| Course | MSW 535 Drugs and Addictive Behaviors |
|---|---|
| Week | 3 |
| Paper type | Tolerance and withdrawal write-up |
| Length | About 520 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 535 Week 3
Tolerance and Withdrawal Write-Up Comparing Opioids and Alcohol: Tolerance as an Adaptation With a Direction, the Effect That Does Not Keep Up, One Class Covering for Another and Why One Withdrawal Is Unbearable and the Other Can Kill
Student Name
Chamberlain University
MSW 535: Drugs and Addictive Behaviors
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Tolerance and Withdrawal Write-Up Comparing Opioids and Alcohol: Tolerance as an Adaptation With a Direction, the Effect That Does Not Keep Up, One Class Covering for Another and Why One Withdrawal Is Unbearable and the Other Can Kill
Tolerance Has a Direction
Tolerance means the same amount of a substance does less, so more is taken to reach the effect the person was already getting. With repeated opioid use, the brain adapts by reducing responsiveness at opioid receptors and changing related systems, so a dose that once brought relief now only keeps withdrawal away (Volkow et al., 2016).
The Effects That Do Not Keep Up
Tolerance does not develop evenly across effects. People become tolerant to the euphoria and sedation of opioids faster than to some other effects. For a client, this means chasing the earlier feeling with larger amounts while the body's protection against slowed breathing does not keep the same pace, which is part of why overdose risk rises.
One Class Covering for Another
Some drugs share effects and can partly substitute for each other, called cross-tolerance. Alcohol and benzodiazepines act on related brain systems. That is why benzodiazepines are used in medical alcohol withdrawal, and also why people who drink heavily may need more of a benzodiazepine for the same effect.
Withdrawal, Timed
Opioid withdrawal, short-acting opioids: begins within hours of the last dose for fentanyl, peaks over one to three days and eases over a week. Symptoms: aching, sweating, yawning, runny nose, diarrhea, vomiting, anxiety, insomnia. Alcohol withdrawal: starts between 6 and 24 hours after drinking stops, with shaking, sweats and anxiety; seizures can occur in the first two days; withdrawal delirium, with confusion, hallucinations and unstable vital signs, can follow in two to four days (Schuckit, 2014).
Unbearable Against Lethal
Opioid withdrawal is miserable and drives people back to use, but it is rarely fatal in itself for otherwise healthy adults. Alcohol withdrawal can kill through seizures and delirium. This difference matters in practice: a client who says "I'm going to quit drinking cold turkey tomorrow" needs a medical plan, while a client stopping opioids needs support, medication and an overdose plan for relapse.
The Danger After Time Away
Tolerance fades during abstinence, in jail, hospital or treatment. A person who returns to the old dose after weeks away can overdose. In Washington State, the risk of death from drug overdose during the two weeks following prison release was many times higher than for other residents (Binswanger et al., 2007).
Dependence Is Not the Diagnosis
Tolerance and withdrawal can occur with any regular use, including prescribed opioids taken as directed. The manual does not count them toward the disorder in that case. Dependence describes the body's adaptation; the disorder describes a harmful pattern.
References
Binswanger, I. A., Stern, M. F., Deyo, R. A., Heagerty, P. J., Cheadle, A., Elmore, J. G., & Koepsell, T. D. (2007). Release from prison: A high risk of death for former inmates. New England Journal of Medicine, 356(2), 157-165. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa064115
Schuckit, M. A. (2014). Recognition and management of withdrawal delirium (delirium tremens). New England Journal of Medicine, 371(22), 2109-2113. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1407298
Volkow, N. D., Koob, G. F., & McLellan, A. T. (2016). Neurobiologic advances from the brain disease model of addiction. New England Journal of Medicine, 374(4), 363-371. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1511480
Reading the MSW 535 Week 3 instructions
The tolerance and withdrawal write-up has two halves that should not blur. Work tolerance first as an adaptation with a direction: the same amount doing less, so more is taken to reach the earlier effect. Name which effects shift and which lag behind, since uneven tolerance creates risk. Explain cross-tolerance where one class covers for another. Then give withdrawal as a timetable, with onset, peak and course, rather than an adjective. Separate withdrawal that is miserable from withdrawal that can kill. Note the danger when tolerance falls after time away. End by distinguishing physical dependence from the disorder, since dependence can occur with prescribed use.
How the MSW 535 Week 3 example is put together
The tolerance section defines the same amount doing less and cites Volkow et al. (2016) on receptor and circuit adaptation. A section explains that euphoria and sedation fade faster than other effects, raising risk. A cross-tolerance section links alcohol and benzodiazepines. The withdrawal section times fentanyl withdrawal over hours to a week and alcohol withdrawal from tremor at six hours to possible seizures and delirium, citing Schuckit (2014). A section contrasts the misery of opioid withdrawal with the lethal potential of alcohol withdrawal and turns that into practice advice. A section cites Binswanger et al. (2007) on deaths after prison release, and the close separates dependence from the disorder.
Reading the MSW 535 Week 3 grading rubric
Faculty grade the write-up on keeping tolerance and withdrawal apart and on showing why each matters. A write-up that merges them, or describes withdrawal as unpleasant without a timeline, loses ground. Credit goes to tolerance described as an adaptation with a direction, attention to effects that lag, cross-tolerance, timed withdrawal and the distinction between unbearable and lethal. The danger after reduced tolerance is expected. Separating dependence from the disorder shows conceptual care. Clinical claims must be accurate and cited in APA. A detox timeline is acceptable if it is attributed and qualified. Practice advice drawn from the comparison, such as a medical plan for stopping alcohol, shows the write-up reached clients. A table of onset and peak times can help.
MSW 535 Week 3 help from the desk
The write-up that loses most describes both processes in general terms with no times and no comparison of danger. Another common error is suggesting that opioid withdrawal is life-threatening in the same way as alcohol withdrawal, or the reverse. Some papers equate physical dependence with addiction, which misdescribes patients on prescribed medication. Others leave out the overdose risk after time away. Covering every class at once usually produces vagueness; two classes in contrast teach more. Built for a different pair, perhaps benzodiazepines and stimulants, the paper should still end with what a worker should do when a client says they are stopping tomorrow. Keep each withdrawal timeline in its own short paragraph.
Get a MSW-535 Week 3 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 3 instructions with the class your section assigned and any table your classroom posts, and a custom example is written to them and returned inside 24 to 48 hours, the first one free. An example here is coursework about drug action, written for a reader who will never select, dose or adjust a medication, and never direction for anyone's care.
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MSW 535 Week 3 questions, answered
Do I have to cover every class in one write-up?
Almost never, and attempting it produces a document with a paragraph of nothing per class. Most sections assign one or ask you to pick, and the assignment is testing whether you can carry a mechanism rather than a table. Where a comparison is required, take two classes that differ in the answer that matters and put them side by side on that single question.
Why does the write-up separate physical dependence from addiction?
Because the two come apart in both directions and the course wants you to see it. Somebody can be physically dependent on a medication taken exactly as directed and meet none of the behavioral criteria. Somebody else can meet almost all of them with a substance that produces little physical dependence at all. A write-up that treats the two as one finding will misread half the records it ever meets.
Can the write-up describe a detox timeline?
As academic content about what the literature reports for that class, yes, and most assignments expect it. What it does not do is turn into a plan for a particular person, because medical withdrawal management belongs to the clinicians running it. Keep the timeline descriptive, cite it to pharmacology sources, and let the practice section say what a worker would watch for rather than what they would do about it.
Where can I find a free MSW 535 Week 3 sample paper?
A complete MSW 535 Week 3 tolerance and withdrawal write-up comparing opioids and alcohol sits on this page in full; notes in the margin mark where danger rises.
Why does the MSW 535 Week 3 sample separate unbearable from lethal withdrawal?
Because opioid withdrawal is miserable but rarely fatal in healthy adults, while alcohol withdrawal can cause seizures and delirium, so the two call for different plans.