Lesson video

Welcome to RSHE drugs and alcohol lesson on smoking and alcohol.

My name is Mr. Duffy.

I'm really glad you've joined me today.

This lesson covers issues about addiction.

If this is a sensitive topic to you, we recommend checking with a trusted adult before starting or doing the lesson with a trusted adult nearby.

So hopefully you've done your intro quiz.

You did really well on that.

We're going to look at what is addiction, what chemical addiction is, what behavioural addiction is, and you do your exit quiz at the end.

So let's take a look at some key words then.

So addiction is defined as not having control over doing, taking, or using something to the point where it could be harmful to you.

Dependence can be or is a bodily response to a substance.

It's really important that we are able to differentiate between the two, because dependence often occurs if you rely on medications to control a chronic medical condition.

So in this lesson you're going to need an exercise book or paper because you will need to write some things down, in which case you will need a pen or a pencil.

So why do we have two categories for addiction? We looked on that on a previous slide.

Chemical and behavioural.

Why do we have that? These two categories.

Pause the video, have a thing.

Write some things down and I'll see you in a second.

So why we have two categories for addiction? Well, addiction is most commonly associated with gambling, drugs, alcohol, and nicotine.

We hear this all the time, don't we? But it's actually possible to be addicted to just about anything.

And this can include things like the internet, work, solvents or shopping.

So it doesn't just stick with what we would class as the alcohol, nicotine.

The ones that we tend to associate with addiction.

And this is why we have these two categories.

So what I'd like you to do now is pause the video, create two tables.

Chemical addiction in one, behavioural addiction in the other.

And can you think of what some people might be addicted to for each column.

Pause the video and I'll see you in a second.

So these are some of the ideas that I've come up with.

And some of the things, obviously, for chemical addiction I think it's a lot easier, isn't it? We have things like alcohol, illegal drugs, legal drugs.

So things like medication.

People can become addicted to medication, and smoking obviously.

And obviously we know that nicotine is the addictive substance there in smoking.

Behavioural addictions can be a little bit more challenging and difficult to understand.

Things like shopping.

People could be addicted to shopping.

Our phones and the internet.

That's a real big one that we keep hearing quite a lot recently about people being addicted to their phones, to social media, to the internet.

Work.

Could you imagine being addicted to work? It's quite difficult to understand this concept, but actually some people can become addicted to their work.

And gambling.

People can be addicted to gambling.

So this is why we have these two categories to differentiate between what we would class as a chemical, which mimics the chemicals that happen, that go on within our brain.

And we have these behavioural addictions which is things like shopping, phones, internet, work.

So all people who are dependent on a chemical drug are an addict? Is that true or false? It's false.

It's really important to understand that just because someone is dependent on a chemical drug, maybe for an illness chronic pain doesn't mean they're necessarily addicted to it.

They may require that opioid, for example, as it is a painkiller for an injury or chronic pain, or whatever reason it may well be.

But it doesn't mean that they're an addict.

So what causes addiction then? There are lots of reasons why addictions begin.

In the case of drugs, alcohol, and nicotine, these substances affect the way you feel both physically mentally, and these feelings can create a powerful urge to use a substance.

Again, it mimics chemicals that are already within the brain.

And as a result, we crave that more and more, and that's why people become addicted to these chemicals.

So chemical addiction is in simplest terms, a biological reaction to an addictive chemical.

So what substances would this include? What kind of chemicals or drugs could you become addicted to? Pause the video.

Write down some ideas.

I'll see you in a second.

Fantastic.

So some effects of drugs include health consequences that are long lasting and permanent.

They can even continue after a person has stopped taking the substance.

But these substances can include things like heroin, cannabis and alcohol.

So what are the physical dangers then, of addiction? We mentioned previously that some of these addictions can be long lasting.

So what physical dangers are there associated with addiction? Pause the video.

I'll see you in a second.

So the physical dangers there is that we can develop a tolerance to the drug.

As soon as we develop a tolerance to that drug, what can then happen is, that person then requires and needs more and more of that drug to have the same effect.

So in which case they're taking more and more of it at a stronger strength.

And in which case, obviously, that then becomes extremely dangerous.

If someone tries to stop taking the drug or hasn't had the drug, maybe for a few hours they can't get hold of the drugs or for whatever reason they've not taken that drug that day, for example, they can have what's known as withdrawal symptoms when trying to cut back or quit.

Injuries, both accidental and self-inflicted.

This is really important to understand that injuries can occur both by accident, falling over, you know, doing something silly whilst under the influence.

But also they can be self-inflicted because of the effects it can have on the brain.

For example, depression.

And as result self-inflicted injuries can occur.

Overdose.

Sometimes an addict might not be aware of the strength of the drug that they are taking.

And that's really important to understand that a lot of these drugs certainly at the lower level are cut with different chemicals and actually they come at different strengths.

So they might think that on day one they're getting a drug at X strength, and maybe three or four days later they getting a drug from the same person, but it's now at Y strength.

And Y strength could be much stronger than X and they'll take the same amount, and then we have what's known as an accidental overdose.

The other issue, certainly with more of the prescribed drugs is actually for chronic pain, and if they've become addicted to that prescribed drug, they start to think they need more of it.

And they don't think they're doing anything, any damage by taking more of it, but actually it's causing damage to live to the liver, so key organs within the body.

And as a result they can overdose.

And maybe if the take in what we would class as a cocktail of drugs mixed with painkillers.

So legal drugs that you can buy, maybe over the counter, or mixing it with illegal drugs or even alcohol.

And that could then result in really sad cases.

In death, which obviously is extremely sad but can be as a direct result of potentially an overdose or an accident that they may have had.

So let's take a look then at Chelsea.

Now, Chelsea is a really happy girl.

She's at school.

She's no issues in school.

She's perfectly happy young girl.

However, mum was involved in a car crash 12 months ago.

So she was prescribed a high dose, 30 over 500 mil of co-codamol.

Now co-codamol is an opioid.

It isn't an over the counter drug.

Now the drug that her mom has been prescribed is something that can only be given by a doctor.

So she would have had a prescription of a doctor, but she can only be given it by a pharmacist.

However, co-codamol, you can buy lesser strength ones over the counter for pain.

So it is classed as a legal drug.

And this was to last for about 12 weeks.

So when you get prescribed this drug, it lasts for four weeks and then you go back to your doctor.

Doctor gives you another prescription, you go to your chemist and go and pick up another one.

This was to last for about 12 weeks.

After about 12 weeks her mom's back started to get better and no longer actually needed the medication.

Her back was fine.

However, Chelsea had noticed her mom is still taking a high dose of co-codamol.

What would Chelsea's concerns be at this point? Write some things down and pause the video and I'll see you in a second.

So some of the concerns then that Chelsea would have are things like she no longer needs it.

Opioid drugs can be highly addictive, although they're extremely good at pain relief and they can be taken for a prolonged period of time.

It doesn't just have to be four weeks.

It can be for longer, dependent on how much the person is in pain, and if they require it.

One of the things that Chelsea's concerns might be is that my mum's back better now.

She doesn't need these drugs.

So why is she going to the doctors and asking for more? That would be her concern.

That certainly would be my concern, is has she now become addicted to the opioid? Has she now become addicted to this co-codamol.

It is likely that Chelsea's mum's doctor would pick up on any concerns about a potential addiction, and would alter the prescription accordingly.

So moving on then.

We look at the heavier addictions.

So we've looked at chemical addictions and why people may become addicted to chemicals and sort of some of the chemicals that they can become addicted to go.

We've got a really strong image here, haven't we? Of what we would plus in inverted commas, "the perfect physique".

But this can be the trigger for her behavioural addiction, which could also be called as the process addiction.

Follow the same patterns of substance based evictions.

And they result in problems in many areas of an individual's life.

Now there's nothing to see.

They're going to the gym once a day, seven days a week for a couple of hours.

It doesn't mean they're addicted to fitness and going to the gym.

However, it could be a sign of a behavioural addiction.

And this is the difference.

It's quite easy to some extent, in inverted commas, "easy to recognise someone with a substance addiction".

But to recognise someone with a behavioural addiction is really, really difficult.

Partly because they can hide it a lot easier than a substance addiction.

A substance addiction is going to affect you quite physically.

You're going to notice that they look different.

Behaviour addiction is going to be.

It's quite difficult.

It may be that they're just keeping healthy.

But they could also potentially be addicted to try to keep fit.

What factors do you think then, that could cause a behaviour addiction? Pause the video.

Write some ideas down.

I'll see you in a second.

Fantastic.

So these are some of the ideas that I've come up with.

And certainly it can be difficult, again, to understand why people might become addicted to certain behaviours.

But low self-esteem is certainly a contributing factor.

A person suffering from low self-esteem is much more likely to engage in destructive behaviours, which can become addictive.

We could have low self-esteem regarding our body image that we see through the media, what we would class as the perfect image.

Even go back to that image that was on the previous slide.

And for some people that can become quite a driving factor that they may have low self-esteem regarding their own body image, and as a result, strive for perfection which doesn't exist.

We look at that image, has it been doctored? Has it been photoshopped? The likelihood is that it's setup for a photo shoot with the dehydrated to have that abs they'd certainly put on a lot of fake tan, which highlights muscle structure and makes it look even better.

That's why bodybuilders use fake tan.

So it's the striving for something that might not necessarily exist.

And when they look at themselves and they've got this low self-esteem anyway, that's why they've done it.

And it may be through bullying or for whatever reason they've got low self-esteem.

And that they end up striving for something that doesn't really exist.

And that's when we could end up with this addictive behaviour.

Trauma, loss and guilt is certainly another contributing factor.

You know, we may lose a family member and it can be quite a traumatic experience.

And having lost someone could have feelings of intense guilt, justified or otherwise.

For whatever reason, you know? Our brains do strange and wonderful things.

And for some of us trauma can be a real contributing factor to a behavioural addiction.

And then just want that sort of escapism, and that's where you may end up maybe drinking a little bit more alcohol, for example, than normal, than usual, and it ends up becoming a habit, which then can quite quickly turn into an addiction.

Poor social and communication skills.

A little bit linked, maybe with low self-esteem.

Finds it hard to fit in.

Has poor social communication skills, you know? Can't really participate in certain activities, finds it difficult to engage with people and then end up maybe becoming a little bit isolated.

And then finding that playing video games is a really good way of socialising.

They could play online.

But then become addicted to the video game.

There's nothing wrong with playing on an evening, playing a video game.

There's nothing wrong with it, but for some people it can become an addiction.

And that's what's really important to understand between an addict and someone who's just enjoying what it is that they enjoy.

A hobby.

But not all hobbies, going to the gym, video gaming, shopping, just because we enjoy those things doesn't mean we're addicted to them.

But for some people it becomes an overriding factor that they cannot control.

And that's where the difference is.

So is someone obsessing about exercise a symptom of a behaviour addiction? Is that true or false? That's true.

And as I said earlier, if it becomes an overriding factor that they cannot control and it becomes an obsession that they have to go to the gym, they have to go at this time, they have to do this and they have to be there for two or three hours, that then becomes an addiction.

And symptoms of one behavioural addiction may vary greatly from those of another.

The injuries sustained by someone with an exercise addiction will be very different from the the obsessity which a video game addict may develop.

So there could be differences, physical differences.

However, in general times behavioural addiction is likely to be evident in the form of an increasing focus upon that behaviour.

And that's where it becomes out of control, that they can't control it.

It becomes an urge.

It overrides everything that they need to do.

And that's where it becomes an addiction.

So when behavioural addictions is out of control and help is needed, the earlier problem can be recognised and the sooner treatment can be sought, the less likely it is that serious permanent damage can be done.

And that's really important.

Whether it's chemical or a physical, or a behavioural, the earlier it is, the addict comes forward and says I've got a problem, the earlier they get help, the better is for them.

Short term and long term.

Obviously, physically, hopefully some of those issues can be reversed in terms of physical damage, but also socially.

That friendship groups haven't been whittled down to maybe nobody where they've become extremely isolated.

Hopefully they can pick that social group back up.

So it's really important that we treat the addict and get the addiction treated early.

So let's meet Aisha then.

Aisha is desperate to be liked, but wants to stick to the rules.

This often leads to a conflict of emotions.

She finds it hard maybe to fit in a little bit with some social groups, because she wants to stick to the rules.

She doesn't like bending the rules and breaking the rules, and the friendship group that she wants to get into bend the rules a little bit.

You've noticed that she's buying a lot of clothes and is becoming obsessed with looking good so that she can fit in with her friends.

So what concerns do you have for Aisha? Pause the video and I'll see you in a second.

Some of my concerns with is that word obsessed, isn't it? There's a word in there that said obsessed.

That she's going out and buying clothes, and it may be that if she is that obsessed, it's overriding everything that she does.

And as a result, it's become more of an addiction.

My other concern is clothes can be quite expensive.

Looking good.

That might suggest that she's buying extra more makeup or perfumes and things like that.

That is also extremely expensive.

If she's in school, where's the money coming from to be able to purchase all these things? She may have a part-time job and working extremely hard, which would actually then could suggest she's not doing her schoolwork.

So her schoolwork who take a hit.

So they will be my concerns.

And in which case we would like to hopefully point you in the right direction for treatment.

So treatment for behavioural addictions may vary slightly from chemical addictions.

So the two main treatments for behavioural addiction is a psychological therapy also known as CBT.

Cognitive behavioural therapy.

And this usually the type of therapy that helps people face their fears and obsessive thoughts without putting them right with compulsion.

Generally talking, whether it's in a group or face-to-face, one-to-one, and talking through what are the triggers for those behaviours.

And once and addict or someone who's maybe obsessive about something, once we can identify what those triggers are, we can actually then start to work back a little bit.

But if you recognise that trigger, if that trigger happened what steps are you going to put in place so that you don't end up doing the addictive behaviour? And coming up with strategies.

You can also use medication.

Usually a type of antidepressant medicine medication.

It's not always that people with behavioural addiction may have.

Maybe have depression or obsessive compulsive disorder.

Medication might not be suitable.

For someone who maybe is doing these obsessive behaviours, addictive behaviours, maybe because they are depressed, in which case an antidepressant medication would be suitable and just altering the balance of chemicals in someone's brain.

So that hopefully they then.

Because if they're not having those depressive feelings, it may then not trigger doing the obsessive or addictive behaviour.

So there's loads of help and advice out there for you guys.

If you need any help whatsoever.

I'll just want further information.

Organisations and websites can provide further information for you.

There's YoungMinds, which is a fantastic website.

NHS, which is fantastic as well and the NSPCC.

And all these organisations are here to help you and provide more information.

I really hope you've enjoyed the lesson today.

I really hope you've got something from it and you've learned a lot.

There's going to be more lessons in this unit that will focus on some more of the chemical addictions.

And if you want to learn more, please visit those lessons.

And I look forward to seeing you there.

If you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer to share your work on Twitter, tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak.

And I really look forward to seeing some of your work and some of the ideas and some of the things that you've written down in those tasks today.

I've been Mr. Duffy.

I really hope you've enjoyed the lesson.

I'll see you soon.

See you.

Bye.