Name
Capella University
NURS FPX 4300
Prof. Name
December, 2024
Intervention: Sam & Brad’s Drug-Filled Codependency
The episode Sam & Brad’s Drug-Filled Codependency explores a fascinating picture of relationship dynamics between Sam and Brad who are two entangled addicts struggling with SUDs. Sam & Brad’s narrative is based on codependency the awareness of addiction reciprocally fosters the continuation of drug dependency. Their day-to-day functioning involves using substances, seeking substances, and recovering from such use, little or no space is left for productive activities, social relations, or stability. The episode demonstrates what addiction has cost them in terms of health, legality, and strained family dynamics (Browne et al., 2019). The pressure they put on their relationship, however, is immediate and toxic because they tend to assist each other in matters that can only lead to more harm.
It would let them see how much they hurt others, and families, who are both angry and sad about the sight of their destruction. The structured nature of the packaged help style used by addiction specialists makes both Sam and Brad face the worst of the addiction and the amount of harm it has brought into their lives. The series puts into the viewers’ disposal the very individual narration of a man who urgently needs to have individualized treatment plans drawn up concerning substance use while emphasizing the relational context present here.
Comparison of Addiction Concepts
This episode overthrows one of the most widespread community beliefs of today about addiction and reveals a much more profound problem that goes far beyond the image of a weak-willed person who cannot resist his temptations (Eichmeyer & Zhnag, 2022). This paper presents the story of Sam and Brad to explain the evolution of addiction as a chronic disease due to a cocktail of genes, trauma, and environmental triggers. Most people consider addiction as a decision; in this episode, there are compulsions involving persons who have such a strong desire for the substance that they cannot rationally make any decision but to take in the substance. In such a view, it would make their case best fitted under the medical model of addiction since the changes that lead to dependency have nothing to do with the defectiveness of moral standing. The view also assists in reducing such concepts of stigmatization over addiction, hence making the basis for the treatment through compassion and research evidence intervention possible.
Meets the Substance Use Disorder Criteria
Both Sam and Brad meet the criteria provided in the DSM-5 on substance use disorders according to Siewchaisakul et al. (2020). It would impose the stipulation of the DSM-5 that substance use disorder must be a pattern of substance use that causes clinically significant impairment or distress. Ways are: The inability to control the usage, the continued usage even when physical and or psychological ailment arises through the usage, tolerance, and or withdrawal symptoms. When Stacey and Sean are shown in the episode, what are the two of them powerfully addicted to, that is, more than health, family, work, and other responsibilities? For example, Sam’s physical appearance looks very unhealthy because of the long-time substance dependency while Brad still steals just to feed this habit. Both of them pull back tremendously if they cannot access some compound, which just makes it even more evident that they are physiologically hooked.
Current stage
Concerning behavior and attitude, Sam and Brad are still in the contemplation level of change that is associated with the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) (Soffin et al., 2018). It is at this stage that one starts to realize that he/she has a certain kind of problem but he/she is not willing to take certain actions to settle it. The two characters represent scenes of clarity where one realizes that their substance is damaging health, relationships, and even the future. They do this, however, with intense ambivalence; while on the whole, most of them either justify this procedure or demonstrate the fear of encountering problems in the process of recovering. This puts the individuals in the contemplation stage because they have the desire but are not ready for a commitment. That now means preparation toward action means the process should include some motivational support and education on the benefits of change to counteract fears and doubts recovering patients may have.
Rehabilitation Appropriateness
The approach that Sam and Brad chose for rehabilitation seemed quite appropriate because it focused on substance use by both to address the codependency that characterized the relationship they had. The intervention process was centered mainly on the need for the couple’s separation for treatment because their toxic relationship, in particular, appeared to be a major barrier to the clients’ recovery (Siewchaisakul et al., 2020). This is evidence-based practice and looking at the fact that adding the ‘unhealthy relationship patterns’ as cross-cutting issues can only add to the prospects for better-sustained recovery. Sophisticated medical detoxification, the inclusion of planning necessary aftercare therapy for their treatable emotional and psychological issues was input into the plan. This though was dependent on whether or not they were willing and ready for a full-blind commitment to the procedure.
PSYC FPX 4300 assessment 2 Conclusion
In the final analogy, yes, “Sam & Brad’s Drug-Filled Codependency” is an episode that drives the point of how complex addition is, and the highly complex codependent behaviors exhibited in a relation. Good analytical outlining as per both through criteria of the DSM-5 and the Transtheoretical Model gives passable evidence that these two persons are well-entrenched within substance use disorders that are laden with great evidence of change (Wang et al., 2019). Whatever kind of appropriateness they exemplified, the interventions and rehabilitation cautioned that this struggle is not just a fight against a substance but a lot more the patterns of the relationship for it which is perceived as stunning since the goal is to convey that each of them is being treated for the particular difference with better, empirical methods of venturing the strategies essential with physical and mental range above combating this addiction.
PSYC FPX 4300 assessment 2 References
Browne, C. J., Godino, A., Salery, M., & Nestler, E. J. (2019). Epigenetic mechanisms of opioid addiction. Biological Psychiatry, 87(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.027
Eichmeyer, S., & Zhang, J. (2022). Pathways into opioid dependence: evidence from practice variation in emergency departments. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 14(4), 271–300. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20210048
Soffin, E. M., Lee, B. H., Kumar, K. K., & Wu, C. L. (2018). The prescription opioid crisis: Role of the anaesthesiologist in reducing opioid use and misuse. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 122(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2018.11.019
Siewchaisakul, P., Luh, D.-L., Chiu, S., Yen, A., Chen, C.-D., & Chen, H.-H. (2020). Smoking cessation advice from healthcare professionals helps those in the contemplation and preparation stage: An application with transtheoretical model underpinning in a community-based program. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 18(57). https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/123427
Wang, S.-C., Chen, Y.-C., Lee, C.-H., & Cheng, C.-M. (2019). opioid addiction, genetic susceptibility, and medical treatments: a review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20174294
