Drug Abuse and Addiction Essay

Some of the psychological effects are paranoia, depression, or suicidal thoughts. Some physical effects are rapid heartbeat, sleepiness, HIV, hepatitis from sharing needles, and respiratory problems. “Once you get started, it can be very hard to stop”. (Calabria et al., 2010, as cited in Cooner & Mitterer, 2016, p. 181). For example, I know someone that decided to try marijuana for the first time. What he did not know was the person had put cocaine in with it. After trying it that first time he did eventually become addicted to drugs and he even started doing heroin. Drugs affect three parts of the brain the cortex, limbic system, and the brain stem. Drug addiction affects the way the brain communicate and the way neurons send, receive, and process information. “Addictive drugs increase dopamine activity.” (Boyd, Harris, & Knight, 2012, as cited in Cooner & Mitterer, 2016, p.

Drug addiction ruins lives. It alters a person's personality and attitude causing marriages to fall apart and families to experience great strain. It amounts to millions of dollars in lost time and productivity. And it also causes deaths and accidents.

First of all, there is the Structural-Functional perspective way people view drug addiction as. The structural-functional perspective is the role the drugs do for the person or the weakening of the norms. It is the way they affect the person and what it does to them that makes them be addicted to drugs. For some people drugs relieves them. It takes them away from their problems from a while and they feel stress free and because of that feeling they receive from the drugs they like it and continue to take more and more. Those with this type of perspective well most likely disagree with this view of drug addiction and would want the problem to decrease.

In society, drugs have been the downfall for many people. There are many reasons that a person may use drugs such as: peer pressure, relief of stress, increased energy, to relax, to relieve pain, to escape reality, to feel more self esteem, and for recreation ("Drug addiction and drug abuse," 2011). What is it that causes the obsession and compulsion to use drugs? Why can some people stop and others go on to become addicts? Addiction is often now defined by the continuing, compulsive nature of the drug use despite physical and/or psychological harm to the user and society ("Drug addiction and drug abuse," 2011).

Drug addiction is something that everyone is vulnerable to, and that unfortunately is something that many people are going through in today’s society. Everyone is exposed to drug addiction, no matter what, it’s just up to the person to determine if they have a strong enough will power to not take the drugs. However, drugs are available to anyone who is willing to buy them, and many people are willing to spend everything they have in order to buy drugs that might give them temporary relief of a situation that they are currently struggling in; drugs are many people’s escape from the reality they are forced to be in. People have different reasons as to why they start using and abusing drugs; some may choose to do it simply because they like the feeling the drugs causes or occasionally because of the environment or situation the person was or is in, but I mostly think it’s because the person isn’t strong enough to stop taking the drugs or to say no to them.

Someone who abuses drugs may suffer negative consequences from using, as the addict does, but generally can and does stop when these consequences become too severe. The addict may be unable to stop, even after negative consequences, without medical and/or behavioral help. Says Steven Hyman, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health, "An alcoholic taking a drink looks like anyone else engaged in that behavior, but what 's happening in his or her head is different.” He or she is in the grip of a powerful compulsion that may lead to a binge. (Firshein, Janet)

Drugs can impair a person's judgement. People are much more likely to make risky decisions while they are under the influence of drugs. For example, a person may have unprotected sex while under the influence of drugs. This can increase the risk of STDs.

A person’s inability to ascend a level of needs may cause frustration and succumb to drug abuse as a mean to increase self-worth, thus creating a false sense of accomplishment and lead to further their abusive habit. Drug abuse could result in a collapse of the hierarchy as drug abuse can affect a person at any level.

Addiction can become more important than the need to eat or sleep. The urge to get and use the drug can fill every moment of a person's life. The addiction replaces all the things the person used to enjoy.

One of the most devastating side effects of drug addiction and abuse is depression. Depression is the result of chemical imbalance, environmental influence, or a combination of both. Using heavy and very highly addictive drugs as heroin, cocaine, opium and many other will cause sudden mood changes, deterioration of the immune system, nervous breakdowns, unusual flares of temper and many other side effects. Besides physical side effects, drug addiction can create problems in a person's social circles. The person may run into many conflicts with his family and friends, resulting in desire for isolation. This in turn will create more problems since the person will have no social support. Furthermore, drug addiction is a financial strain especially for teenagers. When a person is addicted to drugs he will do anything to obtain money to fulfill his needs.

Drug addiction has been happening for thousands of years. It is commonly known that addiction to drugs is poor for your health. However, drug addiction can affect an addict, their family, and their communities. Drug addiction needs more awareness and treatment because it leads to homelessness, crime, and broken families.

Substance abuse and addiction have become a social problem that afflicts millions of individuals and disrupts the lives of their families and friends. Just one example reveals the extent of the problem: in the United States each year, more women and men die of smoking related lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined (Kola & Kruszynski, 2010). In addition to the personal impact of so much illness and early death, there are dire social costs: huge expenses for medical and social services; millions of hours lost in the workplace; elevated rates of crime associated with illicit drugs; and scores of children who are damaged by their parents’ substance abuse behavior (Lee, 2010). This paper will look at

Alcohol abuse is a serious problem, driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs is an even bigger problem that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Abusing either one of these substances can lead to the death of you or the death of someone else or even cause a major change in their life like Jacqueline’s story, her whole life has been changed because of another person’s ignorance and carelessness. Therefore, you should know the facts about drug and alcohol abuse before you do something you may regret for the rest of your life.

One of the more common addictions that were mentioned is substance or drug addiction. In the medical dictionary substance abuse means, “Excessive use of a potentially addictive substance, especially one that may modify body functions, such as drugs.” The effects of substance abuse can show a discrepancy between physical and psychological effects. Essentially every drug has dissimilar physical effects on the body; they all have an effect on the brain initially in a similar manner. The physical effects of substance abuse includes; respiratory issues, cardiac issues, and even gastrointestinal issues. With these issues, they can get severe enough to lead up to further severe issues such as lung cancer, heart attacks, and kidney or liver damage, which can ultimately lead to death. The psychological effects of this addiction can be just as harmful. The psychological effects included; hypothermia, paranoia, anxiety, violent behavior, hallucinations, depression, loss of interest, loss sense of reality, confusion, flashbacks, sense of distance, and catatonic syndrome (which affects the body’s central

A person’s body, in almost every aspect of its being, is addicted when one is a mild to chronic user and abuser. The nervous system, brain, and muscle tissue are all living in anticipation of the next high. So, for the addict, it is crucial that the cycle of behavior, is broken. The addict needs to pull up the anchor that keeps them from moving forward. This means changing environments, patterns and even sometimes friends and social associates.