Drug addiction People are trapped in drug addiction due to various reasons. Some will try to take drugs because of curiosity. Some have many people and friends take drugs, and some want to have the experience. Athletes take drugs with the aim of improving their performance as well as to reduce certain problems. i.e. depression, stress, or anxiety. The use of drugs does not lead to drug addiction automatically. It is not possible to measure the level at which the use of drugs may be regarded as casual or even problematic. It depends on the individual. Drug addiction is not determined by the amount of drugs consumed or the many times they are consumed, but the consequences brought about by the drug addiction. This means that irrespective of …show more content…
Some of the adults even go to the extent of providing the members of the family drugs such as beer and cigarettes. This exposes the young people to drugs, making them eager to use the same (Sorensen and Copeland 23). Human beings are social beings and, therefore, thrive on socializing in school, work, and community. Peer pressure is one of the factors which lead to drug addiction. When an individual watches his of her friends use certain drugs and tend to feel relaxed, the individual is tempted to try. Watching friends take them continues for some time and becomes a habit. This eventually leads to drug addiction. Escapism, on the other hand, can lead to drug addiction. People like to focus their attention on the enjoyment and pleasant things. These people will tend to use the drugs such as cigarettes and beer just to enjoy themselves. This may continue for a long time and can lead to addiction and drug addiction (Williams and Ziedonis 1074). Regardless of the reason of the drug use, physical addiction is a major form of addiction consistent with drug addiction. Some drugs such as alcohol, tranquilizers, and opiates lead to physical addiction. This leads to some people experiencing physical withdrawal, which is different, depending on the individual. Some of the emotional symptoms of withdrawal are anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, headaches, irritability, poor concentration, social isolation, and depression. The physical symptoms are
Many athletes take drugs either for the feeling or for enhancement of their sport. What athletes may not take into much consideration is the health effects that enhancement and recreational drugs do to the human body. Many athletes
Addicts use drugs to overcome their feelings. If an addict is feeling sad, happy, or angry, they use. This leads to their addictions. After a while, the addict can’t hold a steady job,
The history of addiction goes back centuries, and unfortunately, there is still a long way to go for people to realize the effects of chemical substances do more harm than good. The difference between drug use and abuse relies heavily on a person’s dependence on the substance. The line between the differences is often very fine. Depending on other factors involved, such as morals, values, environment, and genetic predisposition, the line will most likely be crossed without regard to the consequences until treatment and recovery are the only options left. This is essay compares two theoretical explanations
First of all, there is the Structural-Functional perspective way people view drug addiction as. The structural-functional perspective is the role the drugs do for the person or the weakening of the norms. It is the way they affect the person and what it does to them that makes them be addicted to drugs. For some people drugs relieves them. It takes them away from their problems from a while and they feel stress free and because of that feeling they receive from the drugs they like it and continue to take more and more. Those with this type of perspective well most likely disagree with this view of drug addiction and would want the problem to decrease.
Merely compulsively engaging in an activity does not necessitate the title of addiction, even if the subject cannot quit of her own volition: there must be an element of negative influence that the habit has on her life in one way or another to be termed as such. The potential adverse effects of addiction are numerous and for any one addiction the detriment can be multifaceted. As addiction is generally discussed, one of the primary negative impacts mentioned is related to a person’s physical or mental well-being which can be harmed by the abuse of certain substances, such as
In society, drugs have been the downfall for many people. There are many reasons that a person may use drugs such as: peer pressure, relief of stress, increased energy, to relax, to relieve pain, to escape reality, to feel more self esteem, and for recreation ("Drug addiction and drug abuse," 2011). What is it that causes the obsession and compulsion to use drugs? Why can some people stop and others go on to become addicts? Addiction is often now defined by the continuing, compulsive nature of the drug use despite physical and/or psychological harm to the user and society ("Drug addiction and drug abuse," 2011).
Drugs are addictive because, the drugs cause a ..."long-lasting chemical change in the brain." Without a dose of drugs, the brain has low chemical levels and the drug user is suffering a crave to "refill" the chemical levels. The drug abuser feels "...flat, lifeless and depressed." if they don't get another dose, so they take another dose to fulfill their emptiness and feel better. In summary, drugs are addictive for many reasons, and users crave drugs to fulfill needs.
Continuous use of a certain drug results in the need to consume higher doses in order to achieve the same effect and by negative and painfully felt effects of sudden withdrawal of the drug. "The drug not only acts as a reinforcer, but sets the stage for the development of the motivation to obtain the drug." (Timmons & Hamilton). When this motivation develops, it becomes "...the major focus of a person's life to the exclusion of other activities"... and begins "...to harm the individual or others physically, mentally, or socially..."(Engs). This stage of drug abuse is known as addiction. Addicts become obsessed of the object, seeking it they get engaged in harmful behavior, which draws them away from family, friends, and studying. Substance abuse compromises psychological and social development and corrupts the processes of formation of a strong self-identity, emotional and intellectual growth, pursuing a career, and development of positive interpersonal
Chances are you know someone with a drug addiction. We often struggle to understand why an addict continues to abuse drugs. Whether it’s a choice they make or an actual disease is often questioned. Concluding an answer to that question you need to understand what addiction is, why people do drugs, what the outcomes of an addiction are, and if there are treatments for the addict.
Before children descend into drug addiction a whole array of signals normally appears, suggesting the family is in trouble. Few people are equipped to recognize these signs (Henican 181). Stresses of everyday living is just too great a burden to bear alone; they feel like they need a protective shell, that invisible physic capsule they can hide inside. Most high school students said that some time in their lives they have used alcohol, drugs, or tobacco. More than seventy one percent of high school students have tried cigarettes, forty two percent have smoked marijuana, twenty seven percent had a cigar, seven percent tried cocaine, and eighty percent had a drink of alcohol (Dryfoos 26).
When people start taking drugs, they don't plan to get addicted. They like how the drug makes them feel. They believe they can control how much and how often they take the drug. However, drugs change the brain. Those who use drugs start to need the drug just to feel normal. That is addiction, and it can quickly take over a person's life.
The definition provided above is accessible and easy to understand; however, it initiates false beliefs among individuals because it fails to acknowledge that drug addiction is a mental health problem. Moreover, when words such as, “dependence”, “control” and “craving” are used to define drug addiction, it leaves an impression to the reader that addicts are indeed “people who cannot control their impulses.” Consequently, when we fail to recognize that drug addiction is a mental health problem, our focus is diverted towards the physical aspect of drug addiction. This could cause the belief among individuals that drugs alone cause the addiction. It is essential to acknowledge that there are chemical hooks in drugs; however, individuals need to understand that drugs alone do not cause the addiction. We need to identify and distinguish the “root cause” of addiction and ask ourselves: what caused the individual to take the drug in the first place?
One of the most devastating side effects of drug addiction and abuse is depression. Depression is the result of chemical imbalance, environmental influence, or a combination of both. Using heavy and very highly addictive drugs as heroin, cocaine, opium and many other will cause sudden mood changes, deterioration of the immune system, nervous breakdowns, unusual flares of temper and many other side effects. Besides physical side effects, drug addiction can create problems in a person's social circles. The person may run into many conflicts with his family and friends, resulting in desire for isolation. This in turn will create more problems since the person will have no social support. Furthermore, drug addiction is a financial strain especially for teenagers. When a person is addicted to drugs he will do anything to obtain money to fulfill his needs.
It is shown that people that tend to be involved in the use of drugs do so after making a voluntary choice (Heyman, 2009). The major use of drugs for social and non-medical preferences can lead to dependence and further addictions, it is a choice that people tend to make and from that it can lead to wanting it more, do it more with friends and further it becoming an addiction, that then effects the brain and body. When drugs are used in the wrong way they can cause many health issues but some people still tend to refer to drug addiction as a disease. Yes, There has been compelling evidence that addiction is a disease, however the result shown are weak and inconclusive. Results of different brain scans are shown by The National Institute of Drug Abuse (2017) are used to back up that addiction in fact is a disease, however the brain scans used in this research are not symbolic of any abnormal changes. The research by The National Institute of Drug Abuse do point out that changes in an individual’s brain is shown as evidence that addiction is a brain disease, however this argument can be shown as mistaken as changes in many human brains can be seen as not exclusive in addicts, although they can occur when a person is normal (Branch,2011). To top it off the information that is stated by the NIDA however doesn’t show evidence of the behaviour of addicts being involuntary or
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.”