Alcohol And Drug Addiction : Drugs

According to the Diagnostic Statistic Manual 5 (DSM-5) substance use disorder is when the individual has a dependency on alcohol or drug, followed by penetrating craving and antisocial behavior to acquire the substance. The terms substance abuse and substance dependence refer to substance use disorder, which has been separated into three classifications as follows

In today’s society, alcohol has become one of the main necessities for people to create relaxation, confidence, and the ability to be social. In the short story “A Bartender Tells What Man Did to Booze, and Booze to Man”, an anonymous bartender gives an up close and personal account of his observations about the effects alcohol has on men. He emphasizes the change in their character after a few drinks. Koren Zailckas from Smashed shares a memoir of her life describing her relationship with alcohol abuse and the problems that it caused for her. Although certain types of alcohol are used to support good health, it is the excessive consumption and misuse that leaves people dependent resulting in significant social, physical, and mental

According to UAB's health website, "Substance abuse is used to describe a pattern of substance (drug) use leading to significant problems or distress such as failure to attend work/school, substance use in dangerous situations (driving a car), substance-related legal problems, or continued substance use that interferes with friendships and or family relationships. Substance abuse, as a disorder, refers to the abuse of illegal substances or the abusive use of legal substances. Alcohol is the most common legal drug of abuse."

Alcoholism is perhaps the most common form of drug abuse in North America today. Scientists report that the reason alcohol is so popular to people is because it is pleasant, relaxing, and is considered a "social beverage." But what individuals often do not take in to consideration is the fact that alcohol dulls the brain and confuses physical reactions. This can lead to numerous injuries, accidents, and death. Alcohol affects every part of an alcoholic's life: their body, their mind and their family life. The body has a natural chemical that gives a feeling of a "natural high". It happens in the presence of a life-endangering situation. This chemical is adrenaline, which is meant to prepare the body for defense in

In the United States alone, nearly 18 million people have an addiction to alcohol. This drug can be a mild to chronic addiction and sometimes can turn out fatal for some people (Chakraburtty). Almost 100,000 people have died from overusing this drug (Chakraburtty). Alcoholism and alcohol abuse is not only damaging emotionally, physically, and mentally to the person who is doing it, but to the people around them as well.

Nowadays as science and technology develop rapidly, traditional theory of explaining drinking addiction is under challenge. More and more neuroscientists, psychologists and biologists contribute to the exploration of chemical mechanisms working behind alcohol and addiction. As one of the most well-known neuroscientist, Marc Lewis (2011) offers his point of view is that alcohol ultimately affects the brain, which is the source of all our experience (p.22). As we all know, brain is the primary organ of mind, the crucial center of control, and the ultimate foundation of ideas. Even subtle changes in brain can directly lead to the alteration in a person’s mood, cognition and behaviours. Based on the knowledge that I learned in

These are cases that happen far too often. Matt addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. The entire family suffers when a loved one has an addiction. Because it’s very hard to watch someone you love struggle with alcohol or drug addiction. My stepfather is an alcoholic and has a severe problem with controlling his addiction. He can’t live without it on a daily basis although he works every day he is not cautious of his drinking addiction around other employees. It is a very frustration situation to my mom because she has to deal with his problems daily. Although he has a serious problem he always refuses to get the proper help, he needs to recover. I believe people continue their addiction because it becomes a lifestyle for them and everything that happens they believe alcohol or drugs will only make it better. They also continue these addictions without regards to the important things in life. They tend to forget about family, job, careers and everything that might be successful for them in life.

The term addiction holds many different meanings in today’s society, but in the past it has been referred to as a sort of devotion to something. Over time, a more modern definition of the term has developed that links addiction to harmful involvement with drugs that eventually has potential of produce withdrawal or tolerance in an individual (Alexander & Schweighofer, 1988). Although the word addiction holds a more general meaning in a modern context it pertains to any kind of compulsive use. Current psychological authorities refer to drug addictions as substance abuse rather than simply an addiction for many reasons; the two conditions can be differentiated by the specificity of the substance being

Is alcohol abuse real? This is the question many Americans ask themselves when alcohol intake is in effect. “Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that is rapidly absorbed from the stomach and small intestine into the bloodstream” (“Alcohol”, 2014, para.1). While alcohol abuse is a diagnosis of alcohol use disorder characterized by a maladaptive pattern of drinking alcohol (Edwards, 2014, p. 1). Alcohol abuse can bring about many different topics and can sometimes be a touchy subject. This is why most people never fully grasp the full affect it has and the dangers it possess. Whenever

Substance abuse accounts for a high number of deaths in the United States. Alcohol is the third leading cause of deaths in the country with approximately 88,000 deaths occurring annually (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). In contrast, almost 40,400 annual deaths are related to the use of illicit drugs. As reported by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (2014), 24% of youths in the eighth grade, and 64% in the twelfth grade, have used alcohol in the past year. Of the adolescents ages 12-17, 11.6% have used alcohol in the past month, 6.2% have engaged in binge drinking, and 5.6% have smoked cigarettes (Fisher, G.L., & Harrison, T.C., 2013). Substance abuse is defined as the continuous use of alcohol and/or other drugs despite consequences in one or more areas of a person’s life (Fisher, G.L., & Harrison, T.C., 2013). Substance abuse relates to other problems, such as illegal behavior, family conflict, poor academic performance, lack of respect for authority, deficiencies in self-confidence, and psychiatric symptoms (Liddle, Rowe, Dakof, & Henderson, 2009). Although substance abuse is a prevalent issue, interventions have been implemented to assist these individuals in making a change.

In the United States there are 23.5 million people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Addiction affects a person spiritually ,emotionally and physically, it also causes chemical changes in the brain. Addiction I’m going to define by using the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR. The DSM defines substance dependence as a “maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress” It defines these as the symptoms of substance dependence “tolerance as defined by A.need for markedly increased amount of the substance to achieve desired effect. B. Markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of substance 2.the substance is often taken in larger amounts or over a

Society as a whole is impacted greatly by substance abuse and addiction. Not only does it hurt the abuser directly, but it also becomes an enormous financial and social burden on society. Addiction wrecks families, and also highly correlates with poverty because the drug abuser ends up giving everything that they have to keep their addiction going. It also places extraordinarily high demands on the education, criminal justice, and social service systems. Children and babies both are dangerously impacted by the addiction of their parents and the same addiction is likely to even show up in their own lives later on. Drug babies are being born every day already addicted to the same substances their mothers have abused; they are the ones who truly suffer the greatest consequences of the effects of addiction. Teenagers are peer pressured by the alcohol and beer industries to drink; many alcoholics in our society are a result from binge drinking while in college and even in high school. People bound by these addictions who never get the help they truly need or lose their family and feel alone often commit suicide because they feel they are unimportant to society and that ending their own lives is their only means of escape.

Substance abuse and drug addiction affects people from all walks of life. Drugs are available to those who want to consume them. Even though there vast amounts of literature and other informative and preventive data, people still choose to abuse drugs. Unfortunately, most of them become addicts and find it very difficult to escape their addiction for the reason that underlying issues may be causing them to seek and use drugs. There exists a number of special populations that are identified and may use drugs to cope certain stress factors in their life.

Alcohol is classified as a depressant and is best understood as a drug that reduces a person’s ability to think rationally and distorts his or her judgment. “Moreover, it slows down vital functions which can result in: slurred speech, unsteady movement, disturbed perceptions and an inability to react quickly” (Foundation for a Drug-Free World [FDFW], n.d., para.1).

According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, iIn 2013, a survey reported that an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older had used an illegal drug in the past month. The first time someone uses a drug, it is usually voluntary. This first use is usually to mask certain emotions that they are currently going through. Repeated use can lead to changes in the brain that challenge an addict’s self control and interfere with their ability to resist the temptation of a drug, this addiction makes them feel better about themselves and forget about the problem they are dealing with at the time. According to the Mayo Clinic, drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a dependence on a legal or illegal drug or