Understanding Maladaptive Behavior | Substance Abuse
Understanding Maladaptive Behavior | Substance Abuse
The key to understanding Abuse is found in one word, "recurrent."
This does not sound good at all, to most people if they are classified as being "maladaptive." However, if we look closely at what it means, it takes the sting out of the word, if we take the words separately, and work backwards; it's not as bad as it may sound. Adaptive is one word and mal is the other and behavior describes an action. Adaptive means flexible or having the ability to adjust to conditions as the need may arise. Your body adapts to conditions constantly. In the hotter summer months, it sweats to lower your body temperature. Our eyes adapt to lower lights, or bright lights, your pupils expand or contract depending on light conditions. We are built to "adapt." The human body is a marvelous subject, in its adaptive qualities. Therefore "maladaptive" starts to mean, something is not adapting or behaving normally.
What would happen if you did not sweat, or your eyes could not filter out bright lights?
Defining Maladaptive
If we take this word and apply it to different conditions, and study its meaning, we can see what the term is telling us or implying. When our behavior does not meet the status quo or normal behaviors around a certain event that is taking place can be considered maladaptive. If we look at simple examples that could be considered "maladaptive" the term becomes less offensive. We could say wearing a tight black bathing suit to a formal wear black tie event, could be seen as being maladaptive. The behavior does not match the event. Where it could be problematic is if this happens more than once. Repeating the same behavior, after the conditions of the formal event had been thoroughly taught and made perfectly clear. No, it was not a black tight event; it was a black Tie event. And the person agrees, "It will not happen again, I understand the dress code and the rules."
If we thought of what could be "adaptive behavior," in the same scenario, a person invited to the same formal event may rent a tuxedo or a nice suit. But is that what they mean when the APA describes maladaptive behaviors when the criterion of substance abuse is described?
What is the criterion of Substance Abuse?
Substance abuse the APA criterion starts out this way:
Substance abuse is defined as a maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress as manifested by one (or more) of the following, occurring within a 12-month period:
Substance Abuse Piece by Piece.
It says the definition of Substance Abuse is: a maladaptive pattern followed by substance use, which leads to an impairment which is another word for harm, hurt, injury or not doing something as efficient or in a diminished capacity.
If we take all that, and look at what they are saying, if one or more things are happening as the result of using, or misusing a substance, and a pattern develops that stops a person from behaving normally, causing hurt, harm, injury on a recurring basis, or resulting in less than normal capacity.
Substance Abuse Example Number One:
1: Recurrent substance use resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home (e.g. such as repeated absences or poor work performance related to substance use; substance-related absences, suspensions, or expulsions from school; or neglect of children or household).
Sometimes people who use a substance have serious problems at home, work or school-such as:
-neglecting their children
-missing work or school
-doing a poor job at work or school
-losing a job or dropping out of school
Question: During the past 12 months, did using a substance cause you to have serious problems like this either at work, school or home?
Notice: Here the key word is "recurrent" so this is happening "more than once", and it could be you missed work, got kicked out of school or forgot to pick up the kids at school.
Substance Abuse Example Number Two:
2: Recurrent substance use in situations in which it is physically hazardous (such as driving an automobile or operating a machine when impaired: hampered or held back from being able to do some mental or physical task. by substance use).
Question: During the past 12 months did you regularly use a substance and then do something where using that substance that might have put you in physical harm?
Notice: Here the key word again is "recurrent" and this time is making poor decision, getting behind the wheel of a vehicle and impaired. We can call that "drug driving or drunk driving." Does picking up the kids from daycare hung-over count?
Substance Abuse Example Number Three:
3: Recurrent substance-related legal problems (such as arrests for substance related disorderly conduct).
Question: During the past 12 months, did using a substance cause you to do things that repeatedly got you in trouble with the law?
Notice: Here they introduce the legal problems that can happen, how many "drunk driving" arrests does it take per year? One does not constitute Substance abuse, since we are looking for "recurrent" legal problems, is two in the same year a danger sign? Since that is "recurrent."
Substance Abuse Example Number Four:
4: Continued substance use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of the substance (for example, arguments with spouse about consequences of intoxication and physical fights).
Question: During the past 12 months, did you have any problems with family or friends that were probably caused by your use of the substance? Did you continue to use the substance even though you thought it caused problems with family or friends?
Notice: Here they are talking about a behavioral change, "interpersonal problems" induced while they used, misuse a substance that would normally not happen.
B: The symptoms for abuse have never met the criteria for dependence for this class of substance.
Substance Abuse Conclusions:
If you read this do you see anything "repeated?" the key to "abuse" is "recurrent" behaviors that "normally" do not happen.
The term "Maladaptive" and "recurrent" work together. The behavior adapts in the wrong direction.
Continued problems at work or home, continued legal problems, continued relational problems.
Grim, is the term Carlton Erickson used to describe the "abuse" category. If you look over any of the events happening, none of them are typically anything you would want. And this behavior can be treated and altered, by coping skills taught in R2D.
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