In today’s lesson, we’re addressing topic #3 from the mental health survey that our community members asked to learn about: addiction & substance abuse in Spanish.
Here is the Discussing Substance Abuse in Spanish lesson that I taught on YouTube and to our Facebook group:
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As we learn to talk about addiction and substance abuse in Spanish, we will focus on the following:
- Questions about substance use
- Physical signs and symptoms of substance abuse
- Behavioral signs and symptoms of substance abuse
- A model for stages of change
- Therapies for substance abuse
- Medications for substance abuse
Preguntas sobre el uso de sustancias – Questions About Substance Use
In this section, you will learn how to make some questions regarding the use of the most common abused substances in the US, specifically:
- Alcohol
- Tabaco / Tobacco
- Otras drogas:
- Marijuana
- Analgésicos, calmantes / Painkillers
- Cocaína / Cocaine
- Heroina / Heroin
- LSD (ácido lisérgico)
- Metanfetaminas – Meth
El uso de tabaco – Tobacco Use
Let’s start with some vocabulary and then we dive deeper into the questions:
Vocabulario:
- Cigarro / Cigar
- Cigarrillo / Cigarette
- Paquete o Cajetilla / A pack
- Fumar / To smoke
- Mascar / To chew
- Vapear / To vape
- ¿Alguna vez ha usado tabaco? / Have you ever used tobacco?
- ¿Cuánto usa en un día normal? / How much do you use on a normal day?
- ¿Fuma cigarrillos (electrónicos)? / Do you smoke (E-) cigarettes?
- ¿Cuántas cajetillas fuma por día? / How many packs do you smoke per day?
- ¿Vapea? / Do you vape?
- ¿Cuántos cartuchos vapea por día? / How many cartridges do you vape per day?
- ¿Fuma puros? / Do you smoke cigars?
- ¿Usa tabaco de mascar? – Do you use chewing tobacco?
El uso del alcohol – Alcohol Use
Vocabulario:
- Cerveza / Beer
- Licor / Hard alcohol
- Vino / Wine
- Tragos / Drinks
- Copas / Glass of…
- Tomar / Drink
- Consumir / Consume
- Estar borracho(a) / To be drunk
- Estar tomado(a) / To be drunk
- ¿Aproximadamente cuántos tragos toma en una semana? / Approximately, how many drinks you drink per week?
- En el último año, ¿ha tomado más de lo debido? / In the past year, have you drink more than you should have?
- ¿Ha pensado en disminuir el consumo de alcohol? / Have you thought about reducing your alcohol consumption?
- ¿Alguna vez se ha molestado cuando le han dicho de su uso de alcohol? / Have you ever got annoyed when someone has commented about your alcohol use?
- ¿Se siente culpable por la cantidad de alcohol que usa? / Do you feel guilty about the amount of alcohol that you use?
- ¿Se ha levantado tomándose un trago para empezar el día? / Have you gotten up with a drink to start your day?
El uso de drogas – Drug Use
Vocabulario:
- Drogas de la calle / Street drug
- Inhalar / Inhale
- Inyectarse / To inject
- Jeringas / Syringes
- Agujas / Needles
- Pastillas / Pills
- Sobredosis / Overdose
- Estar drogado(a) / To be high
- ¿Con qué frecuencia usa drogas? / How often do you use drugs?
- ¿Cada cuánto usa drogas? / How often do you use drugs?
- ¿Usa marijuana? ¿En qué forma? / Do you use marijuana? In what way?
- En el último año ¿ha usado drogas más de lo debido? / In the past year, have you used more drugs than you should have?
- ¿Ha pensado en disminuir el consumo de drogas? / Have you thought about reducing your drug consumption?
- ¿Alguna vez se ha molestado cuando le han dicho de su uso de drogas? / Have you ever got annoyed when someone has commented about your drug use?
- ¿Se siente culpable de la cantidad de drogas que usa? / Do you feel guilty about the amount of drugs that you use?
Ahora hablemos de síntomas – Now let’s talk about symptoms
Síntomas físicos – Physical Symptoms
| Spanish | English |
| Incapacidad de dormir y/o estar despierto en momentos extraños | Inability to sleep and/or keeping strange waking hours |
| Cambios en apetito (más o menos), o hábitos alimenticios | Changes in appetite (more or less), or eating habits |
| Manos temblorosas, palmas frías | Shaking hands, cold sweating palms |
| Ojos rojos, acuosos, pupilas grandes o pequeñas | Red, watery eyes; large or small pupils |
| Olores extraños (aliento, cuerpo, ropa) | Strange odors (breath, body, clothing) |
| Hiperactividad | Hyperactivity |
| Caminar despacio, marcha inestable | Walking slowly, unsteady gait |
| Pulso irregular | Irregular pulse |
| Cara hinchada, rubor, estar pálido | Swollen face, flushing, looking pale |
| Deterioro general de la higiene y/o salud física | General deterioration of hygiene and/or physical health |
| Retorcer la mandíbula de un lado para otro | Twisting the jaw from one side to the other |
| Marcas de agujas | Needle marks |
Síntomas conductuales – Behavioral Symptoms
| Spanish | English |
| Cambios en la actitud o personalidad | Changes in attitude or personality |
| Menos rendimiento (desempeño) escolar (profesional) | Less school (professional) performance |
| Cambios en las actividades y pasatiempos | Changes in activities and hobbies |
| Deshonestidad | Dishonesty |
| Dificultad para prestar atención, enfocarse | Difficulty paying attention, focusing |
| Falta de motivación, energía, auto-estima | Lack of motivation, energy, self-esteem |
| Irritabilidad, nervios, cambios en el ánimo | Irritability, nervousness, mood swings |
| Conducta secreta, sospechosa | Secret, suspicious behavior |
| Necesidad de dinero, robar dinero | Need for money, steal money |
¡Gracias POR compartir su aventura de español conmigo!
Su tarea – Your Homework
- Review the notes & vocabulary
- Identify additional points and topics to discuss with patients
- Let me know if you need help 🙂
- Remember to keep it simple if you need to
- Ask for help in the comments below
- Give it a try with your patients!
Now it’s your turn! I packaged all of this vocabulary in Spanish into some flashcards for you to study.
Keep up the good work speaking responsible Spanish to your patients! Check out our other books, classes & products to help you learn medical Spanish!
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Thanks for taking the time to do this. I learned a few new words like mascar, rubor , acuoso, marcha, y cartucho
Excelente material didactico. Gracias, solo un pequeno comentario para aumentar el vocabulario:
Cigarro-puro-cigar.
Gracias