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Everything about COVID-19 and Substance Abuse Disorder
With the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives and daily routines have changed significantly. Stress, anxiety, and fear are responses to social isolation and the pandemic. Some people find it extremely difficult to deal with financial pressures during this period. Also, some of them feel lonely and depressed because of pandemic and social isolation.
To cope with all these problems and manage some existing mental disorder symptoms, many of them have started using alcohol and drugs during the pandemic. Social isolation and the pandemic scenario also created new problems for people who already have substance use disorder. As per the recent report, approximately 270 million people throughout the world used drugs in 2020. Yes, that much serious substance abuse disorder problem is.
Substance Abuse Disorder in Brief
Substance abuse disorder, also known as drug addiction, is a condition that affects the brain and behavior of an individual. People who have substance use disorder constantly feel the urge to use certain drugs and medications. Now, these substances can either be legal or illegal. They can also be dependent on other substances, including nicotine, marijuana and alcohol.
Causes
Substance abuse disorder may start with just experimental use. Peer pressure and social situations are often responsible for drug addiction. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought some major challenges that affect the mental health of many people who lost their jobs or faced other problems. For them, these social situations are somehow responsible for their addiction.
Symptoms
People who are drug addicts often deal with the below-mentioned symptoms:
• Felling a compulsion for using drugs and other substances regularly
• Requiring more drugs for getting the same effect
• Thought blocking because of not having drugs
• Spending a lot on drugs even if you fail to afford them
• Failing to take personal and professional responsibilities
• Social withdrawal
• Using drugs even after knowing they affect your health
COVID-19 and Substance Abuse Disorder
The pandemic has undoubtedly worsened the conditions of people with substance use disorder (SUD). With the social and economic changes during pandemic, life gets hard for them. As per studies, heavy alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking can aggravate the flu. This fact reveals how drug users can be at high risk during this pandemic. Elder patients are the ones who should be careful because they are the main risk group.
Chronic respiratory diseases are associated with drug use. Patients with SUD who already have a respiratory disease can be at high risk for COVID-19.
Social isolation is a safety measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, these safety measures and social issues like financial crisis during the pandemic often impact people’s mental health negatively. Negative emotions like fear, sadness, boredom, anxiety and anger may trigger drug use. In fact, long term abstainers may start using substances due to these problems.
Take Care of Your Body and Mind to Stay Away from Drugs
During the pandemic, when social distancing has become new normal, it’s quite normal for some people to feel lonely and sad sometimes. Don’t let your negative emotions trigger you to use drugs or alcohol. Rather, take care of your body and mind, get enough sleep and stay positive to reduce your cravings for drugs.
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