Drug addiction has become a problem that is increasing vastly among our society. Drugs can harm the body, interfere with plans for the future, breaking families apart, or even lead to harming one’s body. The possibilities are endless and drug users often believe they are in control and will not end up addicted, but addiction can trap the strongest people. Our peers and social media influence us daily, no matter if the peer pressure is direct or indirect, something might influence their decision to start using drugs. Scientists for the past century have been studying the effects of drugs abuse. They are working around the shadows of powerful myths and misconceptions about the nature of addiction since the 1930’s. When scientists first began …show more content…
The first is, drugs addicts have a lifelong course characterized by frequent relapse, cross addiction and a common set of behavioral changed. Meaning they are struggling to quit on their own. The second reason, like other chromic medical disorder, genetics play an important role in determining who is at risk to becoming addicted. For example, parents and other family members who engage in activities that involved drugs can increase the risk of the children developing a drug problem later in life as well because they have been influenced and taught to do so by their peers. Finally, there are effective medications that treat drug addiction by blocking the rewarding effects of drug and decreasing the drug craving (Volkow, 2014, p. …show more content…
Scientist have found two ways the brain is disrupted while taking drugs, the first is, by imitating the brains natural chemical messengers and is second is by overstimulating the reward circuit of the brain (Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction, 2012, p.1). Drugs are fooling the brains neurotransmitters and active nerve cells into sending abnormal messages to the body, which is causing problems for completing basic tasks. As a person continues to take drugs, the brain will start to adapt to the overwhelming surges in dopamine. Which will result in the brain producing less and causing the pleasure that the individual once had, less of an effect, which will cause them to use more drugs, reach their desired pleasure. However, with continued use of drug, a person’s ability to apply self-control can become seriously impaired, and this impairment in self-control is the sign of addiction (Darke, 2007, p. 5). Brain imaging studies of people with addiction show physical changes in areas of the brain that are critical to judgment, decision making, learning and memory, and behavior control. Scientists believe that these changes alter the way the brain Works and may help explain the compulsive and destructive behaviors of addiction (Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction, 2014, p.
There are many biological factors that are involved with the addicted brain. "The addicted brain is distinctly different from the nonaddicted brain, as manifested by changes in brain metabolic activity, receptor availability, gene expression, and responsiveness to environmental cues." (2) In the brain, there are many changes that take place when drugs enter a person's blood stream. The pathway in the brain that the drugs take is first to the ventral tegmentum to the nucleus accumbens, and the drugs also go to the limbic system and the orbitofrontal cortex, which is called the mesolimbic reward system. The activation of this reward system seems to be the common element in what hooks drug users on drugs (2).
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.
Several studies have been done to try to determine what makes someone go from using a drug once experimentally to becoming a drug addict. One of the most popular theories was created by Inaba and Cohen that is called the Biopsychosocial Theory. This theory takes many different factors in hand to try to explain further how a drug addiction has been influenced using three different factors, heredity, environment, and the use of psychoactive drugs (Inaba and Cohen 75). It has been found that the “intial structure and chemistry of the nervous system” is passed down through many generations and that “behaviors seem to have an inheritable component (Inaba and Cohen 76). This shows that certain actions that are associated with drugs, gambeling, etc can be influenced by addictive behaviors that were prevalent generations ago. Environment plays a huge factor in determining how drug addiction will affect a person, family dynamics, age, race, peer pressure, and tragedy are reasons someone may feel compelled to use which could lead to later continual drug abuse. Lastly, the use of psychoactive drugs plays an essential part in turning an experimental phase into a full blown drug addiction.
They are in most cases driven by addiction from the surrounds in which they have grown up in. For some, they may not necessarily end up addicts but carry lifelong scars. Quitting an addiction does not fully rely on one 's willpower. The brain change in addicts makes them adapt to the drug and hence the difficulty to quit. Pressure from loved ones plays an important role in their lives turn around. Addiction is not necessarily a helpless situation as it may be seen by non-addicts. When an addict seems not to guarantee recovery from his first treatment, many may give up on him. However, it takes persistence and patience for one to fully recovery. (Volkow,
It has become one of the major social problems of our day, leaving a great number of families and communities within our country devastated and without hope of recuperation for any of their afflicted members and loved ones. Growing to become a big social challenge affecting all aspects of the American society, addiction rates have escalated to enormous proportions within the country as reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Addiction has been described as a chronic brain disorder,” resulting from adaptations in the brain that leads to changes in behavior”, according to Dr. Nora Volkow, who also assert that it can be treated (NIDA 2006).
The brain controls pretty much everything you do, even while asleep. When drugs enter the brain, the substance can disturb the organ and change how the brain performs its duties to function. These changes are what lead to a continuous yearning for drugs or addiction. The signals a drug sends to the brain get confused with that of a euphoric chemical called dopamine, which makes you feel good. After repeated use of drugs the brain in most cases becomes damaged and irreparable. Adolescents are more prone to addiction due to the fact that their brains are not yet fully developed. The lack of maturity of the brain give health specialist the theory that drug use at an older age will reduce the chances of addiction.
As reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, our nation spends 700 billion dollars annually in relation to substance abuse. Substance abuse doesn’t just affect the individual involved, but as well as their family, and the society they live in. There is no single reason why a person chooses to abuse drugs and other substances. A person’s environment, like their socioeconomic status, and family can influence their abuse. Some factors in their environment include peer pressure, stress, sexual abuse, and parental involvement, which can all determine if someone is inclined to abuse any type of harmful substance.
Addiction is a term that has traditionally been used to refer to psychiatric syndrome that is caused by illicit drug use. Actually, addition is the only psychiatric condition whose symptoms are regarded as an illegal activity. In most cases, this term is described on the basis of drug use, which is the main focus of many research and treatment programs. Generally, drug addiction has significant negative effects on individuals using the drug and those around them such as family and friends. Family and friends are usually forced to watch their loved ones wilt away in illicit drug use. While addiction has traditionally been regarded as a psychiatric condition, there are numerous debates that have emerged on whether it’s a disease or merely an immoral act by a selfish individual. My standpoint is that addiction is actually a disease because of the observations I have made on how illicit drug use takes control of the addict. I have watched my brother battle prescription drug addiction and eventually passed away from an overdose at the age of thirty-two years. As a result, I believe that addiction is a disease because it changes the functioning of the addict’s brain. In essence, studies have demonstrated the effects of chemical substances on the brain and how addiction affects feelings, thoughts, and actions.
Drug addiction is more complicated than medicine thought in previous years. It’s not because someone is weak or unable to control themselves. They are chemical such a dopamine in the human body that makes the process difficult. The brain works in a neuropath way and drug interrupt the normal process which stops the frontal lobe to work as it should. Treatment isn’t done right and patients tend to repeat their habit after they get out of rehab. Psychological treatment is not as effective as chemical injection for dopamine to reward the brain. However, even after the treatment is complete, it will be a life struggle to stay away from drugs since the brain will always look for a simpler way to reward itself.
Addiction, Is it just an issue or is it one’s choice? Although no one chooses to walk around in their life and decides if he or she has or wants an addiction. An addiction is a “condition of being addicted to a particular substance” (Peele, 2016). One can be addicted to nicotine, drugs, alcohol, gambling, food, and even shopping if it has an impact on their everyday life. Consequently, some people with an addiction may reach a point in their life where it can turn harmful, therefore, people need to look for assistance. Even so, people still neglect to talk about addictions because people are ashamed, or in denial, and it is probably not one’s choice of topics that is brought up at your breakfast table, or you may never have confronted anyone before. Still, addiction is all around us, and most people today still do not understand or have misconceptions about addictions because addiction is a disease, and studies have indicated that addictions are a physical defect in the brain, thus, making it hard for some people to give up their addictions on their own.
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.
Drug abuse has been a hot topic for our society due to how stimulants interfere with health, prosperity, and the lives of others in all nations. All drugs have the potential to be misapplied, whether obtained by prescription, over the counter, or illegally. Drug abuse is a despicable disease that affects many helpless people. Majority of those who are beset with this disease go untreated due to health insurance companies who neglect and discriminate this issue. As an outcome of missed opportunities of treatments, abusers become homeless, very ill, or even worst, death.
It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.