The Effects Of Drug And Alcohol Abuse

Many people, including alcoholics, are not fully aware of the devastation caused by alcohol abuse. Not only does alcohol have an impact on physical health, it causes a host of problems from a mental and emotional standpoint. This addiction is not only harmful to the body, it tears families apart, leads to job loss, and often causes isolation for the person who drinks.

When I step into a college party, the first thing I see around me is alcohol. I often notice underage adolescents drinking and I also distinguish how they become different people when intoxicated by alcohol. They begin to walk funny and they tend to slur their words, making it hard to comprehend anything they are saying. I have watched family members who were so inebriated that they could not even spell their own name or even pinpoint who they were. The questions I always ask myself when I see these drunk college kids is “Do these kids know the effects of alcoholism?”

Substance abuse is a tragedy that touches many lives. Abuse begins with a single use event that, with continued use and overindulgence, transforms into a battle. The abuser most always loses that battle. Personal relationships, social ties, and employment suffers. Irresponsible and erratic behavior becomes the norm, and though the abuser is aware on some level of the reckless and thoughtless acts that they commit, they continue to use and abuse their drug of choice. What starts as experimentation often ends in addiction. The best hope for a person in the grips of substance abuse is immediate,

Substance abuse, along with the behaviors that go accompany the disease of addiction, are incredibly dangerous and life-threatening. Not only do the substances themselves raise the chances of disease transmission, long-term negative health effects, as well as overdose, the situations in which those fighting substance use disorders find themselves are equally dangerous. It is clear that there an ethical approach to prevention and intervention with this issue would seek to limit, decrease, and hopefully, eliminate these patterns. However, with a variety of different circumstances in each individual’s unique worldview, certain strategies have the potential to cause iatrogenic harm.

The DSM IV-TR criteria for substance dependence requires the person to have three or more of the following; tolerance, characteristic withdrawal symptoms, substance taken in larger amount and for a longer period of time than intended, persistent desire or repeated unsuccessful attempt to quit, more time or activity to obtain, use and recover, important social, occupational, or recreational activities given up or reduced, and use that continues despite the knowledge of adverse consequences.

For some people, the use of alcohol and drugs can lead to a chronic disease or long-term illness that has serious medical and social consequences. Are you feeling down, left out, trying to fit in? Addiction begins, so easily and takes over without any warning. It can begin with a bad day, consequences, peer pressure, or a teen trying to find a way to fit in. According to results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), “an estimated 2.4 million Americans used prescription drugs non-medically for the first time within the past year, which averages to approximately 6,600 initiates per day”. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “In 2014, 47,055 people died from drug overdoses. Since 2000, opioid drug

As of January 2015 alcohol related deaths were represented as accountable for approximately 6% of deaths worldwide. That is 3.3 million deaths from alcohol related car accidents to alcohol poisoning. The consumption of alcohol can be tied with being a factor in a variety of diseases, disabilities, tragedies, and crimes. An estimate of over 76 million people suffer from alcohol dependence and abuse. Consumption of alcohol can become a serious threat to personal and public health when an individual engages in activities such as binge drinking or drinking while driving. In other words, harmful drinking is anytime an individual becomes unable to have full perception and control of his/her surroundings because of alcohol. Harmful drinking can also be defined as a pattern of alcohol consumption causing health problems that are directly connected to alcohol.

Historically drug addiction has not been treated like other chronic diseases. Society has viewed the illness as being based on the person using drugs/alcohol and concluded that stopping the behavior would end the problem. The reality is that other people who have chronic disorders often require sustained and repeated treatment episodes. Amelia Arria and A. Thomas McLellan (2012) pointed out, “First, viewing addiction as a “bad habit’ or a “sin” has led us to unnecessarily attach antisocial attributes to both the addiction process itself and to those who become addicted. Second, the nature of our traditional treatments for this “condition”-generally short term, educational, and segregated from the rest of medical care–do not comport with the scientific findings showing

Alcohol abuse is something that has affected countless lives, both mentally and physically. There are numerous disorders linked to this abuse, from Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorders to Alcohol-Induced Psychotic Disorder. These disorders have varying affects on the body and the person’s lives, and can cause serious injury and/or have serious side effects. A US Department of Justice study found that as many as 40% of violent crimes occur under the influence of alcohol. Of the 3.9 million Americans who received treatment for a substance abuse problem in 2005, 2.5 million of them were treated for alcohol use. Drinking alcohol to the point of dependence poses a severe health

This essay will be written to raise awareness into the idea of drug abuse and what causes it as this is a growing issue within adolescents in our world today. This essay will help to inform people into the negative impact drugs can have on your life and to also outline how an individual can refrain from such acts. It is worthy of investigation due to the fact that it will enable one to gain a greater understanding through science and research about how an individual within the aforementioned age group can be influenced by differing factors, which ultimately lead to consumption of drugs. The essay aims to ensure individuals refrain from conforming to the underlying contention of drugs as a negative substance.

Not only does the substance abuser need help so do you, even if you don’t think so at the time. Help, education, and support is needed for everyone involved enabling them a way to find healthy methods to overcome the negativity of the disease. In this paper I will discuss the concerns we should have when dealing with substance abuse.

College students will always encounter some type of “problem” during their college experience. A problem can be something simple such as a lack of adequate parking or more complex such as sexual harassment. “A new report from Student Monitor asked college students to identify the biggest problems on campus, and their top three answers were cost of education, stress, and alcohol abuse,” (Jacobs, 2014, p.1). College students will be affected by a number of problems during their college career. As a professional in student affairs it is our duty to help students decrease their problems and help them have a successful experience. Andrews University is experiencing one of the top three biggest social issues on their campus, alcohol abuse and

Throughout the years, drugs and alcohol have always been a problem to law enforcement, not only because of its illegal usage, but also because of the problems that it causes when consumed. As our society progresses, drugs and alcohol have frequently been the cause of many crimes. In fact, our society as a whole has always been on a tangent of positions against or for drugs and alcohol. From the Prohibition Era to the current media trends that drugs are NOT cool to do anymore, our stances have always been vastly different in regards to both. The social and economic alone cost us more money and trouble than they are actually worth.

There have been many drugs created over the years to help lessen or diminish sicknesses. However, there are people that have abused these drugs to reach a certain high and this is considered abuse. The people that do this could do it out of boredom or curiosity. Some may even feel that it will help them escape from the problems that they are faced with or fill a void in their life. No matter what the reasoning is for them the outcome remains the same. The body becomes used to the drugs they are abusing and the person becomes addicted. The definition of drug abuse according to the University of Maryland Medical Center is “the recurrent use of illegal drugs, or the misuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs with negative

Drug abuse is a serious issue in today’s society. Drug abuse is a pattern of using a substance (drug) that leads to a serious problems or distress. 7% of people experience drug abuse one point of their lives. Drug use doesn’t automatically lead to drug abuse, it depends on how much you use. There is no specific level to were drug using moves from casual to becoming a serious problem.