"Smashed" is A well-intentioned, heavily flawed drama concerns the story of an alcoholic school teacher (Mary Winstead) who realizes, after a couple of incidents related to her abuse of alcohol and drugs, that her life is going downhill, therefore, she attempts to get back to the life of sobriety. The only problem is her husband who continues to drink and plays as an enabler instead of actually helping her and himself toward backing to sobriety. The movie seems very real in its portrayals, and highlights many issues and challenges that both characters face as they are trying to stay in a marriage that is founded on drinking. What the movie does well is capture the spirit of life for a recovering alcoholic. As we see in the movie, alcohol is not just the great social lubricant, it can also be the glue holding troubled relationships together. The film gives some elements of this addiction and recovery tale the short shrift in an effort to keep to its brisk pace. Smashed does a great job than any film I’ve seen of addressing the American culture’s schizophrenic relationship with drinking. It covers the journey of life of the couple and the increasing certainty of their drinking problem. Smashed offers an understandable explanation for the couple’s dangerous drinking and gives fair play to booze: Kate and Charlie imbibe because they have a lot of fun while doing it. So they do it all the time.
Requiem for a Dream depicts four individuals and their addictions to cocaine, heroin, and diet pills. Set in Brooklyn, New York, the characters each have their own dreams and addictions and their drugs are easily attainable trapping them in a cycle of dependence. The central character, Harry Goldfarb, is a young man who lives in virtual poverty because every cent he earns or steals goes toward his next high. He dreams of making a big enough score selling dope that will lead him to becoming financially stable and "on Easy Street" as he makes a home with his girlfriend. Tyrone, his best friend and business partner shares many of Harry's aspirations and addictions. Marion Jones, Harry's girlfriend, is an addict like her boyfriend and dreams
The word addiction has a strong, negative connotation and defined as the states of being enslaved to a habit or action. In the novel, The Glass Castle, Rex is addicted to alcohol. He is dependent on alcohol, constantly craving it and spend money on it despite the family’s financial situation.The text describes him, on many occasions, making his way down to the Green Lantern, the bar, with a drink already in his hand. Rex also takes money from the family to buy booze instead allowing the children to spend it on food to eat. For example, he would always demand for a part of Rosemary’s paycheck, refusing to take “no” as an answer. Additionally, Maureen is addicted to alcohol as well as smoking. Just like Rex, her actions suggest that she abuses
Addiction- a primary, chronic, neurobiologic disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. It is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving. The difference between addiction and abuse is often times unclear. It’s a difficult call to make as a family member or a close friend that is dealing with a person like this in their life, but ultimately it is a call that only the addict can make for themselves. There are tons of different sources and tests and questions out there that can be done that can
The user can no longer make rational decisions on where and how much he or she should consume. “This may be the point where an alcohol or drug user is nearing full blown addiction” (Fleeman, 2004).
“The statistical associations between genetic factors and alcohol abuse are very strong” (McNeece & DiNitto, 2012). However, there is still much debate over the validity of genetics as a definite cause for addiction. Perhaps, the reason for this is because the number of children of alcoholics that go on to become alcoholics is still small. Additionally, genetic predisposition cannot explain the number of cases of alcoholics that did not come from alcoholic parents or families. In fact, addiction can be so prominent, that it remains even after the drug use has ended (McNeece & DiNitto, 2012). Therefore, the biological theory should not be ruled as it is based on what takes place in the body. There is no other theory that can explain how a person could still have addiction symptoms when the substance is absent from their system. Predisposition implies that there is a mutation or malfunction in the body that appears to cause a craving or susceptibility to becoming addicted to a substance.
Throughout the decades, alcoholism has become a common issue that has become the cause of the deterioration of many relationships. In Scott Russell Sanders essay, “Under the Influence”, it is demonstrated how his relationship with his father continuously weakens due to the effects of alcohol. In order to create a deeper understanding of the impacts that alcohol consumption has on families, Sanders uses information from sources such as medical journals with actual statistics that increase the relevance of the story. In Sanders’ essay, “Under the Influence”, the author uses references such as dictionaries, medical journals, and the
Addiction is something that occurs when you become dependent on a substance or activity. When people are overwhelmed, things can become too hard to handle which can lead to addiction. The addiction then takes over their body and they can not control it, they are always craving what they are addicted to and using it to cope which makes them stop thinking straight. People are worried about things that are not in their control such as their environment, culture, friends and family which can make people develop an addiction. In the novel Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, Elijah and Xavier turned to morphine when things got hard in the war. Both Elijah and Xavier were stressed with the pressures of the war. Many factors influenced Elijah and
Soma in the World State is equivalent to drugs in modern day society. Heroin and Opioid is one of the closest drugs that is related to soma, in with being used as a stress reliever and having the same side effects. In Rajita Sinha manuscript “Chronic Stress, Drug Use, and Vulnerability to Addiction” claimed that “[m]any of the major theories of addiction also identify an important role of stress in addiction processes. These range from psychological models of addiction that view drug use and abuse as a coping strategy to deal with stress, to reduce tension, to self medicate, and to decrease withdrawal-related distress” (Sinha). Sinha claims that people will use drugs in order to relieve stress, in the book Brave New World that's exactly what the people use soma for to relieve their stress in life, like what Benard did after everyone had left him or when Lenina went to the reservation had regretted for leaving her soma back at their room.
Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. Alcoholism is a complex disease with physical, social and psychological consequences, but it can be treated through detoxification and anti-anxiety drugs. What will be explained in this essay is basically the history of alcohol, signs of one possibly being an alcoholic, possibilities to why one becomes an alcoholic, and treatments for it.
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
Addiction is a dependence on a substance in which the affected individual feels powerless to stop. Millions of Americans have addictions to drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and even to behaviors such as compulsive gambling and shopping. Recent studies suggest that millions of Americans are addicted to food, as well.
People drink in many ways, for many different reasons. We drink socially, to gain acceptance into a group. We drink alone to ease stress, to cope with our problems, or we “drink because we like the taste or how it makes us feel”#. Often drinking is a learned behavior, starting out as a social drinker; you quickly become psychologically and physically dependent. When someone reaches this stage they are often classified as an alcoholic. To an alcoholic, drinking becomes a compulsion; they cannot stop themselves from having another drink, like a social drinker can. In many cases alcoholics don’t even have to drink continuously in order to be an alcoholic. One the problems of alcohol addiction is that it’s something that doesn’t just effect the individual but it effects, friends and family as well. Spouse abuse, child abuse and dysfunctional family relationships can all be influenced by alcohol abuse.
Long-term alcohol abuse produces physiological changes in the brain such as tolerance and physical dependence. Such brain chemistry changes maintain the alcoholic's compulsive inability to stop drinking and result in alcohol withdrawal syndrome upon discontinuation of alcohol consumption. Alcohol damages almost every organ in the body, including the brain; because of the cumulative toxic effects of chronic alcohol abuse, the alcoholic risks suffering a range of medical and psychiatric disorders. Alcoholism has profound social consequences for alcoholics and the people of their lives. Becoming addicted to alcohol is a gradual process that happens as alcohol changes the level of chemicals in your brain, especially gamma-amino butyric acid or GABA (which stops you from being impulsive) and dopamine (which is linked with pleasurable feelings). As the levels of these chemicals change, you crave alcohol to make yourself feel good again.
Alcoholism has been a major problem in society for a number of years. In fact, alcoholism should be compared to a virus. This is because a person can never be completely cured from alcoholism; they can only fight the battle, day to day, hoping not to relapse. When it comes to the etiologies, or causes, of alcoholism, there seems to be three distinct origins of alcoholism. These causes are genetic factors, dependency caused by brain chemical imbalances after long-term use, and social and emotional factors.