Answer To: What are the mental and physical risks of misuse OR abuse OR long term use of methamphetamine on...
Dr Insiyah R. answered on Oct 04 2022
Introduction 1
Question 1: The mental and physical risks of misuse OR abuse OR long-term use of methamphetamine on people who have mental health issues. 2
Question 2: How does methamphetamine impact the person’s recovery and mental health treatment outcomes? 4
Qestion 3: Describe the treatment & management options of problematic use of methamphetamine patients with mental illnes. 5
Conclusion 7
Refrence 8
Introduction
Methamphetamine, an illicit psychostimulant substance related to amphetamine, is very addictive. Because of its potent euphoric effects, which are comparable to those of cocaine, many utilise it (Alqallaf,2021).
The brain's naturally existing dopamine and norepinephrine levels are raised by methamphetamine. Compared to cocaine, the effects stay longer and are easier and cheaper to produce using chemicals that are readily accessible. This narcotic is known by the street names chalk, crank, ice, crystal, meth, and speed (Brookfield et al,2019).
This figure grew from 22,842 to 28,409 drug crimes between 2013 and 2014, a rise of more than 25%. During the same era, drug consumption also increased. This illustrates a rising trend in drug charges and drug usage in Australia. However, harsher versions of methamphetamine like Crystal, have emerged as a result of the drug's increased availability in Australia. Over the previous ten years, methamphetamine consumption has also surged (Brookfield et al,2019).
Due to the fact that growing local production has fueled usage and exacerbated harms ensuing from regular use in many nations, methamphetamine use has been the focus of increasing public health concern globally. Consistent methamphetamine use is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes, including but not limited to the development of mental health issues like anxiety, depression, dependence, and psychosis; physical health issues like impaired immunity and weight gain; aggressive and violent behaviour; involvement in criminal behaviour; increased risk of infection when injecting; and, in rare cases, death due to overdose (Cebo,Zarghami & Richards,2022).
Concerns have been raised about the rising popularity of crystal methamphetamine due to the fact that its extreme purity makes inhalation a viable delivery method. Inhalation of vaporised crystal methamphetamine provides quick absorption into the bloodstream through the lungs, resulting in a high bioavailability and an almost instantaneous drug impact. This is because the drug avoids the metabolic processes that lower the percentage of the drug that reaches the brain (Dadhe & Bettman,2019).
Similar quick start of pharmacological action and extreme exhilaration may be expected from either smoking crystal or injecting it. The rates of dependency and psychosis and poor mental health among smokers are greater than those of those who use alternative non-injecting modes of administration (Drysdale et al,2021).
Crystal methamphetamine's introduction to Australia, a country with a long history of dealing in amphetamines and methamphetamine, has had a significant effect on the country's stimulant consumption. Some have even gone so far as to say that Australia is experiencing a "ice plague" because of this. In 1999, when it was thought to have been smuggled from Asia, crystal methamphetamine was discovered by illegal drug monitoring systems in Australia. Domestically made methamphetamine, often marketed as a far lower-purity powder dubbed "speed," was mixed with ice. Prior to this, the majority of meth users didn't inject the substance, therefore they were mostly immune to its negative effects (Dadhe & Bettman,2019).
Question 1: The mental and physical risks of misuse OR abuse OR long-term use of methamphetamine on people who have mental health issues.
According to reports, 40% of Australians with mental health problems matched the requirements for substance addiction or usage. Similar numbers were found in the USA and the UK.
Addiction is only one of the detrimental effects of long-term methamphetamine consumption. Addiction is a long-lasting, recurrent condition that causes obsessive drug seeking including using as well as biochemical and functional abnormalities in the brain (Gordon & de Jong,2018).
Repeated use of methamphetamine results in the development of tolerance to its pleasant effects, as is the case with many other narcotics. To get the intended effect, drug abusers typically need to consume the drug in bigger dosages, more frequently, or in different ways. Chronic methamphetamine addicts may find it difficult to experience pleasures other than those brought on by the drug, which encourages further misuse. Chronic methamphetamine users experience withdrawal when they stop using the drug, and withdrawal symptoms include despair, anxiety, exhaustion, and a strong desire for the substance (ji Kwon & Han,2018).
Methamphetamine users who use it often may have symptoms such as severe anxiety, disorientation, sleeplessness, mood swings, and aggressive behaviour in addition to developing a dependence on the drug. Paranoia, auditory and visual hallucinations, and delusions like feeling insects crawling beneath the skin are other possible psychotic manifestations. Stress has been proven to cause spontaneous return of methamphetamine psychosis in methamphetamine users who have previously experienced psychosis, and psychotic symptoms may sometimes persist for months or even years after a person has stopped using the drug (Gordon & de Jong,2018).
Methamphetamine use is linked to a significant load of psychopathology, which encompasses increased rates of psychosis, anxiety and mood disorders, aggressive behaviour, and cognitive deficiencies. According to Kuitunen-Paul et al, (2021) found that a third of methamphetamine abusers had a history of being given psychiatric drugs, and a quarter of users had mental health issues serious enough to need hospitalisation.
The ability of psychostimulant usage to cause mental health problem such as psychosis is one of the main clinical distinctions between psychostimulants and other illegal substances, such as opiates. According to case-control studies, those who use psychostimulants had greater rates of psychosis than people who use opioids, benzodiazepines, or barbiturates. Methamphetamine-induced psychosis often manifests as hallucinations and delusions and is a temporary occurrence (Lopez et...