How many substance use disorders are there?

There are two major types of substance-related disorders. These are:

  1. Substance-use disorder, which occurs when a person becomes addicted to a particular drug, which without it, results in withdrawal symptoms.

  2. Substance-induced disorder, which occurs when a person develops a new mental illness only after using drugs. Such conditions may include psychotic, bipolar, depressive, anxiety, sleep, sexual, and neurocognitive disorders.

There are over 10 classes of drugs that can cause substance-related disorder, as stated by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). These include alcohol, caffeine, anti-anxiety and sedative drugs, cannabis, inhalants, opioids, stimulants such as cocaine, tobacco, inhalants, and other abused substances such as growth hormones and laxatives.

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