The development of science and technology has brought mankind to a new stage, and the emergence of new technologies has led to the introduction of higher purity and more powerful psychoactive substances (including addictive drugs, narcotics, etc.) into society. We know a lot about atoms and genes, but we know little about the value of love or life or building a better spiritual world, and we are looking for answers, but we can’t understand them. Such psychoactive substances meet the spiritual needs of some people —- can temporarily relieve people’s anxiety and improve their mood, but at the same time bring endless disasters to society, families and personal health.
I. Drugs and drug abuse
Drugs are a sociological concept that refers to chemical substances that can affect mental activity, alter mood, state of mind, behavior, and even states of consciousness, and have strong addictive properties. These substances are forbidden to be used in society, and drugs in our country mainly refer to opioids, cocaine, marijuana, psychostimulants, ketamine and other drugs.
Since many people are aware of the harmful effects of drug use, why do people still try drugs? The following is an analysis of the psychological reasons for trying drugs, using heroin as an example.
1. Curiosity: Both humans and animals share the common psychological CCC curiosity, because of which we can continue to understand the world and transform the environment. However, curiosity often brings problems to human beings, and starting to use drugs is one of the examples.
In our encounters with drug users, we have found that a significant proportion of drug users start using drugs because of curiosity. When they see other drug users swallowing, or when they hear older drug users talk about the “profound experience” of drug use, or after being seduced, they want to experience the thrill of drug use, even though they know, or are dimly aware, of the dangers of drug use, but they do not hesitate to give it a try. By the time they realize they are addicted, it is too late.
2. Fluke mentality: They think that other people are addicted to drugs because they are not strong-willed, they use too much drugs, they think they can control themselves, or they hear about someone who has been using drugs for a long time and is not addicted, or they think it is okay to try a couple of times. In short, they feel that they will not be swayed by drugs, because of this fluke, overconfidence, even if they have become addicted to drugs, but also fluke think they want to quit can be quit.
3, pleasure, relief psychology: first try drugs, the taste is not good. Many people are nauseous and vomit, dizzy, weak, sleepy, unable to focus, so some people stop here. This unpleasant feeling gradually fades after a few times of drug use, while the pleasure is gradually revealed.
4, rebellious psychology: In some drug users, especially among adolescents, they have a different value system, way of thinking and behavior from the general population, and do not fit in with society. We think that drug use is a disgraceful thing, and they feel that drug use is a “heroic act”. They are also attracted to drugs as “euphoric” and “worry-free” drugs, and they take pleasure in indulging in drugs all day long and are proud of using a lot of drugs. They did not only take drugs themselves, but they also brought in others to take drugs. Because they want to expand their ranks, to show the moral correctness of their drug use. They are tired of coaching new recruits to take drugs and provide drugs for free to those who come after them.
5. Stimulus-seeking psychology: Among drug addicts, a significant proportion of them, especially teenagers, are motivated by the pursuit of excitement. This thrill-seeking psychology is actually a curiosity, or the two are closely related.
Drug addiction often goes through the following process: first, the experimentation stage, drug addicts are often tempted by all kinds of hearsay about the thrill of drug use, etc., a few puffs, the taste may not be very good at first, most of those who try to stay at this stage, but some of the “susceptible” but not stop, a few desperate and risky, the emergence of pleasure, “found the truth”. “Found the truth”.
But the addict swears that he or she is different from others, “I’m just doing it for fun and I can quit when I say so. Then comes the problem stage, where the addict, dominated by false confidence, continues to use drugs in order to get high, but problems gradually emerge, such as not going to work properly, being irresponsible, being financially stretched, and losing weight. With the prolongation of drug use, the amount of drugs taken is also increasing, and the cost of maintaining drug use is gradually increasing, inevitably sitting on a mountain of money and debt, drug addicts cope with no more than the following, the
One, is to put on a false mask, deceive people to deceive themselves, deny their own problems;
Secondly, they may borrow money and cheat, or even break the law;
Third, is to change the way of drug use, such as “chasing the dragon” for intravenous injection, not only to increase the pleasure, but also to reduce the dose of drugs. At this time, the body has formed a dependence on drugs, once the drug is stopped, the drug user is insomnia, anxiety, irritability, runny nose, runny eyes, frequent yawning, abdominal pain, diarrhea, bone pain, etc.. In this case, drug use is no longer about seeking pleasure, but about solving the problem of not becoming addicted. The drug addict only slightly understands the power of drugs at this point, but most of them are already powerless to do anything about it. The third stage is the detoxification stage, where the drug addict perhaps understands that he or she should detoxify, perhaps under pressure from family or friends, perhaps because he or she is always being approached by the police, or both, and begins to detoxify.
The initial stage is often inexperienced, to the hospital, got methadone (methadone is the same pharmacological effect of drugs with heroin, play a substitute role, lest the patient hair addiction too heavy), hospitalized for a few days, feel good, soon discharged, soon after discharge addiction, pain as before, think about it, or drug addiction is good, “just a puff, the next one will not be an example” The result was a cover-up, and that was the end of the first detox. In the future, drug addiction and drug rehabilitation alternate, some drug addicts gradually understand that drug rehabilitation is not fun, but requires great determination and effort, coupled with the help of family and friends, social support, so a considerable part of the success and drugs goodbye; there are many drug addicts, think they are hopeless, family and friends also lost confidence in them, broken cans broken, in the drug rehabilitation center to see most of these people; there are also some There are also some drug addicts who either overdose or lose their body resistance and leave the world prematurely.
The final stage is the return to society. Some drug addicts successfully stop using drugs, but this is only the first step in a long march, and they need to face many difficulties and challenges, such as social discrimination, negative attitude of friends, distrust of family, no job, no friends who do not use drugs, no family, no unit, physical weakness, psychological insomnia, anxiety, depression, etc. The problem is that they have no skills, they have lost their source of living, and so on. Without the understanding and support of society and the help of family and friends, it is very difficult for drug addicts to get out of these difficulties.
The nature of drug addiction is not only a social concern, but also the basis of policy to deal with drug addiction. From a legal perspective, drug use is illegal, and based on this, the need for legal coercive measures against drug use has also proven to be very necessary. From a medical point of view, the World Health Organization has long defined addictive drug use as “a chronic recurrent brain disease” because of the many, many pathophysiological changes that occur in the body, especially in the brain, after drug use (this is the disease), and drug users often lose control over their drug use (just as a patient with appendicitis Patients with appendicitis cannot control their abdominal pain, which is also pathological; drug-addicted rats are also only interested in drugs, but lose their proper interest in instinctive behaviors such as eating and sexual activities). Drug addiction not only produces uncontrollable behavior, but can also spread diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis, as medical treatment and psychosocial rehabilitation are essential.
II. Detoxification and Rehabilitation
When it comes to drug rehabilitation, the first thing that comes to mind is whether there is a panacea, a dose of which will make the pain disappear and the addiction go away. The first thing you need to do is to get rid of your addiction.
Analysis, but the following reasons.
1, unclear understanding of drugs: drugs are called drugs because of the addictive nature is very strong. Addiction means loss of self-control, you can not be home. Even smoking in our daily lives is so difficult to quit, let alone drugs?
2, unclear understanding of their own problems: think they are capable, good self-control, others addicted to drugs because they are weak-willed, I am fine. I don’t know that I have already fallen into the quagmire of drug addiction, but I am still blindly optimistic. Some people even know they have a problem, but they don’t dare to admit it, deny their problems, and act with a false mask, so it’s only natural that they don’t succeed in drug treatment.
3. Insufficient control and preparation: The vast majority of drug addicts want to get rid of their addiction, and even swear to God that they will “become a man if they don’t succeed”. There is no lack of truth in these resolutions, but as the detoxification time lengthens and the degree of addiction increases, determination and confidence gradually decline, and before the methadone has been reduced, they strongly request to be discharged, and what follows can be imagined.
4, the problem of perception bias: once addicted to drugs, lifelong struggle with drugs. Many drug addicts, after successfully quitting for a period of time, think it’s okay and gradually relax their vigilance. They may not grasp it one time, comfort themselves or give us excuses, “just take this sip and don’t make an exception for the next one”, resulting in a loss of effort and soon back to the old ways.
5. Environmental influences: This is a big difficulty for many drug addicts. In general, drug addicts tend to have only drug addicted “friends”. In the early stages of drug rehabilitation, due to insomnia, irritability, bad mood and boredom, they do not need the lure of their drug addicted “friends”. They do not need much lure from their “friends” to take the bait. They say they have already quit, but their hearts have been scratching like cats. If the “friend” is a drug addict, how many of them can get away with it if they are tempted with a little bit of seduction? The first thing you need to do is to take drugs and then regret it, but it’s too late.
For drug addicts, drugs are their best friends, “even more than their parents”, and can bring them infinite joy and solve their pain. Drug addicts have formed a conditioned reflex, bad mood to suck, encounter annoying is to suck, encounter happy things also to suck, and others have a conflict with more to suck. As you can imagine, if there are no more drugs, it is difficult for drug addicts to adapt to the above-mentioned bad environment and mentality, so for them, drug rehabilitation may be more painful than drug addiction.
6. Expect too much from the outside world: Drug addicts and their families are hoping for new drugs and new treatments, so once a “new method” is available, they all want to try it. In fact, so far, there is no magic bullet. If anyone says they have a panacea, you can be sure that this person is either ignorant or a liar. It is also wishful thinking to completely eliminate the sources of drugs and sweep the drug dealers away. Our country does have the experience of overcoming drugs and maintaining a drug-free society for more than 30 years, but it was done at a special time in history. This victory is both unprecedented and potentially unprecedented in the history of human struggle with drugs. Drug addiction, drug trafficking and drug rehabilitation, anti-drug is a long and protracted battle between the mouse and the cat.
7. The demands on drug addicts and drug treatment methods are too high: completely understandable, but out of touch with reality. We cannot expect all drug addicts to be successful in one detox and never relapse. Relapse is one of the characteristics of drug addiction, just like relapse of heart disease, relapse of diabetes, relapse of skin disease, relapse of schizophrenia, relapse does not mean there is no hope. As the number of relapses increases, the addict will gradually learn what drug treatment is all about and slowly learn to cope with the various difficulties in drug treatment, and as long as he or she has determination and self-control, there is still hope to get rid of the drug.
The conclusion that “99% of drug rehabs fail” is wrong. Foreign follow-up results show that most treated addicts (>70%) eventually stop using addictive substances or only use them temporarily, while about 15-20% of addicts become chronic, recurring for 10-20 years, requiring long-term treatment. If abstinence is 2 years, 90% of people will last up to 10 years, and if abstinence is 10 years, more than 90% will last up to 20 years. Some people have observed heroin patients for more than 20 years and found that at least 1/3 of the addicts stopped using after 20 years. We followed 685 cases of drug users in the community of Furong District, Changsha, and our results were very different from the general belief. It was confirmed by urine tests that 63.7% of the drug users were not using drugs at the time of follow-up. Of the non-users, 39.7% had been clean for more than 2 years, 31.6% had been clean for more than 3 years, and 16.6% had been clean for more than 5 years. But why do they conclude that “only those who are in the military are not discharged”? The reason is simple: after successful detoxification, they will disappear in front of the police, doctors, and people in the society, and those who fail to detoxify are always hanging around in front of us, so all we see are detoxification failures.
Drug rehabilitation is to system engineering, it is difficult to say which drug rehabilitation method is the best, various drug rehabilitation methods act on different parties, more or less all have some effect. Generally speaking, there are three stages of detoxification: the detoxification stage, the rehabilitation and relapse prevention stage, and the return to society stage.
Returning to society is the ultimate goal of drug rehabilitation, while detoxification and rehabilitation are the means. The main purpose of detoxification is to use medical methods and tools to reduce the withdrawal symptoms in acute withdrawal and to prepare for the subsequent rehabilitation phase. Commonly used are substitution therapy and non-substitution therapy. Substitution therapy is the use of legal drugs with similar pharmacological effects to drugs (e.g., methadone, buprenorphine) to replace drugs, followed by a gradual reduction in the dose of the replacement drug over a period of time. Non-substitution treatment is generally symptomatic, such as using scopolamine and colistin to counteract certain withdrawal symptoms; drug treatment herbs are more effective for some withdrawal symptoms. Most studies have shown that psychosocial interventions can have a good therapeutic effect on certain problems such as relapse. However, psychosocial interventions often do not achieve immediate results.
Psychosocial interventions can be used in many ways, such as changing the way the addict perceives the problem and behaves through treatment, helping the addict cope with acute or chronic cravings, promoting the patient’s social skills, encouraging the patient to not use drugs, and so on. Increasing the patient’s motivation and self-control is also part of the treatment to avoid relapse. The basic methods are: discussing ambivalence about drug use and recovery, identifying emotional and environmental factors that trigger cravings and drug use, finding ways to cope with internal and external stimuli, and breaking the cycle of relapse. In addition, group therapy provides an opportunity for addicts to identify common problems, to express their feelings with mutual understanding, to learn how to express their wishes, to discuss and modify their treatment plans, to monitor their behavior during treatment, to develop practical treatment plans, and to facilitate contact with their physicians, which helps to prevent relapse and promote recovery.
The importance of family intervention is threefold:
First, it is to help family members understand and resolve family problems, promote mutual understanding and help each other, and prevent the addict from returning to a pathological family environment after treatment is completed;
Second, to help family members understand the drug problem, support, help and supervise the addict to get rid of the psychological dependence on drugs;
Third, to help other members of the family to overcome their own difficulties and eliminate the psychological trauma caused by the drug addict.