Addiction & Brain
Three areas of the brain altered by substance misuse
What is the basal ganglia, extended amygdala, and the prerfontal cortex.
Basal ganglia-is the reward center of the brain and substances flood this area of the brain with dopamine eventually making it not being able to feel pleasure from anything but substances.
Extended amygdala-controls stress, anxiety, and irritability that occur during withdrawal and where tolerance is formed.
Prefrontal cortex-controls executive functioning, organize thoughts/activities, manage, time, prioritize, and decision making. it is responsible for the habitual formation and seeking of substances. This is also the last part of the brain to fully form around 24-26.
When someone is unable to release feeling of anger
What is intractable anger?
This is when someone has a difficult time expressing feelings of anger and is typically 'rooted in the past'.
Ways to manage conflict
What is empathy, communication, and compromise?
Name some coping skills
What are going for a walk, listening to music, working out, reading a book, spending time with loved ones, create something, engage in hobbies, hot bath/shower, and cleaning.
Relapse Prevention
What is a set of strategies and interventions aimed at reducing the risk of an individual returning to a previous unhealthy or addictive behavior after a period of abstinence or recovery.
PAWS
What is post acute withdrawal syndrome?
Acute withdrawal is what occurs during the detox period, and PAWS can last weeks, months, or even years. It can include cravings, emotional disruptions, dreams of substance misuse, memory loss, decision making difficulties, dizziness, irritability, and low energy.
GLAD Technique
What is gratitude, one new thing you thing you learned today, one small accomplishment you had today, and one thing that made you feel delight today.
FAST Acronym
What is be fair, apologize, stick to your values, and be truthful.
Ways to manage emotions and relax
What is deep breathing, journaling, meditation and/or guide imagery?
Common reasons for relapse
What is withdrawal, mental health disorders, people, places, things, poor self-care, relationship & intimacy struggles, pride & overconfidence, boredom & isolation, uncomfortable emotions.
Factors for Addiction
What are genetics (50% of those afflicted), epigenetics (a combination of environment and genetics), and environment.
Factors of anger
What are stressful situations, unfair treatment, feeling threatened or attacked, disruption of goals, perceived injustice, substance misuse, feeling rejected or hurt, etc.
Five conflict styles
What are competing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising, and collaborating.
Competing:
High assertiveness, low cooperation. This style involves aggressively pursuing one's own goals without regard for the other party's needs.
Avoiding:
Low assertiveness, low cooperation. This style involves withdrawing from the conflict, ignoring the issue, or postponing the discussion.
Accommodating:
Low assertiveness, high cooperation. This style involves prioritizing the other party's needs and sacrificing one's own, often to maintain a positive relationship.
Compromising:
Moderate assertiveness, moderate cooperation. This style involves finding a mutually acceptable solution where both parties make concessions.
Collaborating:
High assertiveness, high cooperation. This style involves working together to find a solution that satisfies both parties' needs and priorities.
When coping skills don't work..
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
There is an alternative to coping, grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is a part of the third wave of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT), the school of therapy with the most research support.
The goal of ACT is to develop a way of being in the world characterized by psychological flexibility, which has six elements. Formally, these are referred to as acceptance, cognitive diffusion, self as context, being present, values, and committed action. What this really means is that in ACT therapy, clients learn to drop the struggle with their painful thoughts and emotions and change the way that they see themselves so that they can be fully here in their lives and do what matters.
Strategies to prevent relapse
What are
Environmental & Social Factors of Addiction
What is the individual (self); microsystem (family, friends, school/work personnel, and health professionals; mesosystem (interactions between the microsystem (i.e. family and teachers); exosystem (local politics & media); and the macro system (national policies & cultural attitudes).
Ways to manage anger
What is a time out, deep breathing techniques, meditation, physical exertion while calm, calming music, identify triggers, communicate discomforts early, practice the pause, acknowledge the anger, counseling, and use 'I' statements when discussing feelings of anger.
Types of Conflict (four of them)
What are four levels that can be identified: within an individual (intrapersonal conflict), between two parties (interpersonal conflict), between groups (intergroup conflict), and between organizations (interorganizational conflict).
Times to use coping skills
Coping skills are most effectively used when feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or facing a difficult situation. They help individuals manage these challenging feelings and situations in a healthy manner. Coping skills can be helpful in a variety of situations, including dealing with strong negative emotions, personal triggers, and undesirable life circumstances.
Four D's of Relapse Prevention
What is Delay, Distract, De-Stress, and De-catastrophize?
The difference in the brain of an individual with a substance misuse disorder.
What is the presence of anomalies in the brain regions associated with habit formation, including the dorsal striatum and premotor cortex.-
Disrupted functional connectivity of the brain reward system in substance use problems: A meta‐analysis of functional neuroimaging studies” by Jules R. Dugré et al. Addiction Biology
Three R's of anger management
What is Recognize, Reflect, and Respond?
Four C's of conflict
What are Commitment, Communication, Conflict Resolution, and Camaraderie?
The 3-3-3 rule for anxiety.
What is a simple grounding technique that can help you focus on the present moment and reduce anxiety symptoms. It involves identifying three things you can see, three things you can hear, and moving three parts of your body.
The 7 R's of Relapse Prevention
What is Recognition, Responsibility, Regret, Restitution, Recovery Planning, Relapse Prevention, and Reconnection. These principles help individuals on the path to recovery by guiding them through self-awareness, accountability, and building a sustainable recovery.