Substance Use Basics
This is the most commonly used legal psychoactive substance in the world.
What is caffeine?
This popular 12-step program helps individuals recover from alcohol addiction.
What is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)?
This is the act of returning to substance use after a period of abstinence.
What is relapse?
This brain chemical is heavily involved in the reward system and is often linked to addiction.
What is dopamine?
Addiction often affects more than the individual—it can impact this group deeply.
What is the family?
Instead of “addict,” this term is more respectful and person-first.
What is a person with a substance use disorder?
This rapper and actor has been open about his pill addiction, referenced in songs like "Drug Ballad" and later in his album Recovery.
Who is Eminem?
Substance use may begin as an attempt to do this with overwhelming mental health symptoms.
What is self-medicate?
This simple practice helps manage stress and cravings by focusing on breathing and staying present.
What is mindfulness (or meditation)?
A person who no longer uses substances and maintains a healthy lifestyle is said to be in this.
What is recovery?
The part of the brain responsible for decision-making and impulse control, often impaired by substance use.
What is the prefrontal cortex?
Many people in recovery benefit from finding this kind of non-using network.
What is a sober support system?
Language that is empowering and reduces stigma around addiction is called this.
What is recovery language?
This actor, famous for Dirty Dancing, reportedly used drugs in the 1980s but chose sobriety and health later in life before dying of cancer in 2009.
Who is Patrick Swayze?
This category of drugs includes heroin, morphine, and prescription painkillers.
What are opioids?
This type of therapy helps people recognize and change negative patterns of thinking and behavior.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
A plan created to maintain sobriety and avoid relapse.
What is a relapse prevention plan?
This brain system, which includes the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area, is central to the experience of reward.
What is the brain’s reward pathway?
The stigma surrounding addiction can be a barrier to seeking this.
What is treatment?
This term describes a slip in recovery, but not a full return to old patterns.
What is a lapse?
This grunge icon, frontman of Nirvana, struggled with heroin addiction and died by suicide in 1994.
Who is Kurt Cobain?
This is the medical term for needing more of a substance to feel the same effect.
What is tolerance?
This class of medications, including methadone and buprenorphine, is used to treat opioid addiction.
What is medication-assisted treatments (MAT)?
A support person who has lived experience and helps others in recovery.
What is a peer recovery coach (or sponsor)?
This natural chemical messenger helps regulate mood and is often affected by substance use.
What is serotonin?
Losing interest in hobbies, neglecting relationships, and secrecy are common signs of this.
What is substance use disorder (or addiction)?
Instead of saying someone “cleaned up,” this phrase is more accurate and respectful.
What is “entered recovery” or “achieved sobriety”?
This comedian and actor, once known for his flamboyant style and heroin use, later became a recovery advocate and wrote Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions.
Who is Russell Brand?
This syndrome occurs when a person stops using a drug after becoming dependent.
What is withdrawal?
This approach emphasizes self-empowerment and includes programs like SMART Recovery.
What is a non-12-step recovery program?
This is the process of detoxifying the body from substances.
What is detoxification (or detox)?
This stress hormone often spikes during withdrawal and can increase relapse risk.
What is cortisol?
This term describes when a loved one unintentionally supports someone's substance use by protecting them from the consequences.
What is enabling?
This outdated term for someone who uses multiple substances has been replaced by “person with a substance use disorder.”
What is a junkie?
This singer and Disney Channel alum nearly died from a 2018 overdose and documented their recovery journey in the YouTube series Dancing with the Devil.
ho is Demi Lovato?