Emotional Distress Of Loved Ones Of Addicts

Besides physical and emotional dependence and chronic health problems, heroin can cause relationship issues. These problems include avoiding loved ones, an inability to fulfill responsibilities to family, and loss of family and friends. They may also go “on the nod” during conversations and when they are supposed to pay attention. For example, Sue, a recovering addict, had maintained abstinence and attended her 12-Step Program. When her husband recently died, she began avoiding her family because she did not want to burden them with her overwhelming grief. Her loss triggered her cravings for heroin to increase, as well as her feelings of depression, anxiety, and tiredness. Sue had some friends, but she lost contact with most of them since she

With the awareness of substance abuse as an illness, attention has also been directed to the families and loved ones of those who suffer. Why do families and loved ones stay with someone who is so obviously ill? Why do they tolerate being taken advantage of? One of the first books to address this issue is Codependent No More. According to the author, the issue at hand is codependency, where the individual in the relationship with the addict suffers from an illness as well. This paper is an analysis of the book compared with similar research on the topic.

Substance abuse is a tragedy that touches many lives. Abuse begins with a single use event that, with continued use and overindulgence, transforms into a battle. The abuser most always loses that battle. Personal relationships, social ties, and employment suffers. Irresponsible and erratic behavior becomes the norm, and though the abuser is aware on some level of the reckless and thoughtless acts that they commit, they continue to use and abuse their drug of choice. What starts as experimentation often ends in addiction. The best hope for a person in the grips of substance abuse is immediate,

Opioids and opioid addiction obviously effect those who find themselves abusing such drugs both legally and illegally. Arguably one of the worst effects of opioids is the destruction of the family unit. One thing that holds true is, no matter what type of family structure one lives in, every person in the family (both immediate and sometimes extended) is effected by the trauma of a family members abuse. Abuse can diminish a family’s financial, physical, and mental well-being.4 Any family of an opioid abuser is traumatized; however lower class families suffer the most. The financial instability and often nontraditional unit structure of lower class families renders them venerable to the negative constructs of opioid addiction.

Addiction is everywhere, from celebrity tabloids, to television, and possibly to a family member or close friend. There is alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling addiction; the effects of such are devastating. For example, the following excerpt is from the harrowing Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoir by James Salant:

Research question: How does drug abuse impact family members? Barnard, M (2007). Drug Addiction and Families. Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzE4MDQ2NV9fQU41?sid=92164d9f-4cd4-4f66-90db-6fca650d41c2@sessionmgr102&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1 This online

Opioid abuse in America is a current health issue, like any other, where we view the problem from an analytical standpoint. While the numbers are devastating my main motivation for choosing this study comes from an emotionally driven place. Personally, I’ve known people who have been sucked into the addictive effects of opioids and, for years, it has affected an entire family’s, that I am close to, life from one person’s abuse of opioids. An example that many don’t think of when they imagine opioid abuse is how a simple mother could go from being an ordinary housewife to an opioid abuser, where her children are too scared to bring friend’s back home due to their mother’s state, and how she’s devolved into a person who steals from her

The substance abuse of a parent has a lasting and apparent effect on all young children. There are a number of substances that can become a problem in people’s lives, including but not limited to; marijuana, alcohol, stimulants, depressants, narcotics, hallucinogens and inhalants. Drugs critically affect the individual taking them, but also affect the members of the household, especially children. Not only does the person’s addiction emotionally, mentally, and physically affect the individual lives of other members of the family, but it tears apart relationships between the families. Arguments, disagreements, violence, and stress can derive from the abuse of drugs because of the tension it puts on one’s other members of the family.

Thus far, throughout the semester, I have gained so much awareness and understanding for those whom are struggling with substance misuse. Addiction has played a major role in my immediate family life. Over the years, I have realized that addiction does not discriminate on a basis of race, gender, or social status. Based on my personal experiences, the perspective I have of addiction is that it is like a disease. It does not just affect the individual; it also affects everyone the individual comes into contact with. Addiction overall, is not just associated with drugs and alcohol, it is present with gambling, Internet use, sex, or even food (Van Wormer, 2013). In order to understand an individual who suffers from substance misuse, a therapist must first know the definition of addiction, be able to asses and diagnose a client with an addiction, explore the bio-psychosocial-spiritual aspects of their addiction, laws and ethics related to their addiction, and provide the proper treatment that will help them to recover. Throughout this paper, from a bio-psychosocial-spiritual perspective, I plan to explore the causes of Gia’s addiction to Heroin. In addition, I will examine my personal perspective on addiction and what treatment interventions and laws and ethics might come into play in therapy with Gia. Overall, I hope to provide Gia with an understanding of her addiction and provide the proper treatment on her road to recovery.

Substance abuse within the U.S. is growing at a fast pace with 100 people dying everyday from drug overdoses, a rate that has almost tripled in numbers in the last 20 years. (“Addiction Statistics,” 2017). While research is extensive surrounding substance abuse in its most general sense, in recent years research has expanded to the family members of individuals with substance abuse issues and the toll that substance abuse takes on the family (Selbekk, Sagvaag, & Fauske, 2015). Literature on this topic notes that alcohol or

Addiction is all around us. It may be that cup of coffee in the morning for the caffeine stimulation, the cigarette that is smoked for the nicotine, or an alcoholic drink used to relieve a stressful day or situation. For some, the addiction may not be to a substance, but to compulsive behaviors such as gambling, playing video games, or shopping. Consequences to addictions can impact an addict’s physical or mental state. Addiction can also have detrimental impact on the people that surround them. Watching a relationship fall apart because a person has an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or another addictive behavior is a sad thing to happen to anyone. Unfortunately, those with addictions usually won’t admit they even

This paper will examine the impact of heroin addiction on the family, the individual, the child, the adult, older adults, special populations, on minorities, while taking in consideration various approaches in assessments, treatment recommendations, and ethical concerns.

Drug and alcohol addiction is a very serious and widespread problem in America, and across the globe. Drug addiction is a constant craving, seeking, and using of a substance, despite the negative consequences it may have on the addict or those around them. When drug use becomes more frequent, it is considered drug abuse. Once an individual’s drug abuse is can no longer be controlled, and they are using the drug to get through everyday life, it beomes an addiction. A person on drugs has an altered way of thinking, behaving, and perceiving. There are treatment facilities all over the world dedicated to help those suffering with drug addictions. All

Drug addiction is a complex problem in society today. Addiction is a condition that extremely affects the person’s mind and body. Addiction also has wide sweeping effects on that person’s social connection and functioning. Unfortunately, many addicts don’t realize the social influence of their addiction until much of their functioning has greatly deteriorated.

We all have a family member, or close friend that has become addicted to one drug or another. A silent robber at first, and then it progresses into something much worse. They become someone else are no longer themselves anymore. They begin to lie, steal and doing whatever is necessary to feed their addiction. All limits are gone, they are willing to do the unthinkable to feed their addiction. They do whatever they need to get their next fix because their body is craving the drug. They go through withdrawals that makes them ill in ways that only a person