Substance-Related Disorders

There are two groups of substance-related disorders: substance use disorders and substance-induced disorders.

Substance use disorders are patterns of symptoms resulting from use of a substance which the individual continues to take, despite experiencing problems as a result.

Substance-induced disorders include intoxication, withdrawal, substance induced mental disorders, including substance induced psychosis, substance induced bipolar and related disorders, substance induced depressive disorders, substance induced anxiety disorders, substance induced obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, substance induced sleep disorders, substance induced sexual dysfunctions, substance induced delirium and substance induced neurocognitive disorders.

 

Substance use disorders span a wide variety of problems arising from substance use, and cover 11 different criteria:
1.Taking the substance in larger amounts or for longer than the you meant to
2.Wanting to cut down or stop using the substance but not managing to
3.Spending a lot of time getting, using, or recovering from use of the substance
4.Cravings and urges to use the substance
5.Not managing to do what you should at work, home or school, because of substance use
6.Continuing to use, even when it causes problems in relationships
7.Giving up important social, occupational or recreational activities because of substance use
8.Using substances again and again, even when it puts the you in danger
9.Continuing to use, even when the you know you have a physical or psychological problem that could have been caused or made worse by the substance
10.Needing more of the substance to get the effect you want (tolerance)
11.Development of withdrawal symptoms, which can be relieved by taking more of the substance.

The DSM 5 allows clinicians to specify how severe the substance use disorder is, depending on how many symptoms are identified. Two or three symptoms indicate a mild substance use disorder, four or five symptoms indicate a moderate substance use disorder, and six or more symptoms indicate a severe substance use disorder. Clinicians can also add “in early remission,” “in sustained remission,” “on maintenance therapy,” and “in a controlled environment.

Suspected cocaine addicts have often negatively affected their lives in many ways, and also the lives of those people who are closest to them. Typically as an addiction develops, things that used to be meaningful and important fall by the wayside. Treatment and cocaine detox are critical to anyone wondering, “am I a cocaine addict?” because asking the question usually means that you not only see and feel that something is wrong, but also you still know you want to live a normal life.

If you recognize several of these signs of cocaine addiction, taking a reliable cocaine addiction assessment is a smart move:

You focus on using cocaine every day, a lot
You have tried and failed to stop using cocaine
You think about quitting cocaine a lot
You spend lots of time getting high on cocaine or trying to find more of it
You consume more cocaine than you intend to
You give up activities you used to love to take cocaine
You neglect responsibilities at home, school, or work to use cocaine
You experience cocaine withdrawal symptoms if you try to quit
You see that you need more cocaine to get the same high
You don’t stop using cocaine even though you see that using it is making you sick
You use cocaine even though it’s dangerous, illegal, risky, or even life-threatening, like when you’re at work at a dangerous job, driving, or likely to be caught