Addiction Psychiatry

Addiction to drugs, alcohol or chemical substances is the tendency of using them regularly, despite their physical and psychological harm to the body. People with an addiction to a substance often develop changes in their brains, especially in the areas that affect judgment, memory, behaviour and decision making.

Additionally, they tend to increase the amount of the drug they use over time due to developing tolerance of the substance. Substance abuse may result from social, environmental, genetic and psychological factors such as trauma. To curb abuse, rehabilitation centres treat addiction using addiction psychiatry.

What Is Psychiatry?

Psychiatry is a medical field with professionals qualified in the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of mental illness. Treatment involves a diverse group of health practitioners, including nurses, psychologists, epidemiologists and radiologists.

The examination of the mental status and review of the history of a client is the first step in psychiatric assessment. The physicians also conduct physical assessments and may take brain scans to determine the extent of any brain damage.

Psychiatric treatment involves psychotherapy as well as psychiatric medication, whereby addicts have a talk therapy session to determine the root cause of their addiction. Additionally, the treatment depends on the extent of physical harm in terms of functional disability.

The Role of Psychiatry in Addiction

Addiction psychiatry treats recovering users by identifying the mental disorders that lead to substance abuse. Psychiatrists also identify the health effects that their clients have acquired from the addiction for proper treatment.

The treatment of addiction using psychiatry targets and treats co-occurring disorders: mental health and substance abuse. Mental health treatment usually involves medication and counselling, while substance abuse is normally treated with detoxification and behavioural therapy.

Psychiatry is beneficial to individuals who previously tried and failed to stop their substance abuse. Qualified psychiatrists also recommend programs such as Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous, which bring together addicts who are on the recovery journey.

Detoxification is the first step in the treatment of addiction. Addiction affects the brain and makes the addict dependent on the substance. That’s why it’s important to have mental health specialists as part of the withdrawal process.

Their medical expertise enables them to teach the brain that the body does not need drugs or alcohol. Without psychotherapy, withdrawal symptoms may be hard on the addicts, and the treatment may not work. The treatment of addiction using psychiatrists results in better psychological as well as physical health, less prevalence to substance abuse, proper control of finances and improved social lives.

Psychiatric Medication to Treat Addiction

Psychiatric medication treats mental illness that may be the root cause of drug and substance abuse. Antidepressants such as fluoxetine, citalopram and phenelzine treat depression and anxiety, enabling the individual to be calm.

Psychosis is treated by antipsychotics such as haloperidol, clozapine and thioridazine. These drugs are also referred to as tranquilizers.

Stimulants, on the other hand, are drugs that increase arousal, attention and endurance. They include methylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate and may be addictive, so clients with mental illness who abuse drugs should be monitored while being treated with stimulants.

Mood stabilizers are another type of psychiatric medication, and they include lithium, carbamazepine and lamotrigine. Benzodiazepines are hypnotics, anticonvulsants and amnesics, and they include temazepam and diazepam.