Activity 2 - Week 9 (Rhea D'Silva) by Rhea D'Silva

Mental Health

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

Individuals may engage in substance use due to personal circumstances and mental health issues

Family conflicts

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

Individuals may turn to substance use due to relationship issues or family conflicts, which may in turn be exacerbated by substance use

Achieve a ‘high’

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

People want to enjoy being in a high state, either low or high arousal.

Socioeconomic status

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

Those in lower socioeconomic classes may be more exposed to substances, and may utilise substances as a way to cope with the inequality they face

Discrimination and prejudice e.g. racism

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

Child abuse

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

Children who faced abuse (physical and sexual) are 3.34 times more likely to be admitted to hospital for drug abuse. As well as 2.86 times more likely to be hospiitalised for alcohol use

Lack of healthy system support

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

The health system lacks infrastructure to support addicts and requires more harm reduction methods to be presented to drug using community areas.

Past trauma

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

Some may use drugs to cope with emotional pain related to trauma such as abuse etc.

Legalisation/harm reduction

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

The criminalisation of many substances may exacerbate the harm as it focuses on persecuting offenders rather than offering harm reduction

Peer pressure

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

People may be enticed to engage in substance use due to those around them and wanting to be accepted

Health system not equipped

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

The health system is overwhelmed with many countries and struggles to meet the demands placed on it, exacerbating its intolerance to adapting to different groups' needs. People feel like they can't go to health care centres for help, mistrust of doctors linked to discrimination

Media depiction and stigmatisation

2025-09-17 23:45:32 UTC

The reflection of drug use and harm reduction resources in major media outlets. i.e. safe injecting rooms in Richmond; a lot of media attention (particularly Murdoch media) focused on the locality of the safe injecting rooms & misrepresenting where they were placed, instead of focusing on the regulation and safety of the injecting rooms.