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Recommended: Mental illness and drug addiction
Addiction is something that has been present in my life ever since I could understand what the term "addiction meant". While everyone is entitled to their own opinion I believe that there is an issue surrounding people's concept of addiction. A lot of individuals, at least those that I have spoken to, are quick to judge and negtively label those individuals suffering from addiction as they do not fully understand the strong hold an addiction can have.
While I do not have an indepth understanding of addiction theories and treatment, I do know how addiction can impact individuals and their loved ones. I beleive that my exposure and experiences with loved ones suffering from various addictions has made me more open-minded and sensitive to the
There are many different definitions in which people provide regarding addiction. May (1988) describes that addiction “is a state of compulsion, obsession, or preoccupation that enslaves a person’s will and desire” (p. 14). Individuals who suffer from addiction provide their time and energy toward other things that are not healthy and safe. The book
This book really opened up my eyes to the world of addiction. I really like the examples that they book gives us. The book understands that it is difficult for most people and family members to understand that addiction is a disease. It could because addicts and alcoholics have done some pretty bad things, because addict’s behaviors can be intolerable and living with one can bring a family member to brink of insanity. It is easy for a person to think that someone can just give up using drugs and alcohol, but I have learn...
It is not uncommon to view drug addiction as a problem that is created and maintained by the drug addicts. Most of
The cognitive behavioral models say that incentives make way for the right conditions for the need for drug abuse. Drug use is associated with experiences such as self-exploration, religious insights, altering moods, escaping boredom or despair, enhancing creativity, performance, sensory experience or pleasure, and so on (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2012). Cognitive behaviorism has brought in appreciated data at the same time refining theories and treatments. This model stands out from other addiction models because it stands out from the expressive, organic or public causes for addiction. Because it focuses on the patient's own beliefs rather than the influence is the primary focus. The mental process of cognition is related to perception, judgment and reasoning. Cognitive behaviorism affects a person mentally as well as their physical reaction to stimuli. Example, if a person is depressed, the depression is mental but when a person cannot get out of bed, doesn’t want to eat or don’t want to partake in other activities that they usually do is the physical. The factor that can cause a person to use are become a victim to substance abuse and began drug addiction by using drugs to get away from or numb themselves from their depression.
In the book, Addiction & Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions, May explores how addiction develops and can be treated from a psychological, physiological, and spiritual standpoint. This theme is clearly shown throughout the text as it shows addiction from a whole person's perspective. The book covers the development of addiction from desire through the experience of addiction. The key focus is on looking at the matter of addiction from multiple stand points then broken down by explaining how addiction is an issue psychologically, physiologically, and spiritually. By focusing on these three areas, the author is able to present the reader with a clear understanding of addiction from all sides of the problem.
There are various approaches to addiction I will be comparing the behaviourist and psychodynamic approaches to see which provides the most compelling explanation of addiction. The behaviourist approach states change in behaviour happens due to past experiences and our actions are a result of the environment. (Glassman and Hadad, 2013). The environment in which we exist makes us act in a certain way for example, seeing people around us do acts like smoking and gambling may make an individual want to participate in those acts (Gross,2015). The psychodynamic approach on the other hand claims behaviour is determined by the unconscious mind and our actions have a motive behind them, which reflect our early childhood experiences (Gross, 2015).
Addiction is the result of a gradual accretion of neurological tendencies based upon the ingestion of a particular substance or the taking of a particular action. It is cumulative, building over time, and varies in strength from individual to individual based on their own abilities to exercise willpower over themselves and their actions. Some people become addicted more easily than others. In the end, addiction is the result of a series of choices made by the individual. These choices usually have a massive impact upon the life of the person, modifying their friendships, family life, professional life and psychological/spiritual well being. The cumulative aspect of addiction is built up by an individual willfully choosing to either not see the direction they are heading in or to not take action even though they sense themselves following the path of an addict. Some kind of deterioration in their life is bound to take place, and willful ignorance is all that could keep one from noticing that. Likewise, addiction can he helped and cured by an individual choosing to do something different, to adjust their habitual reliance on a specific substance or action for pleasure or escape or whatever quality they are searching for. Only the individual can make that choice, but once they have made that choice other people and institutions can help them.
The multi-causal model of drug abuse takes into account social and individual causes of addiction, both distant and immediate, that lead to a disposition to using drugs, drug use and the social and individual consequences. Why a person becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol is different for everyone. Some are genetically predisposed, some learn it from their environment (i.e. family or friends), and still others use it to avoid a trauma they have experienced. The case history describes a client that had both social and individual causes for her alcohol use and subsequent dependence.
Addiction is defined simply as a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as drugs) or do something like gambling (Addiction, 2016). Addiction can be crippling and can control all aspects of your life to the point of not being able to function as a productive member of society. Addicts can have a life long struggle, even once sober, or clean, from the addiction.
To begin with, in order for a facility to be successful in treating people with addictions whether it be alcohol, or drugs the facility must have a treatment plan to use and guide both counselors and the client alike to be successful in the program.
Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Addiction is normally thought of as drug abuse and alcoholism but people can also be addicted to things such as gambling and sex as well. The controversy on if addiction is a disease or a choice is a continuous debate. Everyone has an opinion on this topic, one side believes it’s a disease, while the other believes it is a choice. Although addiction has been assumed to be a lack of willpower and a weakness, addiction is actually a complex disease that changes the wiring of the brain. Addiction is a brain disease expressed in the form of compulsive behavior (Leshner.) Both devolping
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.
Main Point: What defines an addiction? According to Psychology Today, “Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance…. or engages in an activity….that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health.” This can range anywhere from drug use to eating disorders, to gambling, to even texting in today’s generation. Shocking to say the least, especially when most people do not even know they are addicted or are an addict until they realize this definition.
Addiction is a very strong word that brings along many negative connotations. When we think of an addiction we imagine someone who depends on a certain substance, most likely alcohol to have their needs met. Addiction is defined by the Webster dictionary as, "a compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal." Even though our society sees addiction and only applies the word to drug addicts and alcoholics, there is a much wider range of subjects that fall under the umbrella of what an addiction truly is. An addiction is a dependency on any kind of materialistic object that you use on a day to day basis that brings
Addiction has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, from my earliest memories of my father, until now as I am a licensed professional in the field of addiction as well as a person in long term recovery myself.