Substance use disorders. Difficulties in diagnoses.
Patients attempt, consciously or unconsciously, to minimize or disguise their substance use, in part to preserve shreds of self-respect, avoid guilt and shame, and avoid the real or imagined criticism of others. It is ironic that substance users not only use the substance to gain access to pleasant events or escape or avoid unpleasant events, but also to deny, minimize, or disguise that very use for the same reasons.
Ross
S M
SM
Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, USA.
Chappel
J N
JN
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology