Understanding Drug Addiction and the Cause Behind it
Jose Romero
Lee College
Introduction to Psychology
Professor Dunn Abstract
Society now days doesn’t comprehend why or in what way others become addicted to drugs. They might misguidedly consider that individuals who use drugs lack ethical values or determination and that they can stop their drug consumption purely by choosing to. Being hooked to drugs is a multifaceted condition, and most of the time it takes more than just good intentions or strong motivations to quit. Many of these drugs change the brain in countless possibilities that makes stopping very difficult, even for many individuals who want to. Many researches now more than ever understand they ways drugs affect the brain and the body. Researches now have develop many treatments that are able to help thousands of people to live normal lives.
What is Drug Addiction?
Drug Addiction is a habitual disease categorized by drug seeking individuals, is very uncontrollable, or challenging to control, despite the various damaging consequences (Stimmel, 2003). The first time taking drugs is voluntary for most people, however, frequently drug use can lead to many brain changes that test an addicted person’s self-will and affects with their capability to fight strong desires to take drugs. Several of these changes have to be very persistent, which is why is classify has a “relapsing” disease. Many Individuals who are trying to or are in recovery from drug
Relapses and drug taking are both heavily influenced by similar factors such as the drugs neurochemistry, the user’s history, environment, and dose of the pharmacokinetics. After a period of abstinence or non-use the drugs reinstating is more often an initiation of more than one factor, namely; re-exposure to drug, stress, cues in the environment, priming of the drug to user. In the user’s mind, neurochemical responses are commonly induced through these factors, in that they create a craving by mimicking the drug and this in turn prevents reinstatement and desire to use the drug (McGovern, Xie, Segal, Siembab, & Drake, 2006).
Drug addiction is a complex brain disease characterized by compulsive, at times uncontrollable, drug craving, seeking, and use that persist, despite potentially devastating consequences. Scientists are calling drug addiction a developmental disease. It usually starts in adolescence or even childhood and can last a lifetime if untreated (Volkow, 2010). Drug addiction changes the brain over time. The changes in the brain caused by repeatedly using drugs can affect a person’s self-control and his decision making. It also causes intense impulses to take drugs. These changes in the brain, is what makes it so hard and impossible like for the person to stop abusing drugs (addiction, 2010).
Although the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, the brain changes that occur over time challenge an addicted person’s self-control and hamper his or her ability to resist intense impulses to take drugs. Becoming addicted to any drug is a complex process. Quitting takes more than good intentions or a strong will in order to be consistent and successful. In fact, because drugs change the brain in ways that foster compulsive drug abuse, quitting is difficult, even for those who feel they may be prepared to do so. Through scientific advances, more is known about how drugs work in the brain. Drug addiction can be successfully treated to help people stop abusing drugs and lead productive
Most often opioid dependence stems from prescription drug abuse and leads users to heroin addiction. According to Prescribe Change, whose mission is to create awareness and educate the citizens of Allegany County about the growing crisis, “many [people] do not realize that the same ingredient used to make these prescription medications is chemically altered into the illegal drug heroin.” So if a person has no way to get their pills, turning to heroin is the next option. Meyers adds “ when individuals get addicted to prescription pain killers from injuries and can no longer afford to buy these off the streets because they have been discovered as abusing their meds from their doc and not wanting to get treatment.” The cycle causes them to start using drugs like heroin to cure their cravings. Meyers warns, “Heroin is much cheaper however you do not know what you are actually purchasing from a dealer. That is where fentanyl comes in. It much more potent than heroin and this is used to cut heroin with. However you can mostly like die from the combination.”
What really is an addiction? Why and how do such individuals get hooked on something and cannot seem to part ways? Many bystanders and outsiders seem to be puzzled on why or how others become addicted to drugs and alcohol. This has been an ongoing issue still current in today’s society. “It is often mistakenly assumed that drug abusers lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop using drugs simply by choosing to change their behavior” (Understanding Drug). Same thing goes for the use of alcohol. It is up to the mind, whether or not to prevents the power such toxic substance if abuse, such as drugs and alcohol. The mind is the main focus in individuals becoming addicted. Because drugs and alcohol affect the brain in ways that cause for compulsive abuse between the two, it can become difficult. The brain controls the actions, whatever is influencing the brain, that is whom the brain shall listen to regardless if that individual wants to quit of not. “Addicts continue to take drugs, not out of fear of withdrawal…but because they are seeking form of satisfaction or pleasure or relief from a state of emotional distress of difficulty of life” (Weinberg). Sociologists claim that because individuals become addicted to the intake of drugs and alcohol is because they cannot stop because it influences their brain and they do it for the feeling of being satisfy for the moment.
Most people do not know that drug addiction is actually considered a disease. Taking drugs change the way that brains normally function. Therefore once a person becomes addicted it is much harder to quit the drug abuse. “Although the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, the brain changes that occur over time challenge an addicted person’s self-control and hamper his or her ability to resist intense impulses to take drugs” (National Institute on Drug Abuse 2012). Not only is the reaction in the brain the main cause there are also factors which can increase the likelihood of a person to become addicted to drugs. These risk factors include biology, environment and development. The health issue of substance abuse seems to
The definition of a drug addiction is the loss of control over the intense urges to take the drug even at the expense of adverse consequences (Volkow & Li, 2005). The drugs are using multiple mechanisms like positive reward, inhibitory control, and executive function to alter the brain function. In this paper, I am examined the drug addictive behavior with neuroscience.
In the article, “Understanding Drug Use and Addiction,” it states, “ Drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences.” When someone first takes drugs it is voluntarily, but after the intake of too many drugs, it changes your brain. When the brain changes it causes the person's self-control and ability to resist to be challenged. Which makes drug addiction a relapsing disease. In other words, when an addicted person tries to stop, the addiction can come back because their brain starts to change again as they stop taking drugs. To have an effective recovery from drug addiction, the recovery plan needs to be changed with the brain.
On further extent, all addictions have the capacity to induce the feeling of shame and guilt, sense of hopelessness and feeling of failure. Moreover depression and anxiety are the most common conditions among the addicts. All the addictions have a great impact on various circuits of brain including those which are related to reward, motivation and memory.
Addiction is a neurological disease. It is like a disease as is cancer and heart disease. Addiction is caused from substance abuse and affects your brain in only negative ways. Many people suffer from addiction but not everyone wants to believe it is a disease.
Drug addiction is a chronic brain disease . It’s a recurring disease of the brain and body. Many don't understand how people become addicted to drugs. It's easy for people to say that a person who has
There are many other vile addictions other than drugs. Johann Hari’s article title says “The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think,” after reading the article, it is exactly what comes to mind. Johann Hari points out some important themes on the drug addiction but it is not the only thing that can cause an addiction.
When examining all of today's social and economic problems, and putting them in perspective one of the largest to emerge is drug addiction. Drug addiction is by far one of the biggest epidemics, not only in America but worldwide. Addiction throughout mankind has made its malicious presence known in all walks of life. There are many factors that lead people down this tedious path, such as traumatic events, bad influences, and even genetics can play a role. Although there are many of factors that lead people down this terrible path there are ways to help guide the astray. Some notable solutions include, rehabs, expressing oneself through literature, and even some modern mobile technology.
I grew up with my closest childhood friend who became addicted to drugs while studying in the last year of high school. Being with him, I knew what caused him to be there and it effects that he struggled with. Despite his intelligence, he was very kind and friendly. He spent most of his time with me and many other friends. We had studied together from childhood, but as we grew up, we got in different circles of friend’s. He joined in the company of bad friends. I told him not to be close with them, but he did not listen to me. The time moved on, and due to peer pressure, he slowly involved on taking small dose of drugs, and he was telling me how he felt after inhaling it. One weeks, two weeks and the months went on, he was then almost addicted to it. I went his house and scolded him, but he never listened.
Addiction is condition that results when a person's ingest a substance in them that they like and want it on a daily. Any addiction can hurt you in all types of ways. It can hurt you or kill you and you don't want that to happen. It's not just gonna hurt you, but it will hurt other people around you. The most common addictions are drugs. Drugs are the worst addiction, you wanna be on because it can really affect your body and it can hurt you or kill you. If the parents are addicted to anything they are on their kid is gonna want to do the same because they think it's good because the parents are doing it which is called hereditary. Any addiction has causes and effects, but there are cures to stop that addiction. For somebody to start an addiction, you start by doing something small then gets bigger, but you can also stop that addiction, which it can take a while which you can go to rehab or something to help you stop.