Co-Occurrence Research Paper

It is shown that people that tend to be involved in the use of drugs do so after making a voluntary choice (Heyman, 2009). The major use of drugs for social and non-medical preferences can lead to dependence and further addictions, it is a choice that people tend to make and from that it can lead to wanting it more, do it more with friends and further it becoming an addiction, that then effects the brain and body. When drugs are used in the wrong way they can cause many health issues but some people still tend to refer to drug addiction as a disease. Yes, There has been compelling evidence that addiction is a disease, however the result shown are weak and inconclusive. Results of different brain scans are shown by The National Institute of Drug Abuse (2017) are used to back up that addiction in fact is a disease, however the brain scans used in this research are not symbolic of any abnormal changes. The research by The National Institute of Drug Abuse do point out that changes in an individual’s brain is shown as evidence that addiction is a brain disease, however this argument can be shown as mistaken as changes in many human brains can be seen as not exclusive in addicts, although they can occur when a person is normal (Branch,2011). To top it off the information that is stated by the NIDA however doesn’t show evidence of the behaviour of addicts being involuntary or

Addiction is a chronic brain disease that often results in some sort of relapse. Addiction is characterized by inability to control drug use which results in problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships. This disease causes compulsive behaviors such as the need to use drugs despite the many harmful consequences that affect the addicted individual and those around him or her. Although for most people, the initial decision to use drugs is a one time lapse in judgement, the brain is easily affected by these drugs if the person decides to use these drugs multiple times. The changes that occur to the brain over time will cause the addicted person’s ability to resist the intense impulses of drugs to be altered causing the addict to often give into the temptation of these drugs. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death. Drug addiction is an issue that many people deal with whether they are the addict or the addict is their loved one; but with a good source of support anyone can over come the challenges and consequences of addiction.

Co-occurring disorders can be difficult to treat due to the complexity of symptoms. Both the mental health and substance abuse disorders have biological, psychological, and social components assessed throughout the treatment process. Co-occurring disorder individuals battle to maintain their sobriety as they need to find services for both mental health and support groups catering to their unique needs.

"Co-occurring disorder is defined as people who are diagnosed with having substance disorders and mental health disorders," (National Alliance on Mental Illness). Co-occurring disorders are often under detected and undertreated in mental health settings because of the lack of training and services that lack the knowledge of. "Comorbidity is the boundaries between many disorders," (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 5). "The comorbidity between substance use disorder and schizophrenia are understood poorly but include common (all across drugs) as well as drug-specific (nicotine and marijuana) factors. The comorbidity of substance use disorder and schizophrenia can be a direct consequence of the underlying neuropathological of schizophrenia, that may constitute to enhance addiction vulnerability," (Volkow, 20). It is thought that mental health professions keep substance use in mind when evaluating schizophrenia. Because schizophrenia and substance use disorders are entwined, the symptoms can be

Substance use disorder is not a brain disease, and it will be proven in this paper. Drugs are addicting, and habit forming. Does this make it a brain disease? There can be many different brain diseases, including infections, seizures, trauma, tumors, etc. People could become dependent on a drug the first time they use it, or after chronic use. It really depends on their tolerance to that particular drug. The fact-based accounts from recovered addicts commonly point to the role of monetary and family apprehensions, that is, possibilities other than those directly connected to obtaining and taking drugs, as being main features in their termination of drug exploitation. They basically have an alternative choice that changes from abuse of a drug

Addiction is defined as a chronic brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. In my opinion, compulsive drug use is a hallmark of addiction, yet a mechanistic understanding of this process has been elusive. Drug use is initiated primarily to obtain the excitatory actions of addictive drugs on brain reward systems. The reward pathway evolved to promote activities that are essential to the survival of the human race as well as other mammals (Bailey 2004). When stimulated by drugs of abuse, addiction often occurs especially in those who are genetically or otherwise “neurochemically” vulnerable

The brain disease concept from this documentary series restricts our understanding of complex behaviors such as drug addiction or alcohol use as a large population of society wonders why these people don 't simply stop the negative behaviors that they are engaging in. This disease perspective sends a message to the public that an addict 's condition is amenable to a medical cure and that the language used is more to describe conditions such as schizophrenia and other such afflictions that have not been brought on by the sufferer themselves and that cannot modifiable by the person 's desire to do better. From the brain disease perspective; addiction is something beyond these people 's control and is in part contributed by genetic dispositions and a chemical imbalance in the brain among other things, and not something based on an individual 's choice and behaviors leading to heavy drug use. The studies from the video, as well as other sources, typically cite the brain as the organ in which addiction is said to reside yet this is not perfectly clear and has not been thoroughly scientifically explored. Images of the brain are shown in the videos, one of a normal healthy person and one of a person who has an addiction. While this is true to an extent,

Chapter two describes how addiction is a brain disease and explains how drugs and alcohol change the way the brain works. Based on what I read, people with addiction basically play mind games to themselves. Most of the time is it all in their head. The way the brain structure works is the first time someone consumes drugs or alcohol and get “high”, the quantity of chemical they consume surpasses the altitude of neurotransmitters in the body. The quantity of the neurotransmitters may contaminate higher than they do even when eating, which may last longer. The “Go” system collects that experience, which is kept in the hippocampus and amygdala. When someone initially gets intoxicated or high, both consumptions deluge the brain with dopamine with an illustrated memory of the pleasant event and response. Which makes the individual look forward to implementing the experience again.

Another highly addictive substance, cocaine gives users a sudden, euphoric rush of energy upon using it, but as this wears off, they start to experience effects such as paranoia and jitteriness. Cocaine addicts are usually very secretive about their use of the drug due to the paranoia associated with it, so they many disappear to use it, and return with a notably different mood and

From being a drug that could help with depression, to causing many people negative effects on the body, including death, cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant mostly used to alter person's mental state. It has been greatly researched. Once addicted, getting yourself to stop can be difficult. Quitting can sometimes that mean you're putting your life at risk. Cocaine floods your brain with dopamine serotonin and on epinephrine. Dopamine is responsible for word and motivation, serotonin is your pot responsible for our emotional states and moods, and none epinephrine for arousal. Once we accommodate our brains to receiving these feelings, the difficulty of going back is intense without the cocaine that you have tricked your brain into believing

Cocaine is the drug I think that has the biggest impact on someone’s behavior because of the intense ‘rush’ or ‘high’ that the user typically experiences. My main concern with cocaine is that the user goes from such a Euphoric feeling to feeling depressed. The dramatic change as the effects wear off makes a person change substantially. The user becomes irritable and despondent, which lead the user craving for another dose (Levinthal, 2012, pg. 170). The after effects can induce someone into the thought of suicide and that effect to me makes it a serious threat to whoever is using the drug. The effect that cocaine has on your brain with the loss of dopamine receptors is something that is permanently gone. Your dopamine receptors are what allow

Cocaine causes a temporary, intense high that is immediately followed by powerful feelings of depression, agitation and a craving for more of the drug. In small amounts cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric, mentally alert, energetic and hypersensitive to sight, sound, and touch. This is due to the active chemical in cocaine, cocaine hydrochloride. It is a lipophilic substance, meaning that it can easily pass into the brain tissues once it enters the bloodstream. Cocaine interferes with the brain’s regulation of three important neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine.

Cocaine users take the drug to achieve a “high” and sense of euphoria described as an increased sense of energy and alertness, extremely elevated mood, and a feeling of supremacy. While this might sound appealing to users or to anyone who may want to try it, the use of cocaine has a wide variety of negative physiological and psychological effects on a person. Physically, the use of cocaine can cause the constriction of blood vessels, dilation of pupils, increase in body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure, headaches, gastrointestinal problems including pain in the abdomen and nausea, and a decrease in appetite. Sudden death is not uncommon for

Cocaine is an addictive drug and it affects how the brain generally functions. Cocaine gets involved with the reward system in the brain. Cocaine has an effect on three neurotransmitters which are dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. What dopamine is involved in is the feeling of dependency, serotonin causes feelings of confidence, and norepinephrine increases or lowers an individuals energy level. What cocaine does in the brain is, it won’t allow the reabsorption of these three chemicals, it does this by binding to the transporters, these transporters are in charge of removing high amounts of these three neurotransmitters from the synaptic gap. Since cocaine binds to the transporters the neurotransmitters can no longer by reabsorbed and this leads to a high level of these neurotransmitters in the synapses ("Cocaine Addiction and...”). Having a high concentration of dopamine leads to higher feelings of pleasure and reward, this leads the brain to think that cocaine isn’t dangerous. People that continue to use cocaine get used to high levels of these neurotransmitters and always want to have elevated levels because it causes them pleasure, that’s how addiction happens. Furthermore, the frontal cortex is what makes us reject pleasure if we know the outcome won’t be positive. Cocaine addicts can no longer rely on the frontal cortex because this area becomes damaged when someone is addicted to cocaine (“Cocaine Addiction and...”). Lastly, cocaine also affects the amygdala and hippocampus, these both help an individual remember what led to the satisfaction they felt. When someone uses cocaine, the amygdala and hippocampus create memories of people and places that are connected to the drug and also memories of the pleasure. If the individual is with the people or at the same place where they felt pleasure it will bring back memories and an urge to

When cocaine is used for a long period of time, it creates dependence to it, because the tolerance to it also increases. Cocaine abusers will fill the withdrawals associated with it, and think they will need another dose. Only the next time, they decide to increase the dose, because it doesn’t quite feel as potent as before. By doing this, and increasing dosages, cocaine abusers are setting themselves up for addiction. Then they feel that there is no way out simply because they can’t deal with the withdrawal