Running head: SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS 1

Substance Use Disorder

Name
Institution
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Substance Use Disorders

Most researches done in the recent decades shows that most people in the world use
drugs. A research done by the global drug survey shows that the majority of these people using
drugs are majorly youths. Use of drugs is common in almost every part of the world including
the United States. Most recent researches in the past decades identifies different causes of
substance use. Some of which inclined towards the prescriptions from the doctors that
eventually turns into an addiction. In connection to this, some people also begin using
substances as a result of peer pressure from friends or relatives with doctor’s prescription to
using certain substance (Saunders, 2017). In some other occasions, use of substances begins
from social enjoyments and later graduates to addiction resulting to the substance use disorders.
Substance use disorder is simply another term for drug addiction experienced as a result of
continuous use of specific drug over a given duration of time. Therefore, substance use
disorder, also known as drug addiction is the affection of a person’s mental health, that is brain
and behavior. Substance use disorders may consequently lead to several severe addiction that
in turn yields the inability to control use of a certain drug, use of illegal substance or given
medications.
Addiction of the substances and drugs are subjects of severe consequences irrespective
of their well seen side effects or end effects. However, when one gets addicted to these drugs
or substances, he or she may feel the urge of continuing use of them despite of the evidenced
effects. Some of these drugs and substances leading to drug or substance addiction or disorders
are alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, painkillers and nicotine among others. Drug addiction
for these substances and drugs varies with speed from one drug to another. As some of them
starts from recreational intentions in social functions, others such as opioids painkillers
prescribed by the doctors starts from the prescription (Hides, 2015). This is followed by the
growing urge to use them more frequently or in large amounts. In some conditions, the effects
may lead to more than one illness. In such cases, physical illness may be complimented by
certain mental disorder. When this occurs, a condition known as co-occurrence disorder arrives.
Co-occurring disorder is the condition where substance use disorder results into two or more
complications. These complications would be a compliment of mental illness and a substance
use disorder, or either of the two with drug addiction. This article discusses various substance
use disorders and examples of substance use disorder diagnostic criterion. In addition, it also
focuses on the substance induced disorders and the examples of substance induced disorders.
Substance Use Disorders
According to the DSM-5, there are nine known types of substances use disorders. These
includes alcohol, cannabis such as the marijuana, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids such as
heroin, tobacco, stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine, sedatives such as valiums.
Each and every type of diagnosis of any substance disorder depends on the pathological settings
of behaviors that are categorized into four main groups. These include the impaired control,
social impairment, risky use, and the pharmacological indicators, which includes the tolerance
and withdrawals. These four categories give the substance use disorder diagnosis criteria as
identified by the DSM-5.
Substance Use Disorder Diagnostic Criterion Example
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According to the DSM-5 substance use disorder diagnosis criterion, the four groups
entails 11 substance use disorder diagnosis criteria (Connor, Haber and Hall, 2016). These
criteria include the following:
1. Continuous use of a drug over a longer period of time, or using large quantities
than the normal situations.
2. Feeling the urge to minimize the amount consumed but no success.
3. Wasting a lot of time regaining from a drug use.
4. Having intense cravings that makes it quite difficult to think on other important
things.
5. Continuous use of the drug or the substance despite of the negative effects such
as work problems, family issues, and low performance of duties among others.
6. Continuous use of the drug or substance even with the presence of adverse side
effects.
7. Reduced attention to important recreational and social activities.
8. Substance use disorder may as well be identified through use of the drugs or
substances during very critical activities such as operation of machines or
tractors among others.
9. Continuing use of the drugs or substance even after noticing some adverse
psychological problems.
10. The feeling of tolerance, that is the feeling of increasing the quantity of the drug
or substance used over time. This comes when an individual feel like reaching
his or her satisfaction with a large amount of the drug or the substance.
11. The feeling of withdrawal effects, which the immediate response of the body
towards the abrupt detachment from the drugs or substance. This happens when
one tries to withdraw from using a particular drug or substance but the body
responds by certain feelings of pains such as headaches and others.
Substance Induced Disorders
Some of the substance induced disorder include the following.
I. Substance induced delirium
II. Mood disorder
III. Anxiety disorder
IV. Sexual dysfunction
V. Substance induced sleep disorder
VI. Psychotic disorder
Substance Induced Disorder Diagnostic Criterion Example
Some of the examples of the substance induced disorder diagnostic criterion include the
following.
1. The signs may lead to a critical distress and impairment.
2. When the disturbance is not properly addressed by the disorder.
3. When the disturbance fails to occur at delirium.
4. When there is evidence from the medical history showing the signs of the disorder.
5. Having depressions in moods.
6. Having an irritated mood.
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7. Experiencing elevated moods.

8. Showing lack of interest in most useful activities.
9. Experiencing expansive moods.
10. Evidence of physical signs and symptoms.
Similarity between substance use disorder and substance induced disorder
Substance use disorder and substance induced disorder shares a wide variety of similarities.
Both of the disorders are substance and drug related. For example, both of the disorders are
caused by the addiction of drugs and substances like alcohol, marijuana, nicotine, and opioids
among others. Both of the substance disorders occur as a result of continuous use of a given
drug over a longer period of time. Moreover, these substance disorders are experienced when
one is addicted to a specific drug or substance and continuous to use the drug or substance
besides its adverse side effects caused to the individual.
Difference between substance use disorder and substance induced disorder
However, despite of the two disorders sharing a larger number of similarities, substance use
disorder and substance induced disorders differs from each other in some significant ways.
Substance use disorder occurs when one is using or trying to withdraw from the drugs and
substances thus the body shows up certain signs. Substance induced disorder occurs when the
signs and symptoms surpasses the initial limits (Behrendt, Kliegel, Kräplin and Bühringer,
2015). Therefore, substance induced disorder occurs as a severe stage of substance use disorder
or rather as a consequence of the prior state. They mainly interfere with the mental wellness of
any individual at this stage.
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Reference
Behrendt, S., Kliegel, M., Kräplin, A., & Bühringer, G. (2015). Performance of smokers with
DSM-5 tobacco use disorder in time-based complex prospective memory.
Journal of psychoactive drugs, 47(3), 203-212.
Connor, J. P., Haber, P. S., & Hall, W. D. (2016). Alcohol use disorders. The Lancet,
387(10022), 988-998.
Hides, L., Dawe, S., McKetin, R., Kavanagh, D. J., Young, R. M., Teesson, M., & Saunders,
J. B. (2015). Primary and substance-induced psychotic disorders in
methamphetamine users. Psychiatry research, 226(1), 91-96.
Saunders, J. B. (2017). Substance use and addictive disorders in DSM-5 and ICD 10 and the
draft ICD 11. Current opinion in psychiatry, 30(4), 227-237.