Crimes Committed due to the Use of Alcohol and Drugs

By Sarfaraz Haider

Drugs and alcohol can be so destructive - (Kyan Douglas). There is a serious and hazardous relationship between alcohol, drugs and crime across the world. The use of alcohol and drugs can harmfully affect all the aspects of a person’s personal life, family life, social life, occupational life and spiritual life. Alcohol and drugs are occupied in offenses leading to detention. Such as household aggression, driving when drunk, land offenses, drug offenses, and public-order offenses.Alcohol Addiction is rooted to violent crimes, murder, rape, physical abuse, child and spousal abuse more than any illegal drugs .Alcohol is often a factor in violence where the enemy and the casualty know each other. Directly or indirectly, alcohol and drugs influence  every one of us, in our homes, in our families, in our school,  or in our community as well.

The relationship between drugs and crime is composite, and one question is whether drug use leads people into illegal activity or whether those who use drugs were are already predisposed to such activity. Many unlawful drug users commit no other kinds of crimes, and several who commit crimes do not use illegal drugs. However,in the severe state of addiction and drugs, it is highly likely that drugs and crime are interconnected with each other.

There are basically three types of crimes associated with drugs:

• The crimes that result from or involve individuals who use drugs, and who do crimes as a consequence of the effect the drug has on them. Their actions , reactions, responses and mental  processes, i.e thinking, reasoning, problem solving and decision making are all affected negatively.
• Crimes where an individual has to do crimes in order to support a drug habit. These may include economically related activities like robbery, drug dealing and prostitution. Drug addicts are also more likely to be arrested for crimes such as shop theft and stolen goods etc
• Crimes that consequence from the formation of the drug system. They include production, manufacture, transportation, and sale of drugs, as well as violence related to the production or trade of drugs, such as a territory war. 

Causes mentioned above create further problems 

• The sex business easily exploit women, men and children who are involved in drug use. Due to crimes caused by drug addiction, family's face different kinds of illegal complications like jail and court related issues. Many of whom are caught up in the criminal justice system. However, there is evidence that drug use is both a pre-determining factor in such sexual abuse and a means of coping with it.
• Though there is no “root” of abuse and no specific profile of abusers, many factors contribute and make abuse more likely to occur. Due to drug crime there are pressures on the family. Individuals face decrease social support and social network. Social isolation can all lead to parental anxiety and increase the chances that a parent will strike out at their child. 

Other sociological factors are also important in understanding why someone turns to drugs or alcohol or engage in criminal behaviors. These include living conditions, family, employment, marital status and mental hea

Focus on the Solution

• Treatment always works and people can feel better from addiction, maintaining self-denial from alcohol and drugs. Healing offers the best substitute for interrupting the illegal justice cycle for offenders with drug and alcohol problems & decease the criminal behavior. Prison should be a place where people can get the help they need.
• Treatment also saves money. many researches showed that substance abuse treatment saved more money than expenses of substance use in terms of fewer arrests, incarcerate, food stamp use, and less child welfare and medical costs because, criminal behavior decreases as alcohol and drug use decrease, and saving can be use for the benefit and welfare of family .Recovery is possible.

 By Sarfaraz Haider

Clinical Psychologist

Nishan Rehab, Multan.

Overcoming Negativity in Addiction Recovery

By Maryam Malik

Many of us have tried to fight substance abuse by simply deciding not to drink alcohol or throwing away the drugs. Our lives would be much better if only we could quit that easily. But it is so hard to quit the behaviors even after knowing they are harming us.

Addiction isn’t just about the behaviors you engage in. Rather, it’s a complex disease through which the brain’s decision-making processes lead you to act against your own best interests.

By learning how to change problematic thought patterns, we can take back control of our life and overcome addiction! One of the most important steps we can take on our recovery journey is learning how to become a positive thinker.

Make a Conscious Effort to Only Think Positive Thoughts

Positive people don’t live in a magical world full of rainbows and unicorns. Bad things happen to everybody, and we all spend a large portion of our time thinking about life’s challenges.

The difference between positive and negative thinker isn’t what we think about, it’s whether we choose to ruminate over our troubles or respond productively to them. For negative thinkers, every problem in life can feel like a massive boulder cutting off their path through life. But for positive thinkers, life’s struggles become an opportunity to climb over that boulder and continue on their path. The most common types of negative thought patterns are:

• All-or-nothing thinking—Assuming that anything less than perfection is a complete failure.
• Disqualifying the positives—Focusing on the negative aspects of an experience, but fail to acknowledge that these negative aspects are frequently intermingled with positive ones.
• Negative self-labeling—Reacting to negative circumstances by making negative judgments about yourself.
• Catastrophizing—Assuming that actions will result in the worst-case scenario.

When we take a step back and look at these thought processes, we can tell they’re unhelpful and irrational ways to approach problems. If a friend expressed one of these negative thought patterns, we would probably point out the ways in which their thought process was flawed — yet, we often don’t think to step back and correct our own faulty thought patterns.

Nishan Rehab not just focuses on quitting drugs rather help patients to confront problems with positivity. While we might have to cut old friends out of our life as we recover from addiction, our recovery process shouldn’t be a lonely time in our life. It’s important to have the right kind of social support when we are undertaking a life challenge such as overcoming addiction. Making a conscious effort to spend time around positive people can help our brains develop positive thought patterns. These thought patterns help us believe we can overcome the challenges we are facing. When our brain absorbs the speech and logic patterns of positive people, we find our self-talk will become more positive as well.

When it comes to overcoming addiction, you don’t have to go it alone. The experienced addiction specialists at Nishan Rehab are here to support you towards a life free of drug or alcohol addiction. Nishan specialists will design a plan just for you that address your specific needs, concerns, challenges, goals and interests.

By Maryam Malik

Clinical Psychologist

Nishan Rehab, Islamabad

Hyperactivity And Add Attention Deficit Disorder Psychology

By Yahya Awan

Hyperactivity and A.D.D. Attention Deficit Disorder is a diagnosed and common behavioral disorder that begins early in childhood. Even though considered a childhood disorder once,it is now much more clear that many of the children that have ADHD will continue to have it when they become adolescents.While the symptoms decrease with the progression of age,impairments like social, occupational and familial are observed to increase in adolescence.The disorder has unclear biological underpinnings, it is stressful to live with and places a burden on social, occupational and familial life.

Although A.D.D has a varying array of degrees and types, the effects are roughly the same.The effected have trouble forming and maintaining relationships,they have a hard time concentrating which is a handicare in their occupational life, they are particularly weak in self expression and have communication problems and often face harsh consequences due to acting without thinking.

While it's causes are variable and not exactly known,they are roughly related with genetics, environmental effects, extraordinary conditions occurring during the development of brain. Psychological or medical treatments are available,of course,and former of which are usually the first choice while the latter is for more intense cases with heavier symptoms.Other treatments include academic, and behavioral interventions.

Hyperactivity and A.D.D. is a common seen case at people,starting from childhood.It is not a disease,it is defined as a behavioral disorder by health experts,while psychiatrists define it as a neurobehavioral developmental disorder.

It should be noted that being Hyperactive does not mean being less qualified, so much that; most hyperactive people have higher IQ rates compared to other people.This means these individuals can be, and are actually as qualified and as intellectually potent as everyone, or even more.

ADHD makes certain things harder for the one’s affected by it, like making it more difficult to focus on things for a long time without distraction. Patients also struggle controlling what they are doing or saying, and also have harder time on controlling the frequency of their physical activities, compared to somebody without ADHD.To say in other words,hyperactive individuals are more impulsive and restless.

There are other disorders that may be related to A.D.H.D. Backing that up,"ADHD is also associated with many other conditions including learning disabilities,  conduct disorder, anxiety, mood, and substance abuse disorders." States M. Simionescu, from the State University of New York.

Symptoms

Symptoms include:

• Not paying attention to detail
• Mistakes due to carelessness
• Failure to pay and keep attention on task
• Not listening
• Inability to follow and understand any instruction
• Avoiding effort involving tasks
• To be distracted a lot
• To forget things a lot
• Losing objects that are needful to complete the tasks
• Hyperactive-Impulsive Type symptoms include:
• Fidgeting
• Squirming
• Getting up often when seated
• Heavy physical activity (running,climbing) in inappropriate times
• Having trouble playing or tasking quietly
• Talking excessively and impatiently
• Interrupting

For a certain diagnosis,symptoms must be observed for a consistent six months, and to a greater degree than other children at the same age.

Results at Real Life

Most people display some of these symptoms and behaviours, but it is not always to a degree where they interfere with their lives significantly. And due to this absence of significance, diagnosis are often inaccurate. Some people with ADHD experience considerable difficulties with social and academic skills, such as forming or keeping relationships or performing adequately at work. Moreover, most children with A.D.H.D experience rejection and exclusion by their peers, compared to the 10-15 percent of healthy children of the same age. A significant rate of adolescents are observed to have difficulties during the process of nonverbal and verbal communication.

Causes

Genetics

• Studies show that, in about 75 percent of the cases,genetics are a factor and the disorder is also highly heritable between ancestral genes.

Executive Functions

• Significant amount of symptoms arise from a primary deficit on 'Executive Functions', which refers to cognitive processes that regulate and control other cognitive processes.The most obvious examples of this are planning, working memory, attention, inhibition and mental flexibility.

Evolution

• For more than 1 percent of population,researchers stated that high generality of ADHD may be due to natural selection,probably because the individual traits might be beneficial on their own and only became dysfunctional where these traits combine to form ADHD.

Environment

• Environmental factors usually contribute a small role to the origins of ADHD.Exposure to tobacco smoke or alcohol intakes during the pregnancy may impair the development of nervous system which can end up with a diagnosis of ADHD.  This is why it is important to quit drugs and go into Rehab especially if you are about to become a mother. Nihan Rehab excels in addiction treatment. Environmental lead also remains as a valid factor, since former studies at relatively high levels of lead exposure showed that the exposure and low levels of IQ as well as attention problems, other disorders such as autism or hyperactivity.

Conclusion

We at Nishan believe, As a common case, hyperactivity has many effects on patients who bear it,  though it does not pose any serious threats or problems on health. It makes life harder, in a social and academic/occupational sense, but that does not mean that it is completely bad and hard to live with it. The majority of hyperactive individuals are reported and observed to have higher IQ levels and creativeness compared to those who aren't. They also think and act differently, and outstand in a general crowd, in a good sense.

However, this disorder can be treated and reduced, even though it can not be completely removed, but then again, since it does not have harmful effects on human health, it is not necessary. But then, having a more stable mind and physical stand and posture may help individuals to have a more successful social and occupational life. At Nishan, we treat this disorder by teaching our clients how to manage this disorder. Through extensive therapy and the right medication we believe any client can live their life normally just like others.

One should not simply stereotype or confuse hyperactive individuals with mental patients. It can be both a blessing, and a curse, depends on the perspective. After all, they are just humans like us, maybe a little more restless, reckless and impatient. But again, there is nothing wrong with standing out of the crowd, in a good way, and without even trying as hard as everyone else!

By Yahya Awan

Psychologist

Nishan Rehab , Islamabad

ADDICTION IS A DISEASE

By Fayaz Ahmed

Some families and clients who visit Nishan Rehab for the treatment of Addiction don’t consider Addiction as a disease. They consider Addiction as a life style choice or habit. If Addiction is a life style choice then why can’t we change our addiction? Similarly if Addiction is a habit; according to Stephan R. Covey, habits are the intersection of knowledge and skill which can be adopted by repeating the actions. If so, then why can't we change the habit of Addiction. It means that Addiction is nor a life style choice neither a habit, it’s a disease and  should hence it should be treated like a disease.

What is disease?

When we listen to the word “disease” our brain works at a micro level and brings information in Nano seconds .e.g the word 'disease' will bring information like cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes etc, which indicate problem's/ dysfunction in the body mechanism. There are different definitions of the term disease. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, a disease is defined as “a problem that a person, group, organization, or society has and can’t stop or a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally. World Health Organization defines health instead of defining the disease. According to WHO “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being, not merely the absence of any disease or infirmity”.

Defining addiction is a really tough call. Some define addiction as “as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences (NIDA)”. If we focus on the above mentioned paragraph we can call addiction a disease because it affects our brain (physical), mind and behavior (psychological), our relation with the society (social), our relation with the family (familial) as well as our relation with God and humans (spiritual well being).  

Most families dealing with addiction don’t enter in the treatment due to lack of knowledge and stigma. When addiction hits any family, they don’t accept that their loved one is suffering with addiction. They forget that Addiction never knocks on the door of anyone, it can affect everyone, it doesn’t discriminate, and it can affect people weather they are celebrities or normal people, it never takes permission or asks anyone before affecting them because it is a disease that can affect anyone, at anytime and under any situation. So it is important to understand that addiction is a disease and that it can be treated. Nishan Rehab is helping families to get their loved one's sober by joining the treatment protocol.

According to UNODC Addiction is a bio-psycho-social and spiritual disease which currently affects 6.7 millions of Pakistan's population. Factually, this disease is increasing by the day; though this fact is still not being taken seriously. Nishan Rehab is helping families to learn about addiction and providing the best services for the treatment of Addiction.

To get sick is not bad but to live sick is not good. Addiction is a disease and it can affect you, so don’t hesitate to get treatment for addiction. For help, contact Nishan Rehab International.

By Fayaz Ahmed

Clinical Psychologist

Nishan Rehab, Islamabad

No Need For Admission…..Do It As Out-Patient

By Doctor Talat Habib

In Pakistani society, it’s a usual norm that if someone is addicted to certain drugs or behaviors, he/she has to be admitted in a rehab facility to get treated. This is an obsolete phenomenon. Clients suffering from drug dependency can now enjoy recovery and sobriety without getting admitted in rehab. In Pakistan, Nishan Rehab is providing services where you or your loved one don’t need to be away from your daily routine and work and can be with family members and even then can get rid of drugs and alcohol.

But there are some tricky things attached when addiction hits you or your loved one. How do you know which type of program you or a loved one would best benefit from? Both types of treatment have distinctions which make them more or less appropriate for a patient’s needs, depending on the patient’s level and length of addiction.

Note that this is a general overview of the major differences between residential and outpatient treatment programs. To truly understand which type of program is most appropriate for you, a friend, or a family member, an in-person diagnostic assessment with a qualified professional is needed. For free evaluation, you can contact us using contact details of this blog page.

Outpatient Treatment Programs

Outpatient drug and alcohol treatment programs share many similarities with residential treatment programs, but in a differently structured environment. Outpatient programs provide patients with more freedom of movement which allows them to maintain a regular commitment to family, work, and educational responsibilities. Because of the ability to go home after a daily or evening program, patients are able to have a greater level of privacy and anonymity. They often do not need to explain a prolonged absence to friends, coworkers, or family members.

Unlike residential treatment programs, patients are not provided with the safe, secure environment that isolates them from negatively influencing factors. Patients return to their own environments after outpatient drug or alcohol treatment, and must voluntarily abstain from drug or alcohol use, which requires a greater amount of diligence. However, the benefit of this is that outpatient programs (like residential programs) provide a support network for patients in the form of official support groups, individual counseling, and family counseling so that patients are never alone in their recovery. Patients are provided with a strong support network of non-using peers and sponsors. Outpatient programs also focus on family support and involvement, and an immediately positive element of outpatient treatment is that patients can automatically apply the lessons learned from outpatient treatment programs to their daily experiences.

Which Type of Treatment Program Is for You?

You and your medical or counseling professional are best equipped to know which type of treatment is ideal for your situation. Be honest with yourself about how independently dedicated you can be in an outpatient program. Do you feel like the temptations to use based on daily stresses, friends and acquaintances, or lack of social support would be an issue in successfully completing outpatient treatment? Have you tried and been unsuccessful time and time again at stopping your drug or alcohol use by yourself or in outpatient treatment? Are you physically addicted to drugs or alcohol and absolutely require a medical detox prior to receiving treatment services? When you speak with a specialist about voluntarily entering drug and alcohol treatment, talk about your personal circumstances in order to figure out which aspects of outpatient or residential treatment programs would best suit you. Outpatient and residential drug and alcohol treatment programs both have life-changing benefits, and understanding which program will best help you achieve long-term recovery is one of the first steps toward becoming sober.

By Doctor Talat Habib

Program Director

Nishan Rehab, Islamabad

The Role of Learned Helplessness in Addiction

By Maria Tariq

In 1965, Martin Seligman and his colleagues were doing research on classical conditioning or the process by which an animal or human associates one thing with another. In the case of Seligman's experiment, he would ring a bell and then give a light shock to a dog before presented it with food. After a number of times, the dog reacted to the shock even before it happened: as soon as the dog heard the bell, he reacted as though he'd already been shocked.

But then something unexpected happened. Seligman put each dog into a large crate that was divided down the middle with a low fence. The dog could see and jump over the fence if necessary. The floor on one side of the fence was electrified, but not on the other side of the fence. Seligman put the dog on the electrified side and administered a light shock. He expected the dog to jump to the non-shocking side of the fence.

Instead, the dogs lay down. It was as though they'd learned from the first part of the experiment that there was nothing they could do to avoid the shocks, so they gave up in the second part of the experiment.

Seligman described their condition as learned helplessness, or not trying to get out of a negative situation because the past has taught you that you are helpless.

After the dogs didn't jump the fence to escape the shock, Seligman tried the second part of his experiment on dogs that had not been through the classical conditioning part of the experiment. The dogs that had not been previously exposed to shocks quickly jumped over the fence to escape the shocks. This told Seligman that the dogs who lay down and acted helpless had actually learned that helplessness from the first part of his experiment.

In addiction we see lots of people with this helplessness. Before coming to an addiction treatment facility, they must have tried to quit drugs in different ways. But all of their methods or ways fail. Due to those wrong ways or methods they learn helplessness. They think that there is no way to quit a drug or believe that all their efforts they put will not work. Therefore, they give up trying. They see themselves as failures, and lose all motivation and interest in life, at the same time putting themselves down and wallowing in misery. They are unable to understand that now they can change their lives because of their previous experiences. They feel unable to see thing new, bright, dazzling and beaming ways of life.

The only way to help people who suffer ‘learned helplessness’ is to concentrate on showing the addicted person that he can operate on his environment and be effectual perhaps by giving him simple tasks in therapy at which he can succeed, develop confidence and then move on to harder ones. The aim is to break the conditioned conviction that nothing ever works.

Maria Tariq

Clinical Psychologist

Nishan Rehab, Islamabad

Mood Alteration in Addiction

When you awaken, it’s not about seeing different things life. It’s about seeing the things in your life differently. (Rhonda Hendricks)

Mood Alteration's in Addiction

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. Symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They are different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through from time to time. Bipolar disorder symptoms can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide.

Because addiction comes somewhere in between altering of moods, so people unconsciously use it as a tool to avoid facing the strong emotions in reality. Deep down, below the level of consciousness, the child inside us knows that he used to be a lot more joyous and happy and that something just isn’t right. This is because trapped hurt and unprocessed negative emotions have the tendency to re-emerge into conscious attention, so that the child can resolve the past abuse/trauma and the emotional wound can recover fully. The child, unequipped with any means, methods or guidance on how to complete past hurt, plus afraid that he will be shamed and punished for sharing his authentic experience, will have the tendency to repress the painful emotions when they re-emerge. He does not want to recall the past abuse/trauma, as he expects it will just mean more pain. So he remains stuck with it and will continually re-enact the pain, the ‘acting out’ I referred to earlier in this part. The child will seek out behaviors that will help him to sooth his pain, Bradshaw (1988) calls these mood alterations.

An addictive mood altering behavior raises how good a person feels in the short-term, while leaving the individual emotionally depleted in the long-term. But bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives. People with bipolar disorder try to control their bipolar symptoms and instead of working with a doctor to do so, they choose alcohol and other types of drugs. This often happens before a diagnosis, when people don’t know they have a mental illness and they are just managing in the best way they can.

It’s understandable that if you don’t understand you have a disease, you don’t know how to treat it and it’s certainly understandable that someone would try to quell the extreme symptoms of bipolar disorder. Even after the disease is known, though, many people with bipolar disorder choose drugs over, or in addition to, medical help. So it can be said that people try to control their extreme mood through taking drugs.

All that being said, however, it’s critical to remember that people with substance abuse and dependency issues have less successful courses of treatment and, in fact, may not experience treatment success at all until their substance issues have been dealt with. And, of course, dealing with addictions is no picnic and many people with bipolar disorder never get to the point where they are successfully free of them. Scientists are studying the possible causes of bipolar disorder. Most scientists agree that there is no single cause. Rather, many factors likely act together to produce the illness or increase risk.

Sidrah Mohsin
Clinical Psychologist
Nishan Rehab, Islamabad

Addiction and Stigma

Our early ancestors lived as hunter-gatherers and undoubtedly collected considerable information on pharmacological plants.

Ötzi, the man whose frozen body was recovered in the Alps in 1991, lived about 3300 years BC, and carried in his pouch a travel pharmacy including a polypore fungus with antibacterial and homeostatic properties. After adopting a pastoral lifestyle, humans may have observed the effects of psychoactive plants on their flocks. Tradition has it that Ethiopian priests started roasting and boiling coffee beans to stay awake through nights of prayer.

Schematically, psychoactive substances have been used

(i) in religious ceremonies by priests;

(ii) for medicinal purposes; or

(iii) massively, as staple commodities, by large segments of the population in a socially approved way.

Stigma about having an addiction has a long history. The Latin word for it was instigare and in ancient Greece, the word stizein a physical mark or tattoo was cut or burned into the skin of criminals, slaves, or traitors and this marking lead to an action as to discriminate them as blemished or morally polluted persons. Today, stigma refers to discrimination in some undesirable way. It is a sign of shame, disgrace, or disapproval, rejected by others or by even the entire community.

Stigma is one of the meanest and most difficult aspects of addiction because it makes it harder for individuals and families to deal with their problems and get the help they need. Society imposes stigma and its damage on addicts and their families because many of us still believe that addiction is a character flaw or weakness that probably can't be cured. The stigma against people with addictions is so deeply rooted that it continues even in the face of the scientific evidence that addiction is a treatable disease and even when we know people in our families and communities living wonderful lives in long-term recovery.

Addiction is a potentially lethal disorder, but that lethal affects are dramatically amplified by the social stigma attached to this disease. Stigma’s greatest enemy is knowledge. Understanding and Healing the Stigma of Addiction will help open the doorway to such knowledge. It is high time we all walk through that doorway!

By Maryam Malik

Clinical Psychologist, Nishan

Drug Abuse, Addiction, and the Brain

Many people do not understand why people become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior. We at Nishan believe this is a stereotype.

What people often underestimate is the complexity of drug addiction — that it is a disease that impacts the brain, and because of that, stopping drug abuse is not simply a matter of willpower. Through scientific advances we now know much more about how exactly drugs work in the brain, and we also know that drug addiction can be successfully treated to help people stop abusing drugs and resume productive lives.

What Is Drug Addiction?

Drug addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the drug addict and those around them. Drug addiction is a brain disease because the abuse of drugs leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain. Although it is true that for most people the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary, over time the changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person’s self-control and ability to make sound decisions, and at the same time create an intense impulse to take drugs.

It is because of these changes in the brain that it is so challenging for a person who is addicted to stop abusing drugs. Fortunately at Nishan or any Rehab, there are treatments that help people to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive effects and regain control. Research shows that combining addiction treatment medications, if available, with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success for most patients. Treatment approaches that are tailored to each patient’s drug abuse patterns and any concurrent medical, psychiatric, and social problems can lead to sustained recovery and a life without drugs.

As with other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, drug addiction can be managed effectively.Yet, it is not uncommon for a person to relapse and begin abusing drugs again. Relapse does not signal failure; rather, it indicates that treatment should be reinstated or adjusted, or that alternate treatment is needed to help the person regain control and recover.

What Happens to Your Brain When You Take Drugs?

Drugs are chemicals that tap into the brain’s communication system and disrupt the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. There are at least two ways that drugs are able to do this: by imitating the brain’s natural chemical messengers, and/or overstimulating the “reward circuit” of the brain.

Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, have a similar structure to chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, which are naturally produced by the brain. Because of this similarity, these drugs are able to “fool” the brain’s receptors and activate nerve cells to send abnormal messages.

Other drugs, such as cocaine or methamphetamine, can cause the nerve cells to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters, or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals, which is needed to shut off the signal between neurons. This disruption produces a greatly amplified message that ultimately disrupts normal communication patterns.

Nearly all drugs, directly or indirectly, target the brain’s reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that control movement, emotion, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The over stimulation of this system, which normally responds to natural behaviors that are linked to survival (eating, spending time with loved ones, etc), produces euphoric effects in response to the drugs. This reaction sets in motion a pattern that “teaches” people to repeat the behavior of abusing drugs.

As a person continues to abuse drugs, the brain adapts to the dopamine surges by producing less dopamine or reducing dopamine receptors. The user must therefore keep abusing drugs to bring his or her dopamine function back to ”normal” or use more drugs to achieve a dopamine high.

At Nishan, we tell our clients that long-term drug abuse causes changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits, as well. Brain imaging studies of drug-addicted individuals show changes in areas of the brain that are critical to judgment, decision-making, learning and memory, and behavior control. Together, these changes can drive an abuser to seek out and take drugs compulsively — in other words, to become addicted to drugs.

Why Do Some People Become Addicted While Others Do Not?

No single factor can predict whether or not a person will become addicted to drugs. Risk for addiction is influenced by a person’s biology, social environment, and age or stage of development. The more risk factors an individual has, the greater the chance that taking drugs can lead to addiction. For example:

• Biology

  The genes that people are born with — in combination with environmental influences — account for about half of their addiction vulnerability. Additionally, gender, ethnicity, and the presence of other mental disorders may influence risk for drug abuse and addiction.

• Environment

  A person’s environment includes many different influences — from family and friends to socioeconomic status and quality of life, in general. Factors such aspeer pressure, physical and sexual abuse, stress, and parental involvement can greatly influence the course of drug abuse and addiction in a person’s life.

• Development

  Genetic and environmental factors interact with critical developmental stages in a person’s life to affect addiction vulnerability, and adolescents experience a double challenge. Although taking drugs at any age can lead to addiction, the earlier that drug use begins, the more likely it is to progress to more serious abuse. And because adolescents’ brains are still developing in the areas that govern decision making, judgment, and self-control, they are especially prone to risk-taking behaviors, including trying drugs of abuse.

Prevention Is Key

Drug addiction is a preventable disease. Research has shown that prevention programs that involve the family, schools, communities, and the media are effective in reducing drug abuse. Although many events and cultural factors affect drug abuse trends, when youths perceive drug abuse as harmful, they reduce their drug taking. It is necessary, therefore, to help youth and the general public to understand the risks of drug abuse and for teachers, parents, and health care professionals to keep sending the message that drug addiction can be prevented if a person never abuses drugs.

The solution is to quit drugs. Quitting drugs is an almost impossible task without professional guidance and counselling. Therefore, all addicts should find professional help or rehab centers in their vicinity’s where they can get help. At Nishan Rehab in Islamabad, Pakistan; we always welcome and help addicts and their family’s in all possible ways. We believe the epitome of our society should be to help stopping addiction and that is our passion and directive.

By Yahya Awan

Psychologist, Nishan Rehab

The Psychological Warning Signs of Drug Abuse

If you have noticed that someone you care about has been acting strangely and you are concerned that they may have fallen victim to drug addiction and abuse, there are certain signs that you can look for to confirm your suspicions. In particular, there are several psychological warning signs that would indicate an individual is struggling with addition.


Changes in Personality and Mood
One of the first indicators of drug abuse is a change in overall attitude or personality. If your friend or family member suddenly starts behaving differently than the norm, you should consider this a potential sign that they are using drugs. For example, if your friend was usually a happy and positive person but is suddenly really depressed or negative, you may want to talk to them and find out what's going on to see if you can help.
Another sign of drug abuse could be sudden changes in mood. A person may go from laughing, sometimes at nothing at all, to exhibiting an angry outburst. An individual may swing from one mood to the next rapidly, such as from hyperactivity to agitation, or there could be strange moods and irritability that are not the norm for that person.


Lack of Motivation and Drive
Another psychological sign of substance abuse could be a lack of motivation or a lack of drive. Your friend may no longer be interested in the same things that they used to enjoy, and may therefore only want to stay home and avoid doing anything fun or different.
An individual who is addicted to drugs may also appear spaced out or lethargic more often than not. This, too, makes it harder for them to be motivated about things and people that they used to care about.
Also, those who abuse drugs tend to have an inability to remain focused, which could make it difficult for them to stay in school or succeed at work. Suddenly not performing as successfully as before could be a sign of substance abuse.


Exhibiting a Lot of Negative Emotions
A lot of negative emotions can also indicate drug use. For example, individuals may find themselves feeling really anxious, fearful, or even paranoid, even if there aren't apparent reasons to feel that way. People who are addicted to drugs may also appear more withdrawn than usual and may end up keeping to themselves more often than spending time with others. Ultimately, these negative emotions can come out of nowhere, but they take over the addict's personality and are easily recognized by those around them.
By simply understanding the warning signs of drug abuse - particularly the psychological changes that occur as a result of substance use - you can get your friend or family member the help that they require sooner rather than later, and certainly before it's too late. There are many detox programs available, including those at Nishan Rehab, so you can talk to the addict and provide the support they need to get clean.

What is psychology and why do we need it?

Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and behavior. We need psychology as it can give us a clearer picture on how we think, act, react and communicate with others. Psychology has a big impact on all areas of life, particularly in education, health, the economy, industry and crime. Psychologists work in many different areas of society and are concerned with problems such as: • making sure that people are happy at work and perform to the best of their abilities • supporting the police, courts and prison service to perform more effectively • assisting athletes and sports people to perform better • helping people to overcome depression, stress, trauma or phobias • easing the effects of parental divorce on children • speeding up recovery from brain injury • helping stop or prevent bullying at school or in the workplace • ensuring that school pupils and students are being taught in the most effective way. Psychologists help by applying scientific methods to obtain a better understanding of behaviour. This includes observing, measuring, testing and carrying out statistical analysis with individuals and groups to gain relevant information to support different situations. This enables psychologists to find solutions to problems in various settings.