substance misuse

A drug is a chemical substance that acts on the brain and nervous system, changing a person’s mood, emotion or state of consciousness. Drugs are often classified by the effect they have.
Stimulants, such as cocaine, make people feel full of energy. Depressants (or sedatives), such as heroin, make people feel relaxed. Hallucinogens, such as LSD, make people see, feel or hear things that are not real. Drug or substance misuse is when a person regularly takes one or more drugs to change their mood, emotion or state of consciousness.

Our substance misuse Blogs

“It doesn’t mean they aren’t after you”: sexual minorities and paranoia

1 Response »
Profile photo of Sarah Carr
Posted by
shutterstock_1151758097

Sarah Carr explores a recent cross-sectional study on sexual minority status and symptoms of psychosis, which looks at the role of bullying, discrimination, social support and drug use.

[read the full story...]

Can contingency management help people with psychosis give up cannabis? The CIRCLE trial

1 Response »
Profile photo of Ian Hamilton
Posted by
ben-sweet-2LowviVHZ-E-unsplash

Ian Hamilton summarises the recently published CIRCLE trial, which looks at the clinical and cost-effectiveness of contingency management for cannabis use in early psychosis.

[read the full story...]

Can a ‘personalised psychosocial toolbox’ help people reduce ‘on-top’ drug use during opioid substitution treatment?

2 Responses »
Profile photo of Vicky Carlisle
Posted by
shutterstock_1454328929

Vicky Carlisle summarises a promising recent RCT on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of an adjunctive personalised psychosocial intervention in treatment-resistant maintenance opioid agonist therapy.

[read the full story...]

Prevalence of comorbid personality disorder and alcohol use disorder

1 Response »
Profile photo of Dean Connolly
Posted by
shutterstock_228130675

People diagnosed with “personality disorders” are likely to also experience alcohol problems.

Dean Connolly summarises a recent systematic review that confirms the very high prevalence of comorbid personality disorders and alcohol use disorders.

[read the full story...]

We know how to reduce premature deaths from co-morbid mental health and substance use problems, so why aren’t we doing anything about it?

No Responses »
Profile photo of Ian Hamilton
Posted by
shutterstock_1397419571

Ian Hamilton looks at a Swedish 42-year follow-up study, which looks at the impact that psychiatric comorbidity can have on premature death in a cohort of patients with substance use disorders.

[read the full story...]

Adolescent cannabis use and risk of depression and suicide

No Responses »
Profile photo of Benjamin Janaway
Posted by
shutterstock_618029801

Benjamin Janaway blogs about a major data analysis that links adolescent cannabis use with increased risk of depression and suicide. He considers the opportunities for early recognition of cannabis use and public intervention.

[read the full story...]

Do general hospital staff stigmatise people with mental illness?

No Responses »
Profile photo of Rebecca Stevenson
Posted by
shutterstock_1365445151

Rebecca Stevenson writes her debut elf blog on a recent systematic review looking at general hospital health professionals’ attitudes and perceived dangerousness towards patients with comorbid mental and physical health conditions.

[read the full story...]

Daily skunk cannabis use associated with a 5-fold increase in psychosis risk

No Responses »
Profile photo of Luke Sheridan Rains
Posted by
lexscope-388938-unsplash

Luke Sheridan-Reins explores a recent paper on the contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe.

[read the full story...]

Smoking cessation for people with severe mental illness? “Oh yes they can!” SCIMITAR+

No Responses »
Profile photo of David Shiers
Posted by
>,
stop-4036139_1280

David Shiers and Peter Byrne summarise the new SCIMITAR+ trial out today in The Lancet Psychiatry, which evaluates a bespoke smoking cessation intervention for people with severe mental illness.

[read the full story...]

Involving consumers and survivors in mental health policy making

1 Response »
Andrew Shepherd
Posted by
alex-rodriguez-santibanez-257452-unsplash

Andrew Shepherd explores a paper that makes him ask: Does the language and implementation of evidence based practice essentially risk excluding different voices from mental heath policy making?

[read the full story...]