understanding addiction ending stigma prevent treat recover multimedia

Talk about addiction.

Addiction is a chronic, treatable brain disease that affects people of all ages, religions, cultures, and levels of education and income. Hundreds of thousands of people in Massachusetts currently struggle with addiction, yet only about one in ten will seek help this year.

Addiction affects the part of the brain that helps tell a person when to stop. People who are addicted are unable to control their need for alcohol, tobacco, drugs or gambling. A person struggling with addiction has difficulty weighing the consequences of their actions, even if those actions are dangerous or illegal.

Most people do not become addicted overnight. A person’s addiction often begins with occasional, social or experimental use.  Later, they may start to have problems with their drinking, smoking, drug use or gambling.  Some people then progress to a point where they lose control over aspects of their use like how much and how often they drink, smoke, take drugs or gamble.  This progression of addiction may be quick for some people and slower for others and includes developing tolerance and dependence. Tolerance is when a person needs to use more alcohol or drugs or to gamble more to get the same effect, or “high.”  Dependence is when a person physically and/or psychologically needs alcohol, drugs or gambling in order feel “normal” and to avoid sometimes painful withdrawal symptoms.  Withdrawal symptoms can occur when an addicted, or dependent, individual stops or reduces their use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs or gambling.

Like many chronic diseases, if left untreated, an addiction can potentially worsen over time and lead to more serious health complications. Some health related complications associated with alcohol, tobacco and drug use are well known like the link between liver disease and alcohol or drug use, or the link between stroke, lung, and heart diseases and smoking.  Substance use can put a person at higher risk for getting other diseases such as viral Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.  It can also make other medical conditions worse such as HIV, asthma, diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure). The good news is treatment is available, treatment works, and the possibility of recovery is a reality. 

Different types of addictions

People can become addicted or develop destructive dependence to many things like alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gambling, food, sex, and many more. This website, and its funding agency, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, focuses on addictions to alcohol, tobacco, illegal and prescription drugs, and gambling. 

Did you know?

Alcohol
Nearly 14 million Americans have problems with drinking. More than 3 million Americans receive treatment annually. Alcohol abuse in the U.S. costs society up to $60 billion annually due to lost production, medical care and crime in addition to the many lives lost from drunk driving, violence and lethal accidents that occur as a result of alcohol use.

Illegal drugs
It is difficult to put a number on how many people in the United States are addicted to illegal drugs. We do know that nearly 20 million Americans use illicit drugs in any given month. The most commonly abused illegal substance is marijuana — with more than 14.6 million Americans habitually using — while 2.4 million Americans use cocaine regularly. In the past decade heroin use has been rising sharply in Massachusetts.

Prescription drugs
Prescription drug abuse is also rising sharply in the U.S. as well as in Massachusetts.  Prescription drug use is rising the fastest among the 12-to-25-year-old age group. Nationally, nearly 17 percent of people aged 60 and over develop harmful dependence on prescription drugs — many without knowing as they are taking medications they need for health related conditions.

Problem Gambling
It is estimated that more than 250,000 adults in Massachusetts will experience a problem with gambling in their lifetime. Since it is hard to tell from the outside that someone has a problem with gambling, it is referred to as the “invisible addiction.”   It often takes a long time for someone’s gambling to develop into a problem. Many persons have financial problems and file for bankruptcy, lose their home, job or family, and have thoughts of suicide because of their problem with gambling.

Tobacco
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and illness in Massachusetts.  More than 9,000 Massachusetts residents die each year from tobacco-related causes. Tobacco-related illnesses cost the Massachusetts health care system more than $2.7 billion each year. Using smokeless tobacco products like chewing tobacco is also linked to serious medical illness like cancer, heart problems, and gum disease.


Resources for more information
about addiction

Massachusetts Substance Abuse Information
and Referral Helpline
The Helpline provides free and confidential information and referral for alcohol and other drug abuse problems and related concerns. Information on more than 1,000 programs can be accessed through the Helpline website or visitors may call the Helpline 24 hours a day, every day, to talk with a referral specialist. Translation is available for callers. Services may be available for those who do not have insurance.
Toll free: 1-800-327-5050
TTY: 617-536-5872
www.helpline-online.com

Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling
The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling is a private, non-profit health agency dedicated to reducing the social, financial and emotional costs of problem gambling.
Toll free: 1-800-426-1234
www.masscompulsivegambling.org

Try-To-STOP
On-line support and Quit Wizard as well as articles, resource handouts and statewide program information on tobacco.
Free telephone counseling:
1-800-Try-To-STOP (1-800-879-8678)
in Spanish: 1-800-8-Dejalo (1-800-833-5256)
TTY: 1-800-833-1477
www.trytostop.org

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
NIDA's main goal is lead the Nation in using the power of science to highlight the truth and facts about drug abuse and addiction. www.nida.nih.gov

National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
NIAAA provides leadership in the national effort to reduce alcohol-related problems.
www.niaaa.nih.gov

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
SAMHSA has sharply focused its mission on building resilience and facilitating recovery for people with or at risk for mental health or substance use disorders.
www.samhsa.gov

SAMHSA’s National Clearinghouse on
Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI)
Prevention materials online at www.ncadi.samhsa.gov

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Tobacco)
Free materials and fact sheets in English and Spanish about tobacco and its effects.
www.cdc.gov/tobacco
 

It is hard to know exactly why some people become addicted. However, there are some well known risk factors that increase the chances of developing a problem with alcohol, tobacco, drugs or gambling:
It runs in the family. Genetics play an important role in addiction. For example, more than 60 percent of alcoholics have family histories of alcoholism.
 
Mental illness. Many people who have a history of addiction also have mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress disorder, or schizophrenia.
 
Early use. A person who begins alcohol or drug use early in life is more likely to become addicted as a teenager or adult.  In fact, individuals who use alcohol before the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than someone who waits until the age of 21 to first consume alcohol. This is why preventing alcohol, tobacco and drug use as well as gambling early on is so important.
 
Environment. A person who lives, works or goes to school in a place where substance use is common is more likely to become addicted.
 
Trauma. A person who experienced trauma such as neglect, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse or who witnessed violence early in life may be vulnerable to addiction.
 
 

The American Psychiatric Association states that a person is addicted to a substance if they experience three or more of the following in a 12-month period:
•
Becoming more tolerant of the substance.  A person develops “tolerance” when they need more of a substance to get the same “high.”
•
Suffering from withdrawal when trying to stop or they use the same or closely-related substance to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
•
When someone uses more of a substance or uses for a longer period of time than they had planned.
•
Usually not successful when trying to stop, cut down, or control use on their own.
•
Often thinking about when they can drink, smoke or use drugs again.  Often planning on how they can get more in the future.  Often recovering from last time using.
•
Withdrawing from things that are important like family and friends, social activities, work, and other interests like sports, clubs, and hobbies. 
•
 Continuing to use although they know many problems with things like family, friends, work and finances are caused or made worse by using.
Experiencing 5 of the following 10 items indicates a problem with gambling:
•
Thinking a lot about gambling
•
Needing to gamble larger and larger amounts of money in order to feel the same excitement
•
Trying to control, cut back or stop gambling, but not able to.
•
Feeling restless or irritable when trying to cut down or stop gambling
•
Gambling to escape problems or feelings of depression, anxiety, guilt, or helplessness
•
Chasing losses by gambling again to get back lost money
•
Lying to conceal extent of gambling
•
Committing illegal acts like forgery, fraud, theft, or embezzlement to get money for gambling
•
Have lost or at risk for losing relationships, jobs, or other opportunities because of gambling
•
Relying on others to provide money to get out of desperate financial situations caused by gambling

 
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