Substance use and addiction

The transition to adulthood and post-secondary education is a good time to start experimenting with new substances, games, technology, online shopping and more. There are many possibilities that can provide an escape to quickly reduce stress or experience pleasure in the present moment. Consumer behaviours aren’t always harmful. However, it’s important to keep an eye open to minimize your risk of developing an addiction by knowing how to recognize it, or substance abuse, to the point of harming your life and health.

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WHAT IS AN ADDICTION?

Addiction means feeling the need to consume something or perform an action without being able to control oneself, despite the inconvenience. Let’s take a look at the addiction cycle in the illustration below.

When we experience a difficult situation or encounter a problem, an uncomfortable emotion can generate the urge to use a substance or engage in a specific behaviour to reduce suffering. In doing so, the body is soothed, and the brain produces dopamine, also known as the pleasure molecule. It’s at this point, too, that a change occurs in the reward system: the brain registers that the solution put in place has been effective in warding off uncomfortable emotions. However, this state of calm is temporary and can quickly give way to feelings of anxiety, guilt, and shame. Then, as you’ll have guessed… the cycle starts all over again!

Image illustrating the addiction cycle as described in the text.

It’s also important to understand that a tolerance threshold may develop. In others words, the amount of substance will have to be increased or the behaviour repeated more frequently to produce the same dose of dopamine and avoid physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms. This is what happens when, for example, you feel the need to consume three beers rather than one to cope with the stress experienced at the end of the day, or when every evening video game sessions always end a little later.

How to recognize the consequences of addiction?

You observe that the person:

abandons their usual activities, even those they really enjoy.
feels depressed or irritable when unable to use.
isolates themselves from those around them or lies to them about their consumption.
has poor daily hygiene.
has financial problems linked to her consumption.

This video explains it all in a humorous way!

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PSYCHOSTIMULANTS

Psychostimulants such as Concerta and Ritalin are normally prescribed for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In recent years, however, we’ve seen a rise in the popularity of these medications among students without a diagnosis. The desired objective? Perform better. Without being alarmist, it’s important to remember that the use of psychostimulants is not without health risks. It can lead to increased anxiety, strong dependency and even major health problems: high blood pressure, psychotic episodes, heart attack, stroke, etc. Do you really want to perform better? Take a look at these time and emotion management strategies 😉

WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOU SUFFER FROM ADDICTION?

Station SME offers you self-assessment questi o nnaires to take a look at your consumption behavior. The aim of these questionnaires is not to give you a “diagnosis”, but simply to raise your awareness.

If you find that you’re caught in a cycle of addiction, the first step is to offer yourself some kindness. Acknowledging your addiction, or at the very least questioning your behavior, is very important and requires courage.

In this process, it’s often unavoidable to seek help. It’s not easy to change an addictive behavior, and support can be necessary and useful for a number of reasons.

Depending on the substance and the intensity of withdrawal symptoms, it’s not advisable to stop using overnight without support. Stopping needs to be planned, and it can be beneficial to have a space where you can be supported in this change.
Substance use may be a symptom of a deeper problem or malaise that needs to be addressed to treat the addiction. So you’ll probably need to take concrete action on yourself or your environment to bring about a change in your consumption habits.
It may take more than one attempt to break the addiction cycle. But don’t be discouraged. Every little step is important, and will help you to regain your confidence and your self-esteem.

HYPERCONNECTIVITY OR CYBERADDICTION?

Hyperconnectivity is not a loss of control, but rather overexposure to screens and online activity. High levels of activity don’t necessarily mean cyberaddiction, but they can lead to it.

Cyberaddiction is defined as the inability to control one’s screen time, and is often accompanied by symptoms of depression, exhaustion and isolation. This includes, for example, the use of video games, social media and chat applications. A person who has difficulty disconnecting to the point of putting their virtual life ahead of their real life may be suffering from cyberaddiction.

Beware of Doomscroolling

Doomscrolling is the act of obsessively scrolling through your news feed on social networks. Its function: to stay alert and not miss a thing! Unfortunately, this also results in significant negative impacts, such as information overload, anxiety and a loss of meaning. These impacts are amplified if the information consumed is very negative. To prevent the effects of doomscrolling, we suggest taking regular breaks from certain applications and even uninstalling them temporarily. You can also work on accepting that you can’t be aware of everything: you’re always going to miss something!

Strategies for maintaining healthy technology habits

Self-observation

To get a true picture of your logging activities, it’s a good idea to have a notebook handy to keep track of the times and type of logging (device or application used). If your cell allows it, activate the function to get a real overview of connection activities and find out how much time you spend on them. You can also make a list of the inconveniences or emotions you feel when you log on too often.

Setting realistic goals

It’s not a question of totally limiting connection time to all devices and applications, but rather of targeting what is non-essential or problematic. You can, for example, set yourself a goal in line with the desired connection time and use an alarm to stop yourself more easily. The duration can be gradually reduced, or structured in periods (e.g. 2 hours per day or 20 minutes of TikTok per evening).

Change your habits

To change a behavior, it helps to act on your environment and your daily routine. This may involve moving your cell to a less accessible location when recharging, deleting problematic applications or elements from your device, or identifying specific times in your daily routine when you allow yourself connection time (e.g., checking e-mail only after taking a shower in the morning). You can also prioritize daily sports, cultural, social or relaxation activities that don’t involve connection. There are even apps that can limit the time you spend on certain sites if you find it hard to restrict yourself.

What to remember

Consumption may seem like a solution to fill a void or cope with a difficult situation. However, you need to be careful not to overuse this solution, so that it doesn’t harm your life or your health.

Feelings of guilt and shame after using fuel addiction. The stronger these feelings are, the more you try to forget them by using, creating the vicious circle of addiction.

Excessive use of any substance can put your life in danger.

It is possible to treat an addiction. Developing kindness towards yourself and seeking help are often essential elements in overcoming it.

Services at your institution?

If you’re looking for professional help, most CEGEPs and universities offer a variety of support services for their students. Take a look at this page to find out what’s available at your institution.

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