What is the Difference Between Substance-Induced Disorders and Substance Use Disorders?

In both mental and physical health, the use of certain substances can cause problems in the short and long term.

When these substances are misused or cause a dangerous reaction, a Substance-related Disorder may be diagnosed.

However, amongst substance-related disorders there are two different sub-groups. Namely, Substance-induced Disorders and Substance Use Disorders.

These two conditions – while similar – are different. So what is the difference between them? We analyse this in this article.

Substance-Related Disorders

As discussed, conditions that involve misusing or abusing substances are known as Substance-Related Disorders.

The substances involved are typically those with high potential for abuse. It is this potential for abuse which makes them a common cause of substance problems.

For example, these substances include strong opioids like Heroin or Oxycontin, sedatives, hypnotics, amphetamines and more.

The differences

The key distinction between substance-induced disorders and substance use disorders is as follows:

• Substance-Induced Disorders refer to conditions caused by the immediate effects or discontinuation from substance use. For example, this may include intoxication or withdrawal.
• Substance Use Disorders refer to conditions that involve the negative consequences that arise from continued use of substances. Therefore, this typically involves addiction.

So substance-induced disorders can be short-term in nature. Although substance use disorders are typically long-term.

Substance-induced disorders mirror most mental health conditions in terms of their name. For example, conditions are named like Substance-induced Depressive Disorder or Substance-induced Anxiety Disorder.

Meanwhile Substance Use disorders will involve the name of the substance in the condition name. For example, these include Alcohol Use Disorder, Opioid Use Disorder and Phencyclidine Use Disorder among others.

The conditions both typically have a form of talking therapy as their primary form of treatment. Therapy can help significantly with choosing healthier coping mechanisms.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Family Therapy and Therapeutic Communities are all popular types of therapy to undergo. There are a range of other types of therapy though.

Comorbid mental health conditions

Both substance-induced disorders and substance use disorders often run alongside other mental health conditions – which further compounds the misery for those with the condition.

For example, many people will have Depression, and choose to self-medicate with a substance that takes the pain away for them.

Or, similarly, some will have a Trauma-based condition like Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They may turn to a substance to cope with their symptoms.

Summary

Overall, there are some key differences between substance-induced disorders and substance use disorders. These key differences are important to consider.

Getting treatment is very important for both conditions. You can read more about how these conditions are treated here.

See Also

• Substance-Related Disorders Homepage
• Substance Related Disorders: Everything You Need To Know
• What is the Difference Between a Hallucination and a Delusion?
• Wynne Doyle: Death by Opiates