Exercise as a Means of Preventing Substance Abuse Relapse - Essay Example

Exercise as a Means of Preventing Substance Abuse Relapse Exercise as a Means of Preventing Substance Abuse Relapse A. Literature review Substance abuse, addiction and relapse are phases of a disease that are hard to overcome, not only because they physically alter brain’s signaling pathways, but because they also alter the interconnectedness of meaningful social relationships, important responsibilities and overall self-care. Studies show that about 90,000 individuals in the country die due to elicit and alcohol abuse yearly (National Institutes of Health 1). There are various causes of deaths associated with substance abuse, especially suicide. Addiction to substance may contribute to other mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and mental illnesses. In the US in 2005, 8.3million adults were having serious thoughts about suicide while 2.3million had actually had plans of committing suicide where 1.1 million actually attempted suicide and 33,000 succeeded (Nora, 2006). If not monitored properly, people with mental illnesses are more likely to hurt themselves. Studies show that substance abuse is one of the major causes of violence in the society. Engaging in violent behaviors increases the risk of death among drug addicts. Another cause of death is deterioration of the users’ health. Continued usage of the substances leads to addiction, which is one of the causes of morbidity among the substance abusing people. Morbidity caused by substance abuse can be categorized into social, psychological and physical. Long-term usage of substances leads to poor social health such as isolation. It makes it difficult for the users to interact with other people in the society by making it difficult for them to create relationships as most of them feel isolated by the rest of the society because of their addiction. This may result into other health complications such as depression (Nora, 2006). In addition, it may lead to poor psychological health. Substance abuse has also been associated with other chronic illnesses. For instance, long-term usage of tobacco may cause serious illnesses such as lung cancers. Other illnesses associated with drug addiction are diabetes and cardiovascular illnesses. The poor health among the people addicted to substances includes poor eating habits. Since substance addiction changes priority, food become less important compared to the substance. The situation may cause other illnesses associated with poor eating habits. The multiple disorders caused by substance abuse are referred to as co-morbidity (Nora, 2006). The risk factors associated with substance abuse include availability of the substance and peer influence. Many people start using alcohol because it is readily available. Young adults are also likely to start abusing drugs in order to fit in their peer groups. Another big cause is the immaturity and difficulty in relating to parents. This has resulted into parents not even aware of their children’s daily activities and doings. Other risk factors include poor management of problems in families. Studies also show that ADHD also increases the risks using drugs among children and adults. It is important to note that mental health disparities are also recorded among the substance users. Another major catalyst to the increase in alcohol abuse is the economic problems. Individuals who lack financial capabilities are more likely to have more mental problems connected with substance abuse because of their inability to seek medical help in time. The teachings on the targeted group about the effects of exercises will focus on two Erickson’s developmental stages. These stages are the intimacy verses isolation and the generatively verses Stagnation. It will also focus on Piaget’s development concepts within the Formal Operational Stage. The cognitive abilities developed at this stage include logical thinking and deductive reasoning, starting from adolescent years to adulthood. Part of the targeted population is in the intimacy vs. Isolation psychological development stage. The stage ranges from the age of 19 to 40 years (Sacco, 2013). People in this developmental stage are more likely to be affected by various mental issues such as pressure in college, job changes, starting family and other life issues. People’s mental health is determined by their sense of self that enables them to create good relationship. Persons with poor sense of self are more likely to develop mental problems such as depression due to loneliness and isolation. The situation increases the risks of abusing substances. The targeted population also consists of people from the age of 40 to 65 that is the seventh stage of Ericson’s development stage. People at this stage usually struggle to make their lives better. It is in this stage of life where one tries to reflect on their life and individuals development from childhood. Many of them would to regret on their pasts, the amount of time they wasted including wrong decisions they made that has landed their lives into current unfortunate situations. This would easily lead them to drugs which would make them more likely to suffer from mental issues such depression and stress because they feel disconnected to the community. Primary prevention is meant to prevent people from using substances, especially persons who have never used them before but are more likely to start abusing substances. One of the primary prevention issues of the targeted group includes limited awareness about the effects of exercise on the substance abuse. Most people in the targeted group are not aware of the importance of exercise in preventing substance abuse (Lindsey, 2002). The other issue includes identification and classification of the targeted group in the primary prevention stage. The aim of this prevention stage is to stop the behavior by changing people’s attitudes through education. The other aim includes reducing the incidences of substance abuse. The priorities of the primary prevention include identification of the right group, creating awareness, and changing people’s attitudes towards the substance abuse and physical exercises. Reducing the risk factors is also a top priority at this stage. It is vital to take action against the risk factors before the group is affected. The secondary prevention involves helping people who are already addicted to substances to reduce their usage before the substances affects their health. The issues experienced at this stage include lack of commitment to prevention programs because drugs are priorities. Behavioral norms of substance users may also affect the prevention program at this stage. The top priorities at this stage include motivating drug users to cease using substances through physical exercises. This is considered the early stage of the intervention. The tertiary prevention is meant to prevent relapse of substance abuse and helping the population affected by other health complications maintain good health (Lindsey, 2002). Identified issues at this stage include lack of motivation and negative attitudes. The top priority in this stage includes motivation of the targeted group by changing their attitudes towards the effects of exercises on their health. Read More