Substance Abuse

Using substances like illegal drugs, alcohol, and some prescription medications regularly can lead to substance abuse disorder. If you can’t stop using your substance of choice, visit Haresh Tharwani, MD, DFAPA, and the team at MD Psychiatry & Emotional Health, PLLC. At their Durham and Cary, North Carolina, offices, the team offers effective treatments for substance abuse, including psychotherapy and medication to reduce withdrawal symptoms. To get help with your substance abuse disorder, call MD Psychiatry & Emotional Health, PLLC, today, or book an in-person or telehealth appointment online.

What is substance abuse?

Substance abuse occurs when a drug you take because of its pleasurable effects begins to harm you psychologically or physically.

Problems with substance abuse can overwhelm every aspect of your life. It can damage your career, prevent you from finishing college, and end your relationships. Substance abuse can quickly worsen into addiction, where everything centers on your substance of choice.

Addiction can take away your job and home, leave you in severe debt, and lead to harmful behaviors when you have no other way to fund your addiction.

What are common substances that lead to abuse?

Substances people commonly abuse include:

• Alcohol
• Tobacco
• Marijuana (cannabis)
• Inhalants (glue and solvents)
• Hallucinogens (like LSD)
• Sedatives, hypnotics, and anxiety medications
• Stimulants, such as cocaine
• Opioids (heroin and prescription painkillers)

Opioid abuse is one of the substance disorders the MD Psychiatry & Emotional Health, PLLC, team treats most often. Many strong prescription painkillers contain opioids, which include oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone, and fentanyl.

People with opioid prescriptions for pain often find they become addicted to them and are unable to stop even if their pain diminishes. At this point, they turn to illegal supplies when they can’t get further prescriptions.

In addition to substances, activities can sometimes become addictive. The most common problem is gambling addiction, which shares many symptoms of substance abuse and has similarly devastating effects on people’s lives.

What treatments help with substance abuse?

The treatment your provider at MD Psychiatry & Emotional Health, PLLC, recommends for your substance abuse problem varies depending on what the substance is and how badly the problem is affecting you. Options include:

Talk therapy

Talk therapies help you understand why you have a substance abuse disorder and address the issues in your life that make you vulnerable to addiction. The MD Psychiatry & Emotional Health, PLLC, team also offers practical strategies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you change the flawed thinking typical of people with substance abuse problems.

Medication

Medication can help with opioid abuse by reducing the severity of withdrawal effects when you stop using heroin or prescription opioids. Other medicines might also be helpful, for example, antidepressants or anti-anxiety pills if you also have depression or anxiety.

TMS therapy

TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) uses magnetic pulses to alter your brain activity. It’s a safe, non-invasive option for patients with substance abuse disorders.

If you have a substance abuse problem and are ready to get help, call MD Psychiatry & Emotional Health, PLLC, today or book an in-person or telehealth appointment online.