Craig Ferguson quoted in his book American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot, “ Ros was dead. He had loved heroin more than it loved him. I was shocked beyond imagining; he was the first of friends to fall.” We see many addictions in the modern era addictions to food, sniffing, shopping, and some of the weirdest addictions humans didn't know others could be so attracted to. Any addiction can be overcome it might be effortless to some, and to others, most likely, the situation might be crucial to ones health. Ferguson wasn’t referring to any simple addition one could overcome fast he was discussing an intense addiction that takes lives, heroin. “Heroin was first synthesized from morphine in 1874.” This action aided the sprout of heroin empires, drug lords, …show more content…
“A study from the University of Edinburgh autopsied the brains of 34 opiate abusers (they were using heroin or methadone).” This activity helped them understand the causes that heroin is inducing in the vital organ that carries all functioning activities the brain. When the university started these studies they wanted people whose brains didn't have any head or anytype of brain injury.When they obtained the results of this experiment they were shocked to see that “the brain showed brain damage similar to the early stages of Alzheimer’s.” Not only does the brain experience early stages of Alzheimers, but also the abuse of heroin can start to deteriorate the brain. When the brain is at deterioration stage it can cause permanent severe damage. Deterioration of the brain is like soggy food it makes the brain spongy “resulting in overall weakness, spastics attacks and permanent hand tremor.” If you are left with these permanent symptoms then how do you expect to sustain yourself when you're older? Heroin can also cause slurred speech and emotional damage like “depression and lack of
Addiction is one of the hardest problems to overcome, yet people often find some reward in abusing drugs. We all ask the question to what makes a person an addict, or why is it so hard for drug addicts to kick a drug problem. However, can we say that getting a hold of drugs is much easier in today’s society, or is it made available to easy. In this day and age, heroine seems to be a major epidemic; furthermore, opiates have been around for centuries. Therefore, people have been battling addiction for as long as opiates have been around. In Drugstore Cowboy, the film takes a look in to the life of four people who rob drugstores in order to support their habit; however, this lifestyle
Satel tells us, “While theoretically anyone can become an addict, it is more likely the fate of some” (1). Amongst those in that category are women who were
In the YouTube video titled “Heroin Dangers – Mayo Clinic” the affects of heroin are explained, it is derived from morphine and is highly addictive. It can be smoked or injected; when it’s injected it can be very dangerous. It enters the brain and then stimulates the brain to release dopamine. The high will last about a thirty minutes on average. The problem is that it also can be contaminated with dangerous substances. There have been deaths in several states because of the contaminants that have been found in heroin. The respiratory system can be slowed down which can cause the heart to stop and can lead to death. After heroin usage there is a very quick spike of dopamine levels, so this is a reinforcement for the user that will cause
“Alcohol ruined me financially and morally, broke my heart and the hearts of too many others,” wrote comedian Craig Ferguson, in his book American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of An Unlikely Patriot. Alcohol consumption is a learned behavior - no one enjoys the taste of alcohol at first. People drink out of curiosity, out of custom (toasting the newlyweds), or to elude unpleasant feelings. However, out of constant drinking comes alcoholism: a term to describe the disease formed by the continuous misuse of alcohol. Although it is considered a disease, it is specifically an addictive illness (Benton). Those affected by alcoholism range wider than just the person who has developed it. Thus, persons with alcoholism are a detriment in today’s society by not only damaging their own bodies, but also martyring their families mentally and physically.
This is then followed by insightfully examining the treatment process, specifically through grace as a key focus of overcoming addiction. May focus heavily on desire as the main cause of addiction. He sees addiction as a way to fulfill a universal need that all people have. The text focuses on how we all have this need we want met and that we desire to have more in life. The author looks at how through our desire we all fall victims to addiction because of the fall.
Heroin being a drug that has a high addiction rate and horrible side effects makes it a hard drug to display in an objective manner. But despite that the producers display the ability to recover from heroin addiction. For instance the filmmakers show a man who is recovering from drug addiction through switching to another drug “Methadone” as a first step towards recovery. That man is now clean even though he still lives with a group of heroin addicts. Which makes the author neutral towards the drug and people of
In his article “internet addiction”, published in 2010 by Reason Magazine, Greg Beato tries to show how internet addiction, an excessive behavior brought up by the psychiatrist Ivan Gilbert, is an important issue for the society and why it should be considered as a behavior disorder. He supports his thesis by using a lot of evidence such as graphics, statistics, and researches. Although, Beato’s arguments about the causes of internet addiction and the reasons why it should add to the DSM are mostly true, some of his observations on the future are pessimistic.
According to Leshner, drug addiction is a chronic brain disease that is expressed in the form of compulsive behaviors (Leshner, 2001). He believes that drug addiction is influence by both biological, and behavioral factors, and to solve this addiction problem we need to focus on these same factors. On the other hand, Neil Levy argues that addiction is not a brain disease rather it is a behavioral disorder embedded in social context (Levy, 2013). I believe, drug addiction is a recurring brain disease that can be healed when we alter and eliminate all the factors that are reinforcing drug addiction.
Prolonged abuse of any substance can cause long-lasting, widespread changes in brain function and structure. This fact should then encourage research exploring ways to treat this disease—addiction—because of how universally the effects of substance abuse are felt. Its implications are even felt in the realm of public health, seeing as how drug-use is responsible for the transmission of many diseases (ex: AIDS, hepatitis), and a recognition of this abuse as a brain disorder “characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use” will help lower social costs for the consequences and ineffective treatment of the disease (1).
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.
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).
Science Education says that continuous taking of drugs causes changes in brain chemical system, including glutamate, a neurotransmitter will influence the reward circuit system and can become abnormally low. It also affects the ability to experience, learn and the pleasure. Now the abusers want to generate the dopamine high by taking higher amount of drugs than what they used to, for more effets. Finally the abuser will be completely addicted for drugs and that causes brain diseases.
The leading cause of addictions is still just a theory. Many people have different opinions on the cause of addictions. The lack of endorphin-enhancing experiences is the main reason that Gabor Mate believes is the leading cause of addictions. Mate is a counsellor who has lots of experience with people who have addictions. Mate includes multiple short paragraphs about his patients and their addictions. One that really stood out was a former sex-worker who explains her first shot of heroin “Felt like a warm, soft hug.” (288), this suggests that she was lacking comfort and emotional support but found it in drugs rather than in a person. Many addicts are looking for something to provide them with the comfort and safety
So, it is clear that addiction is all around us and can attack anyone of us at any given time. Even studies conducted show that people neglect to speak around their dependency for two primary reasons. Foremost, because people do not comprehend, or they bear a total misconception to their addiction, that they do not realize that addictions can be critical to their overall wellness. Moreover, second, many people believe being an addict will never happen to them, but, in reality, most addictions start off as simple little habits. Such as starting with one drink after dinner and before you know it you are drinking several drinks a day. However, one does not opt to be addicted to a substance, because addictions are physical defects in the brain, a disease, and not one’s choice.
Abuse can cause countless medical problems to the body. A person who is addicted will continue to stimulate themselves regardless if they are aware of the negative chain reactions. Once addicted, it becomes difficult to stop due to how the body has become dependent. Health will be harmed the more a stimulant is used. Health effects include: cardiovascular disease, strokes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, lung disease, mental disease, birth defects. Mental health is what keeps a person in the right mind to make better decisions and have better control in life. Drugs have the ability to change mood and behavior. If drugs have affected the brain already, the desire increases which changes mental health. Some may not realize that they have been affected their health negatively. “A person who abuses drugs may not realize they have a problem until pronounced effects of drug abuse are seen, often physically. While drug abuse effects on the body vary depending on the drug used, all drug abuse negatively impacts one 's health (Addictions Community). Since drugs create many health issues, treatment is not a simple task. Treatments are hard to obtain and addictions often go