Difference between physical dependence and psychological dependence on drugs

In the drug world we usually talk about two different types of addiction: The physical dependence and psychological dependence. Today, we tell you what is the difference between these two types of dependence (which is not the same as addiction, it should be noted).

Content

• Tolerance, dependence and abstinence syndrome
  • 1. Drug tolerance
  • 2. Dependency and withdrawal syndrome
• So what is the difference between physical and psychological dependence?
• What kind of dependence is worse?
  • Bibliographic references

Tolerance, dependence and abstinence syndrome

To explain the difference between both types of dependence, the best thing to do is explain the three elements with which it is dealt when someone begins to consume drugs, which are the tolerance, the dependence and the abstinence syndrome.

1. Drug tolerance

Tolerance is the adaptation mechanism that the body has to accept and support the presence of the substance. This allows to avoid immediate damage to the body, but, at the same time, the pleasant effects.

It is because of that a person who has been consuming a drug to feel the same effect for a long time to feel the same effect. At the same time, it is the reason that a person who has been consuming time can consume an amount that would kill a new person who consumes it for the first time.

2. Dependency and withdrawal syndrome

The dependency, meanwhile, It is the need to consume the drug, And, as the title of this article indicates, it can be physical or psychological. And, linked to dependence, there is abstinence syndrome, which is a clinical picture that appears when there is physical dependence.

So what is the difference between physical and psychological dependence?

The main difference between physical and psychological dependence is that One is a physiological or organic dependence and the other is a mental dependence. Physiological dependence implies damage when the substance is abandoned, because the body has become accustomed to it.

Thus, we find that it is the physical dependence that generates the withdrawal syndrome when it stops consumed, but does not happen with the psychological dependence.

However, here we must mention something important and that is rarely taken into account, and that is that physical dependence itself does not constitute an addiction to this substance (it is true that they usually go hand in hand, but not necessarily).

For example, imagine that you are in the hospital and make you morphine in a recurrent way because you have a pain that justifies it. It is likely that, at the end of the treatment, you have abstinence syndrome, because your body has developed physical dependence.

However, since there is no psychological dependence (that is, you have not built a whole series of stories and mental traps that lead you to think that you need the substance), you will not have problems to stop consuming it. You will simply spend a bad days with the withdrawal syndrome, and it is already.

However, it is true that the usual thing is that both types of dependence go hand in hand.

In fact, A good example of psychological dependence are antidepressants or sleep pills. The person may have overcome the original problem and, physiologically, be ready to live without the consumption of these substances.

However, he has built a series of stories that lead him to think that, without antidepressants or without sleeping pills, he may not be either chemically or will not be able to sleep. There is an addiction, although the physical dependence is minimal (or non -existent).

What kind of dependence is worse?

It usually thinks that physical dependence is worse than psychological, Because physical dependence is linked to harder drugs, Like cocaine or heroin injected, while psychological dependence is associated with softest drugs, such as marijuana or LSD (although this last case, does not generate any type of dependence, for reasons that do not come to the case).

However, The truth is that it is the really serious psychological dependence, as we have seen before. It is the psychological dependence that makes us think that we need the substance for our day to day.

Therefore, in any attempt to overcome an addiction, you have to work hard in the psychological dependence, making the consumer who is not necessary the substance to develop their life normally.

One last note: We have said that physical dependence generates a picture of abstinence syndrome with nausea, pain or even hallucinations (as in the case of alcohol). However, Psychological dependence can also generate something similar.

Physiologically, you should not generate any of those symptoms. But the mind is very powerful, and certain thoughts can be somatized. Therefore, you may stop consuming sleeping pills really make it cost to sleep more, but it is something psychological that somatizes, it is not something physiological.

As you can see, Physical dependence and psychological dependence on a drug are not the same. That is why it should be differentiated, because, otherwise, any analysis we do will be biased and we will not be able to understand the implications of these substances well.

Bibliographic references

• Domínguez, j. M., & Megías, to. (2019). Drug dependence: concepts, classification and treatment. Barcelona: Elsevier.
• Strain, e. C. (2020). Opioid Use Disorder: Epidemiology, Pharmacology, Clinical Manifens, Course, Screening, Assessment, and Diagnosis. Drug and alcohol dependence, 206, 107716.
• Vázquez, J. J. (2018). Addiction treatment manual. Madrid: Synthesis.
• Yen, c. F., HSU, c. C., Wang, p. W., et al. (2019). Psychiatric Comorbidity in Adolescents With Substance Use Disorders: Findings from A Nonclinical Sample. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 104, 25-32.
• Kaplan, h. Yo., Sadock, b. J., & Grebb, J. TO. (2017). Treaty of psychiatry. Barcelona: Elsevier.