When looking at the content and purpose behind the talk, The video which was by Johann Hari was a speech which was given to help dispel the myths about addiction, change the publics stereotypical notion towards addiction and most importantly, given suggestions on how to view and deal with individuals whom were struggling with addiction. The speech which was given by Johann Hari was given on the TEDTalks platform which is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world 's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. When alluding to the overarching purpose of the speech Johann talked about how the public’s view of addiction was wrong and how to change it or over …show more content…
He explicitly implied the notion that people got addicted to things not only drugs because something was off most times relationship so depending on drugs was sort of a way to escape that lack of bond or loneness that they user was experiencing. When listening to the speech, one of his last statement “ the opposite of addiction is not sobriety, the opposite of addiction is connection” left me in awe. When listening to his speech, Johann made great points on why his theory of addiction was right and he had reliable sources and quotes to back him up. He talked about how the government was taking the punishment approach towards addict and rather than being harsh he talked about how compassion, help and understanding was better suited towards addiction rather than punishment. I agreed with Johann with the fact that we have to be compassionate towards addicts rather than discriminating them. No one is perfect and it is just not right making a space goat out of an individual because they messed up. I believe that no one is perfect but with the standards that the government and public are setting, they are trying to create a perfect citizen, which is far for realistic. When looking at the former assignment we had to do, we talked about how college students abused Adderall and when thinking towards those lines, there are college students whom are addicted to various things like alcohol Or …show more content…
Although it might not be as serious as addiction to drugs, it has the same concept. My freshmen year, I was addicted to television and videogames so most of the times I was holed up in my room rather than going out. My roommates tried inviting to events or join them in activities in order to leave the room but I always turned them down and after a while they gave up. Thinking to what Johann said, I became reliant on videogames and Netflix because my freshmen year was stressful and the only constant in my life that I felt like I had control over was Netflix and videogame so I used it as a route of escape. After a while I stopped being reliant on those vices but the damage had already been done. When my roommates were going on or doing an event, they were on longer interested in inviting me because they already had that notion that I would turn them down although it was clear as the day that I was unoccupied and free. I felt like I was being punished for being addicted to the vices because they would not event attempt to communicate with me and after a while, I was tempted to slip right into those vices because I did not have that connection or bond with my roommates no more and when thinking back to what Johann said, it reminded me of my
Gerald May’s book Addiction & Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions is a wonderful book that addresses grace, freewill, and forgiveness around addictions. The reader should keep in mind that the book is written from May’s personal views and experience. May (1988) states that he is “neither a trained theologian nor a scriptural scholar [and] this book is full of my own theological assumptions” (p. vi). The book is written to help the reader understand how addiction keeps one’s focus on things other than God. The reader learns about the struggle with sin and how the conflict creates awareness to addictive behavior. While the book offers some great understanding regarding addictions and spirituality, it is also based on a reflection of May’s own personal view and experience with addictions.
According to Leshner, drug addiction is a chronic brain disease that is expressed in the form of compulsive behaviors (Leshner, 2001). He believes that drug addiction is influence by both biological, and behavioral factors, and to solve this addiction problem we need to focus on these same factors. On the other hand, Neil Levy argues that addiction is not a brain disease rather it is a behavioral disorder embedded in social context (Levy, 2013). I believe, drug addiction is a recurring brain disease that can be healed when we alter and eliminate all the factors that are reinforcing drug addiction.
Sally Satel, author of “Addiction Doesn’t Discriminate? Wrong,” leads us down a harrowing path of the causes and effects that lead people to addiction. It can be a choice, possibly subconscious, or a condition that leads a person left fighting a lifelong battle they did not intend to sign up for. Mental and emotional health/conditions, personality traits, attitudes, values, behaviors, choices, and perceived rewards are just a few of the supposed causes of becoming an addict.
For the extensive amount of information collected Bourgeois and Schonberg’s research was as detailed as it could be. This study is perfect for many educators, hospital and clinic staff, community members and for anyone that has compassion for righteous dopefiends. Punishing those that struggle with a disease will not rehabilitate on their own. Therefore, these issues affect society as a whole and the wellbeing of the addicted population should no longer be ostracized.
In the reality of the postmodern world, where nature is gone and has been replaced by technology, where the world and humankind have become fused with the machine, and the existence of morality and reality are uncertain, it is difficult to find hope for a better existence or motivation to attempt to change one's existence. Addiction then becomes a logical avenue of escape from these bleak circumstances--not affecting reality, but transforming it into something bearable. The addictions that Case turns to allow him to escape from the hard reality of his life th...
David Sheff’s memoir, Beautiful Boy, revolves around addiction, the people affected by addiction, and the results of addiction. When we think of the word addiction, we usually associate it with drugs or alcohol. By definition, addiction is an unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something (“Addiction”). All throughout the memoir, we are forced to decide if David Sheff is a worried father who is fearful that his son, Nic Sheff’s, addiction will kill him or if he is addicted to his son’s addiction. Although many parents would be worried that their son is an addict, David Sheff goes above and beyond to become involved in his son’s life and relationship with methamphetamine, making him an addict to his son’s addiction.
However, rather than treating an addiction like a disease, society treats addiction by stigmatizing the person like a failure, and criminal. Those who suffer with this disease, both the addict, and their friends and family, are usually isolated by judgment and embarrassment from others, who are unaware and ignorant to the issue. As a result, the disease sadly often goes unrecognized and untreated, especially among the poor, and those who are unable to get proper treatment. Once again, I am very happy after attending my second meeting, and it has an overall great experience. I wish more people were open to meetings to see how great and beneficial they are to all kinds of people, and this summer that is my goal to open others up to attending meetings that could help benefit
Drug addiction is on the largest contributing factors for the deaths of millions of people throughout out the ages. Todays day in age drugs have become more dangerously more potent than they were a decade back. The majority of the population believe that the reason addicts become hooked on drugs because the the chemical triggers found in the drug. This has caused many society as a whole to look down on drug addicts and treat them with less respect than anyone who is not a drug addict. Johann Hari is an english author and journalist who was published articles in newspapers like the New York times, Huffington post and the Guardian, Hari has published his own book Chasing the Scream were he goes into a three year journey on the war on drugs.
This is then followed by insightfully examining the treatment process, specifically through grace as a key focus of overcoming addiction. May focus heavily on desire as the main cause of addiction. He sees addiction as a way to fulfill a universal need that all people have. The text focuses on how we all have this need we want met and that we desire to have more in life. The author looks at how through our desire we all fall victims to addiction because of the fall.
Addicts suffering from alcoholism should make the effort to join an AA meeting. I believe meetings can truly help addicts become successful in their recovery. As evidenced by the members of the group I observed, meeting with fellow addicts who understand and has lived through the struggles of addiction, AA meeting is a great resource. Not too long ago, I had a hard time deciding my feelings of people with substance abuse. I strongly felt that this was a choice, however, at the same time, a small part of myself understood that this was a disease. As I have been learning more about substance use, I have been more on the side that substance abuse is a disease. After attending the AA meeting, it was confirmed for me that addiction is a disease. Although it may start out as a poor choice, it ultimately is a disease that affects that brain. Listening to the speakers, I felt really bad about my negative activities towards substance use. I know longer believe that addicts have the choice to completely stop their addiction. They need help from others to overcome the disease. Programs such as AA provides the fellowship that addicts need in recovering from
Despite how hard one works to overcome a substance addiction or those who have even mastered their sobriety; a negative stigma generally haunts them throughout their life. For individuals coping with addiction and the day to day difficulties, which addiction presents, they often feel many negative sentiments from society. Together with the task of managing their symptoms, low self esteem, a fear of relapse, depression and the negative stigma from the general public can only be seen as a bleak road to recovery.
So, it is clear that addiction is all around us and can attack anyone of us at any given time. Even studies conducted show that people neglect to speak around their dependency for two primary reasons. Foremost, because people do not comprehend, or they bear a total misconception to their addiction, that they do not realize that addictions can be critical to their overall wellness. Moreover, second, many people believe being an addict will never happen to them, but, in reality, most addictions start off as simple little habits. Such as starting with one drink after dinner and before you know it you are drinking several drinks a day. However, one does not opt to be addicted to a substance, because addictions are physical defects in the brain, a disease, and not one’s choice.
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.
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.