Drug Use And The Addiction

mothers suicide he states, “Eating oatmeal for breakfast, skipping lunch, smoking more and more dope, I’m determined to get her in the water before mid-December, the one-year anniversary of my mother’s death” (Flynn 138) These traumatic life events leave Nick wishing for a altered state of consciousness that is one of the many motives for drug use (Hart and Ksir 19). This motive is shown when he uses drugs after seeing his father sleeping on a bench. Flynn states, “I got high not long after seeing him on the Esplanade” (Flynn 176). This event is another example of Flynn using drugs in emotionally stressful times, which is an accurate portrayal of drug use and drug dependence. This need for a altered state of consciousness is extremely emotionally impactful. Due to this avoidance Nick never emotionally deals with traumatic life events, such as his mothers suicide. This emotional backup is shown when he becomes clean, “I went to meetings once or twice a week, feeling absolutely nothing on the wall over, only to leave feeling wretched. And I couldn’t stop crying. I cried every day for a year, and then the flow lessened” (Flynn 234). Nick’s outpouring of emotion after his sobriety is extremely indicative of the impact drugs were having on his mental state. This need for an altered state of consciousness is also shown when he was in high school, to illustrate, Flynn states, “Without hesitation I answered: I drink to get drunk, feel more myself when outside myself” (Flynn 99).

Addiction is complex and is often misunderstood; However, many individuals and medical professionals are now referring to addiction as a disease, not just a poor decision that is made by an individual. Addiction is a problem that spirals out of control and has the potential to absorb every thought and action while wreaking havoc on the body. According to Narcotics Anonymous, “...it is our fellowship's collective experience and understanding that addiction is, in fact, a disease. (What is Addiction?, NA, 2015)”

The society we all live in today is unforgiving and vicious when it comes to opinions on a person. Labeling a person an addict has a negative connotation and in a result negatively affects the mental status of any person who is battling with addiction. Mr. Leshner once again enlightens us by stating that society already has preconceived notions on what type of person an addict really is. Which are that addicts are simply “too weak willed” to stop. (Leshner, “Addiction…”). When someone is told negative things about oneself, she will eventually believe in the false words spoken. Our society is always chastising addicts and saying how they are blemishes in our world. This is an unforgivable wrong, instead of persecuting addicts and making them believe that they can never get clean or that they are too weak to get clean is wrong. We, as a society, need to offer them a safe haven. A person who is in, what they feel, a safe, comfortable, and relaxing environment will not go and look for drugs. An individual in a stressful, unsafe, and chaotic situation; where one feels out of control, is when a person looks for relief in any form, even drugs. Kevin McCauley, a nationally recognized author and speaker on the subject of addiction medicine, indicated in an article that the amount of stress an individual endures in their environment is a primary cause to drug abuse (McCauley). When under intense amounts of

More people disapprove of addiction more than other diseases like HIV and leprosy and conditions like homelessness and child neglect (source 6). Because of this stigma, it is very difficult for the addicts that want to receive help because of their fear of being shunned in society. If addiction was just a choice, addicts could choose to stop whenever they wanted and it would not even be a problem. Addiction is a disease because addicts need help to overcome what the substance has done to their bodies and they cannot choose to stop on their own.

It commonly believed that over time, the effects of drug related cues increases the efficacy of relapse. To this end, the researchers are looking to key brain chemicals to aid in the therapeutic treatment of drug addiction. A main concern is how can drug-related cues be counteracted or reduced in patients prone to relapse. In one study, investigators found that “drug use and relapse involves learned associations between drug-associated discrete and contextual cues and drug taking…” (Bossert, Marchant, Calu, & Shaham, 2013). This is further corroborated by data suggesting with repeated drug use, an attentional bias occurs (Jasinska, Stein, Kaiser, Naumer, & Yalachkov, 2014). As a result, drug cues take over perceptual, cognitive and memory processes. This produces a priming effect, essentially putting the addict in a state of “drug-seeking” readiness. We predict that when presented with certain contextual cues associated with drug use, they will trigger a drug-seeking response in drug addicted individuals when compared to the control. We also theorize that time of day will have an effect on the intensity of the drug-seeking response.

Society has a worldview on how they characterize a person who is an addict, that worldview is determined from personal beliefs, family beliefs, or experiences through interacting with an addict. Usually, people assume that addiction is a choice not a chronic disease, believing that they can just stop whenever, no realizing that the drug is what “shaped” them (Gawne-Kelnar). People stigmatize a person who is an addict without complete understanding. Most people have a fixed mindset of what an addict is since a young age, but fail to realize that addiction is a complex illness and disease. Addiction is a psychological problem that interacts with the stimulation of the brain. It is a chronic disease that triggers the frontal lobes of the brain

A vast argument that many people have regarding this epidemic is that drug addiction does not come as the fault of an individual who suffers from it, but rather the

Drug addiction: A Modern-Day DiseaseThesis statement: Drug abuse is a complex disease that needs enduring and extensive treatment. People who have struggled with substance abuse have often found it extremely difficult to quit due to the physical and/or mental addiction.

In the article, “Understanding Drug Use and Addiction,” it states, “ Drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences.” When someone first takes drugs it is voluntarily, but after the intake of too many drugs, it changes your brain. When the brain changes it causes the person's self-control and ability to resist to be challenged. Which makes drug addiction a relapsing disease. In other words, when an addicted person tries to stop, the addiction can come back because their brain starts to change again as they stop taking drugs. To have an effective recovery from drug addiction, the recovery plan needs to be changed with the brain.

Addiction is a disease characterized by periods of sobriety and relapse of disease. This perspective on addiction is becoming more widely used concept. Most clinicians believe that sobriety is a temporary characteristic of the chronic disease of addiction. Approximately 50-60% of individuals who have an addiction relapse

Addiction is a choice and by classifying addiction as a disease, we are just enabling drug addicts to take no responsibility for their own actions in their lives. By labeling addiction as a medical condition it creates a false assumption that addicts have no control over their own behavior. People become addicts because of their behavior, not their brain chemistry. The disease concept is so popular because it gives people an easy way out; if they inherited their addiction they can’t be responsible for their own behavior. The disease model of addiction is flawed for a number of reasons; first, most people who take drugs do not become addicted, but may take drugs for a period of time, then stop when they choose to do so. Many well respected professors and scientist claim addiction is a scapegoat behavior that has been incorrectly identified as a physical or mental illness, an addict is only a victim of bad science and misguided policy.

According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, iIn 2013, a survey reported that an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older had used an illegal drug in the past month. The first time someone uses a drug, it is usually voluntary. This first use is usually to mask certain emotions that they are currently going through. Repeated use can lead to changes in the brain that challenge an addict’s self control and interfere with their ability to resist the temptation of a drug, this addiction makes them feel better about themselves and forget about the problem they are dealing with at the time. According to the Mayo Clinic, drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a dependence on a legal or illegal drug or

From the day we are born, we have free will. The things we choose to do, and at what age, or time in our life, is our choice. We are the only one’s responsible for our decisions, for saying yes or no. Every time any person makes the decision to cross these boundaries, this is a choice, not a disease. Having lived with an addict, making the visits to rehabilitation centers, and the counseling the whole family received; I learned a lot about addiction as a disease. Throughout my ten year struggle with addiction (because addiction affects the entire family), no one ever held the addict responsible or accountable for their initial actions, or for the choices they made.

Have you ever dealt with the effects of drug addict? A drug is a person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol, which has a psychological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body. The effects of drug use can vary depending on the person. According to “Causes and types of narcotic addiction: A Psychosocial View” in the Psychiatric Quarterly it says, “The causes of drugs stem from the manner of which you were introduced to it whether it be by abnormal curiosity, chance encounters with addicts and narcotic peddlers, or prolonged illness” (Ausubel). The effects of drugs can be have different effects on everyone differently depending if its for pleasure or for relieving pain Most of the effects of drugs occur in the brain, where it increases the level of dopamine at a specific site possibly giving the addict the pleasure they were feigning for (Robbins). As a child I didn’t know much about drugs except for what your parents and teachers at school tell you which is, “Just Say No.”

Drug addiction is one of society 's biggest problems and it is rampant among teenagers and young adults and one of the most abused drugs is marijuana. Cannabis sativa or marijuana usually grows throughout tropical and temperate climates and then plant 's stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds are then dried. What attracts to most users is the mind altering effect these parts produce which is addictive to some extent. It is usually smoked as cigarette, or in a pipe. It is also smoked in blunts, in which cigars will be emptied of tobacco and refill with marijuana or sometimes it is combined with another drug. It can also be brewed as tea or mixed in food. Hashis is a more concentrated, resinous form which is sticky black liquid, hash oil. The