Key terms
- Substance use disorder
- The medical term for problematic substance use, ranging from mild to severe.
- Tolerance
- Needing more of a substance to get the same effect.
- Withdrawal
- Physical and emotional symptoms when someone stops or cuts down after regular use.
- Craving
- A strong urge to use that rises and falls like a wave.
- Trigger
- A person, place, feeling or situation that sets off a craving.
- Relapse
- A return to use after a period of stopping.
- Detox
- Medically supervised clearing of a substance from the body, with withdrawal care.
- Dual diagnosis
- Having an addiction and a mental health condition together.
- CBT
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which changes unhelpful thoughts and habits.
- Motivational interviewing
- A respectful style of counselling that builds your own reasons to change.
- Aftercare
- Follow-up support after treatment to prevent relapse.
- Enabling
- Well-meant actions that unintentionally let addiction continue, such as covering up or paying off debts.
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