Prescription Drug Abuse Worksheet

Prescription drug abuse is one of the ways individuals misuse drugs through self-medication to manage pain or distress, or as a means of self-harm. Drug drug overdose are one of the most prominent causes of emergency psychiatric visits. Sometimes, people use others’ drugs to save time and money.

Spreading awareness about the consequences of this issue is a very important subject can prevent many cases of drug overdose as well as the careless use of prescription drugs. Mostly pain killers, anti-anxiety drugs, sedatives, and stimulants are used without a prescription.

In the light of the information provided above, answer the following question:

Have you ever taken medicine other than a doctor’s prescription?   Yes____ No _______

If the answer to this question is yes, then proceed with the next questions:

Below are some of the recommendations to avoid prescription drug abuse

• Do not take medicine without a prescription. Take the right medicine at the right time.

• Always take medicine prescribed in the exact dosage as advised by a healthcare professional.

• Read the instruction on medicine and follow them carefully.

• Know what your medicine does. Ask the doctor or do a quick internet search.

• Do not use others’ prescriptions to save time and money.

• If any medicine produces adverse effects visit a doctor immediately.

• To avoid the adverse effects of medicine do not opt for home remedies.

• Provide doctors with proper information about all the drugs you are taking

• Do not follow others' recommendations for any medicine.  

Reference

McHugh, R. K., Nielsen, S., & Weiss, R. D. (2015). Prescription drug abuse: from epidemiology to public policy. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 48(1), 1-7

You can download more Mental Health worksheets here.

Please note: There may be a more up-to-date and editable version of this worksheet available here which may be more suitable to present to clients if you are a therapist or to use in a classroom as a teacher or guidance counsellor.