Many people today view alcohol and drugs very differently than how they were portrayed years ago. In earlier years, there were not that many drugs that were used to save lives as the several different types of drugs that are used today. Today there are drugs used for different treatments for all kinds of diseases. Drugs are a business in which makes billions of dollars, both legally and illegally. Society views drugs majority of the time as something for saving lives, helping society for the better, but many don’t realize the millions of lives it’s destroying. Substance abuse from alcohol, illegal drugs to over the counter drugs and cigarettes can go from a casual once and a while thing to becoming an addiction. Substance abuse can be a huge gateway to addiction that can escalate very quickly. A lot of the time we convince ourselves that people chose to do these drugs so frequently, that addiction is a willing option they do to them-selves. Substance abuse and addiction are more than an individual problem it is a social issue. Substance abuse is defined as the dependence on an addictive substance (University of Rochester Medical Center, 2014). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that 8.7 percent of Americans older than 12 years of age are addicted to some type of addictive substance (Caron, 2009). Substance abuse doesn’t pertain to a certain person or group; it can range from any age, race, gender, or social class. Several people believe that substance abuse is easy to overcome, when in fact for many substance abusers it is a disease that is hard to cure which could lead into a greater issue, such as addiction. There are steps that someone abusing a substance will go through before becoming addic... ... middle of paper ... ...n individual’s life. Addiction is the same whether the drug is alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, or nicotine. All substances allow the individual to feel the high of feeling good, away from all the issues going on in their life. Though each individual has different reasoning’s behind doing the substance, continuing to constantly use the substance or substances makes the body dependent. Becoming dependent will make you experience uncontrollable cravings and relapse. Your body is at a point that stopping would be very difficult, causing severe physical and mental damage from withdrawal. “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change,” the first step in any process an addict faces is accepting that they are exactly that, an addict. Once that is accepted they are allowing themselves to be open to getting help (Carl Rogers).
Many people dislike the term ‘addiction’ in relation to drugs or other substances, particularly as it infers that a person is powerless over their use of a particular drug or in some circumstances, a number of substances. Whilst others maintain it is this powerlessness that is the foundation of diagnosis and treatment – that treatment is not possible without recognition of addiction itself as the ‘problem’ being addressed. The professional and public perception of addiction is complicated. There are many approaches and models to explain addiction, the role of the addict, and their environment. This essay will compare and contrast two of these approaches, the medical/disease and the social model. Initially this essay will describe the origins of each model, and follow by explaining their respective strengths and weaknesses, and finish with an overview of the key differences between them. This essay will conclude by demonstrating that a holistic approach, and a cross-pollination of these models is the most successful approach to treating addicts. As is the case for all diseases, there are multiple treatment options, and as ever person is different, the results in each individual cannot be predicted.
It is not uncommon to view drug addiction as a problem that is created and maintained by the drug addicts. Most of
This experience helped me to recognize the internal struggle that a substance abuser faces on a continuous basis. In addition, I know that an individual can have a difficult time changing their behavior even when they have a strong desire to change; the smallest thing can cause a person to relapse.
Today, on the other hand, Americans perceive addiction as an illness - an infection that can be dealt with. Alcohol abuse and drug reliance can influence all parts of a person’s life. The long term effects of alcohol and drug usage, both licit and illegal, can cause serious health complications affecting every organ in the body, including the brain. It can also damage emotional and mental stability, finances, careers, and impact family, friends and the entire community in which an alcoholic or drug abuser lives. This type of dysfunctional cycle is passed down from prior generations and the cycle is never
The first thing we will look at is what drug abuse is. Drug abuse is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance, such as cocaine, or heroin, that can cause pleasure, but the continued use of which becomes compulsive and will start interfering with everyday life, such as school, work, parenting responsibilities, or relationships. Addicts are not generally aware that their own behavior is out of control and are usually oblivious to the problems that they are causing to themselves and to others.(“What is Addiction?” 2014) The longer the addiction and addictive behaviors persist, the worse the person will become, and the more dependent they will become on the drug. The reason it is so hard for an addict to change their ways is because the brain’s chemistry is altered from addiction.
When one is addicted to something, whether it be physical or pshychological, they cannot control how they use it therefore become heavily dependent on the substance to cope with every day life. There is a fine line where a habit may develop into an addiction. The use of substances or the engagement in activities can occur without any significant problems whatsoever, however some may suffer and experience damaging and harmful psychological and/or physical effects when their habbit develops into an addiction. A habit is a choice, where one has a choice and ability to stop. There are no psychological or physical effects here, as the person is still in control of the situati...
Most people do not understand how a person become addicted to drugs. We tend to assume that is more an individual problem rather than a social problem. However, teen substance abuse is indeed a social problem considered a priority for the USA department of public health due to 9 out of 10 Americans with addictions started using drugs before the age 18 (CASA Columbia University). Similarly, 1 in 4 Americans with addictions started using the substance during their teenage years, which show a significant different with 1 in 25 Americans with addiction who started using at 21 or older (CASA, 2011).
Addiction is a habit of activity, in which there is a constant use of mood altering substances with no regard for the unfortunate consequences to the mind, body, and soul. There is no demographic that drug and alcohol addiction does not affect; addiction can happen to anyone at any time. People become addicted to drugs and alcohol for many reasons. Some of these reasons are uncontrollable because you’re born with them; others are brought on by environmental factors and poor self-control. The factors that can lead a person to the enslavement of abuse and dependency range from biological elements, influences from the people you surround yourself with, over-the-counter medications that people get hooked on, and the state of mind of the victim of the abuse. Addiction has been affecting people of all ages since before wide scale research was even conducted.
Drug abuse is part of everyday life, most of us know someone who is or was abusing drug at some point. A way to simplify a difficult time in our life, we find an exit in a product that numbs our brain to the surrounding. People find addiction through drugs, activities and action that creates chemical reaction within our bodies. Whether you love jumping off the empire state building or inject yourself with a drug, you are looking for a high that your body enjoys. The body creates chemicals which stop our self-control. According to the CDC website, “Deaths from drug overdose have been rising steadily over the past two decades and have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States.” (Birnbaum HG, web).
As a person continues to utilize drugs and alcohol as a means to regulate their affect or cope with problems, they become less capable of self-regulating or problem solving without the drug. This leads to substance abuse, which left unchecked, leads to the disease that is addiction. I have an integrative outlook of how addiction transpires and manifests; this outlook is a hybrid of the psychodynamic and disease models of
People never seem to understand each other. Maybe people tend to listen to reply instead of listen to understand. Not just drug addiction but all addictions. I now understand that once they get hooked on the addiction it is hard for them to get off of that addiction. Their body may then depend on it. I now know that addiction can make you do some crazy things but you still had the choice to start. You still had the choice to keep going back over and over again. Before you got addicted you made that choice to start you made that choice to never stop doing it, no matter the reason you still made that choice. After becoming addicted, you are still have your choice to stop. But you choose not to, and you choose to become more and more dependent on what you are addicted
Drug abuse and addiction are issues that affect people everywhere. However, these issues are usually treated as criminal activity rather than issues of public health. There is a conflict over whether addiction related to drug abuse is a disease or a choice. Addiction as a choice suggests that drug abusers are completely responsible for their actions, while addiction as a disease suggests that drug abusers need help in order to break their cycle of addiction. There is a lot of evidence that suggests that addiction is a disease, and should be treated rather than punished. Drug addiction is a disease because: some people are more likely to suffer from addiction due to their genes, drug abuse brought on by addictive behavior changes the brain and worsens the addiction, and the environment a person lives in can cause the person to relapse because addiction can so strongly affect a person.
Drugs and abused substances slow down the thinking ability, and the person is unable to judge between right and wrong. Many professionals, flourishing doctors, scientists or intelligent young students, when indulge in substance-abuse, deviate completely from their mission of life and face failure in life because of their drug habit. Some of them end up committing crimes, getting a dangerous disease, losing close relationships etc. They do not realize their true potential, forget their missions, their personal goals and hence, destroy their lives.
Drug abuse dates as far back as the Biblical era, so it is not a new phenomenon. “The emotional and social damage and the devastation linked to drugs and their use is immeasurable.” The ripple of subversive and detrimental consequences from alcoholism, drug addictions, and addictive behavior is appalling. Among the long list of effects is lost productivity, anxiety, depression, increased crime rate, probable incarceration, frequent illness, and premature death. The limitless consequences include the destruction to personal development, relationships, and families (Henderson 1-2). “Understandably, Americans consider drug abuse to be one of the most serious problems” in the fabric of society. And although “addiction is the result of voluntary drug use, addiction is no longer voluntary behavior, it’s uncontrollable behavior,” says Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Torr 12-13).
Alcohol and drug abuse is one of biggest problems in United States today. It is not only a personal problem that dramatically affects individuals' lives, but is a major social problem that affects society as whole. "Drug and alcohol abuse", these phrases we hear daily on the radio, television or in discussions of social problem. But what do they mean or what do we think and understand by it? Most of us don't really view drug or alcohol use as a problem, if that includes your grandmother taking two aspirins when she has a headache or your friends having few beers or drinks on Saturday night. What we really mean is that some drugs or alcohol are being used by some people or in some situations constitute problem with which our society must deal. It becomes a real problem when using or I should say abusing drugs cause accidents, antisocial behavior, broken relationships, family instability, crime and violence, poverty, unsafe streets and highways, worker absenteeism and nonproductivity, and the most tragic one death. The situation in which the drug or alcohol uses accurse often makes all the difference. The clearest example is the drinking of alcohol, when individual begins to drink during the job, at school, or in the morning, we have evidence that indicates a potential drinking problem. If a person takes narcotic drug because he just wrecked his knee while his physician prescribed playing football and the drug, most of us would be not concerned. If, on the other hand, he took the same drug on his own just because he likes the way it makes him feel, then we should begin to worry about him developing dependence. Even use of illegal drugs are sometimes acceptable, but it also depends on situation, for example in some countries smoking marijuana is legal just like drinking alcohol in United States. Some subcultures even in United States that accept the use of illegal drugs may distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable situation, some college age groups might accept marijuana smoking at a party on weekends, but not just before going to a calculus class. Most of people would accept a fact that a bartender or a waiter who is working at a night club is having a beer or a drink on his break or that a landscape worker is having a cold beer with his lunch on a hot summer day. I'm not saying that it is "OK" but we wouldn't complain a...