Anxiety, Depression As It Relates To Substance Abuse, Addiction
Question
The title can be adjusted. This review is a continuation of my original paper. Substance abuse in the Elderly.


Solution
Anxiety, Depression As It Relates To Substance Abuse, Addiction
Substance
abuse has become common in the present world, and the number of those not
involved is becoming negligible. Drug abuse is common among the youth, but it
is no surprise that even the elderly are presently involved. According to the
World Health Organization, about 9.5% of the youths are globally involved in
drug abuse compared to the 1% of the involved older adults (Ohio, 2017). Some
of the effects of drug abuse are addiction, depression, anxiety, withdrawal
syndromes, violence and mental retardation, among other symptoms among other
effects. The severity of the effects increases with an increase in age,
therefore, justifying the elderly at the highest risk of the severe effects. The
paper below focuses on the relationship between depression, general anxiety
disorder and anxiety as symptoms of substance abuse among the elderly.
The
mood is achieved through normal neurotransmission and the release of
neurotransmitters in the brain. As an individual age, there is a reduction in
cell production and reduced neurotransmitter activities whose aftermath is
reduced mood because neurotransmitters play a role in mood. Drug addiction
leads to poor mood responses due to interference with the neurotransmission
system, resulting in overwhelmed feelings and depression. Carried research in
2020 that involved subjecting two groups of people to drugs and monitoring the
results regarding the age difference. Ten of the members were youths, and the
other ten were older adults. The groups were subjected to drugs, and their
brain response was monitored. The result showed that more than half the older adults’
brains were hypersensitive due to introduction compared to two youths who
experienced a similar mechanism (Abuse, 2020a). The hypersensitive brain
reaction causes the elderly to be overwhelmed, thus causing a higher prevalence
of depression than older adults.
According
to Smith and Book (2018), aging leads to physical and social changes that
increase the susceptibility to misuse and use of drugs. The physical and social
changes lead to anxiety and general anxiety disorders. Smith and Book (2018)
explain the above claim stating that; an increase in age reduces the brain’s
ability to metabolize substances that increase the brain’s susceptibility and sensitivity
to drugs. In confirming the provided explanation, Smith and Book (2018) state
that individuals that are exposed to drugs such as cocaine in their earlier
ages are likely to develop reduced temporal lobe of the gray matter in their
older ages compared to the individuals that don’t use the drugs (Smith &
Book, 2018). The gray matter of the nervous system plays a regulatory role in
the regulation of anxiety, and its reduction is an insinuation of increased
anxiety. The situation is similar to general anxiety disorders among older
adults exposed to substance abuse. Therefore, increased ae increases the
manifestation of anxiety among older adults involved in drug and substance
abuse.
Aging
leads to a reduction in several pathological responses, and the brain is not
exempted. According to research carried out to identify the brains response
between elderly and several young youths, results reveal that the elderly
develop complications in handling and effectively responding to several issues.
The reduced effective response makes them vulnerable to mental issues caused by
drug and substance abuse than youths at younger ages (Abuse, 2020b). Therefore,
the information relates increased age to increase chances of developing mental
issues for older adults who have prior exposure to drug and substance abuse.
In
conclusion, depression, anxiety and mental disorders are associated with the
elderly population with a history of drug and substance abuse. Anxiety among
older people results from destroying the brain’s gray matter. The mental
results are due to reduced neural response to pathological encounters.
Depression occurs due to mechanical interference with the neurotransmitter
system of the brain.
References
Abuse, N. I. on D.
(2020a). Drugs and the Brain. National Institute on Drug Abuse. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain#:~:text=How%20do%20drugs%20work%20in%20the%20brain%3F&text=Drugs%20interfere%20with%20the%20way
Smith, J. P., &
Book, S. W. (2018). Anxiety and Substance Use Disorders: A Review. The
Psychiatric Times, 25(10), 19–23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2904966/
Ohio, T. R. U., PharmD
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice Northeastern Ohio University College
of Pharmacy Rootstown. (2017). Prevalence of Substance Abuse in the
Adolescent Population. Www.uspharmacist.com. https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/prevalence-of-substance-abuse-in-the-adolescent-population
Abuse, N. I. on D.
(2020b, July 9). Substance Use in Older Adults DrugFacts. National
Institute on Drug Abuse. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/substance-use-in-older-adults-drugfacts




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