you can clearly communicate your concerns.
• ● Arrange to talk where you will have some privacy and won’t be
interrupted.
• ● Express concerns but avoid making assumptions or sounding
confrontational. The conversation will be most effective if you listen
actively without judging or lecturing.
• Behavioural changes are a good starting point for discussion, e.g. “I notice
you haven’t been yourself lately…”.

16. • ● Reflect on the person’s good qualities. The young person is more likely to
engage with the conversation if they feel valued and respected.
• ● Remind them that it is human to make mistakes, so that they are not too hard
on themselves.
• ● Ask them about ways they can reduce the risk of harm from their use.
• ● Communicate that change is possible, but can take some time. Let them know
that effective support is available to help people reduce or stop their drug use.
• ● Let them know you are available to talk to them again in the future.
• ● Tell them that you will support them to find appropriate services when they are
ready to make changes.

17. • Counselling plays an important role in managing the issues due to substance
abuse.
• Counselling techniques have been shown to be most effective in bringing
positive changes in addiction behaviours.
• Counseling aims at the following: cognitive (understanding the problem and
solution), behavioural (making new habits more comfortable than the old
destructive habits), family systems (realising the dynamics formed in childhood
that affect adult actions and involving family members to strengthen new
response patterns).

18. • Positive reinforcement, comfortable social attachments within the
new activities and direction away from old cycles of abuse must be
part of any therapy.
• Success may lie in the motivation and resolution of the patient to
effect positive change.
• Alcoholics Anonymous and similar groups offer a place for self-
examination, mutual support and growth at the patient's own pace.

19. • Thus counseling can be provided to the abused children and their caregivers to
help them come out of the trauma, sufferings and anxieties.
• Treatment may include psychotherapy, rehabilitation counseling, cognitive
behaviour therapy, supportive therapy, behaviour therapy, play therapy, and other
modalities as necessary to assist the individual in overcoming anxiety, fear and
depression.

20. • However, most important is that counseling can adopt a preventive approach
and create awareness and understanding regarding the rights of the children.
• This will help protect the children so that they can develop in a healthy way.
Counseling strategies can aim at developing a protective environment for
children emphasising the importance of knowing, understanding, accepting
and enforcing legal standards in child protection.
• Further community-based approaches can be used that promote and strengthen
the capacity of families and communities to address child protection issues.

21. THANK YOU