My essay is about drug addiction and the definition of it. The literal definition and also the way I think of drug addiction. Obviously drug addiction is someone that is addicted to drugs but it is also a lot more than that. When I think of someone addicted to drugs, I think of someone that fiends for those drugs. Someone that goes out of their way to obtain those drugs and will make morally unsound choices they would have never made before. I think of someone that has so much pain they will get high, so high that they are able to numb that pain away. Last of all I see someone that will eventually hit rock bottom. For every person that hits rock bottom will be completely different from the next. Hopefully their rock bottom isn’t too late for their life.
Keywords: drugs, drug addiction, fiend, life, rock bottom, pain
What is drug addiction? According to WebMD “drug addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the drug addict and those around them. (WebMD, 2005-2015) What is addiction? Dictionary.com says addiction is a “habitual psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one’s voluntary control.” (Dictionary.com, 2015)
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Rock bottom what is it and how does it pertain to a drug addict? After being an addict and then progressing to fiend you go so long down the wrong path and making poor decisions you eventually hit your rock bottom. But everyone’s rock bottom is not the same. It can be looking in the mirror and seeing your cheeks sucked in with dark circles like you haven’t slept in years. Or losing your job and your family after your kids repeatedly walk up to you asking you why you don’t make any sense like their friends parents do. But sometimes people don’t hit their rock bottom in time to change their life around. Some people’s rock bottom unfortunately is
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
It was the late 19th century when a lot of conflict for families from the Industrial Revolution and illegal drugs had easy access to anyone in the United Sates. These illegal drugs like morphine, cocaine, and alcohol were available through manufacture, delivery, and selling. It was proved that the over use of alcohol and violence in families’ homes were linked together around the 1850’s and that women and children were being abused by the father and husband from the letters and journals that were wrote. These were times when women were stay at home mothers and it was the man’s responsibility to be the provider for the wife and children. Because of the abuse in the household it led up to the temperance movement. The purpose
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.
The word Addiction was started out just being used for a person who could not stop either doing drugs or drinking alcohol. Even though those are the most common things addicts are addicted to there are other things people can be addicted to. Now the term addiction is used for a person who can not stop doing anything such as gambling, having sex, tanning and the list goes on. The person who is using this substance or is doing this behavior have consequences, rather its effecting there body or them personally and their family. Despite the consequences, the person that has the addiction still does it. Before what the person is doing becomes an addiction, it is something that is done because they enjoy doing it. It becomes an addiction when ...
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.
For the purposes of this essay, I am forced to agree that drug addiction is a choice. People get high and drink because they want to and if they are not careful they can become an addict. The research I found on this particular topic seemed to have the most support and facts to dismiss the idea that addiction is a disease. I also beeivle if there was enough evidence to support the idea of addiction being a disease it would not be such a controversial topic.
George F. Koob defines addiction as a compulsion to take a drug without control over the intake and a chronic relapse disorder (1). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association defined "substance dependence" as a syndrome basically equivalent to addiction, and the diagnostic criteria used to describe the symptoms of substance dependence to a large extent define compulsion and loss of control of drug intake (1). Considering drug addiction as a disorder implies that there are some biological factors as well as social factors.
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
...n individual’s life. Addiction is the same whether the drug is alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, or nicotine. All substances allow the individual to feel the high of feeling good, away from all the issues going on in their life. Though each individual has different reasoning’s behind doing the substance, continuing to constantly use the substance or substances makes the body dependent. Becoming dependent will make you experience uncontrollable cravings and relapse. Your body is at a point that stopping would be very difficult, causing severe physical and mental damage from withdrawal. “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change,” the first step in any process an addict faces is accepting that they are exactly that, an addict. Once that is accepted they are allowing themselves to be open to getting help (Carl Rogers).
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
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.
Addiction is a progressive, chronic, and ultimately a fatal disease. It is progressive in the sense that if it is left untreated it will get worse. Chronic means long term. Once one becomes dependent, it is like diabetes, in that diabetes is an incurable disease that can only be controlled. Long-term addictions have the high potential to lead to death through overdose, AIDs, suicide, or an accident (Aronson 17). The cycle of addiction tends to follow a pattern.
There are many addictions in the world, and drug addiction is the biggest. People may experiment with the drug for many reasons. “If your drug use is causing problems in your life, then you likely have a drug abuse or addiction problem”.(Lawrence Robinson pg.1) Many people start out using drugs by peer pressure or out of their own curiosity. Stress, anxiety, lows self-esteem and depression could be another factor to start using drugs. The drug takes over your body and gives you a good feeling that many people tend to enjoy. The urge to use the drug can keep increasing rapidly after the first use. The urge can become so severe that your mind can find many other ways to deny the factor of addiction. Very few drug addicts can feel and realize when they have crossed the line with drugs. A drug addicts mind can build up a very large tolerance for the drug that they start to abandon the activities they used to do on a daily basis like showering, hobbies, socializing and even being associated with family members. The person with the addiction will continue to use the drug knowing that it is harming there body, but they don’t have any remorse. A drug addict will often try to hide their problem, so they can continue to use without anyone’s input. Family and friends may try to use preaching methods or tell the user that they need to stop using the drug. This method is not ...