The First Layer Of Conscience: The Valuing Process

The third model of substance use disorders presented is the disease of the human spirit. This model suggests that as we enter the burdens and trials of life and become ungrounded with pain or voids in our lives we allow ourselves to feel pity and open ourselves up to our inwardly sinful nature. “It is at this point that some recoil in horror and become spiritual narcissists: self-centered, unwilling to see any reason to deny the “self” any desire or pleasure” (Doweiko, 2012, p. 357). This model believes that all individuals “all start out with hope, faith and fortitude” but when exposed to the ills of the world some “turn to chemicals to fill the perceived void within or to ease their pain” (Doweiko, 2012, p. 361).

Further, circumstances such as economical, health, or personal issues resulting in a person’s choice to take drugs ironically can be the same reasons for them to either change their pattern, stop taking drugs, or get help versus the unavoidable, involuntary effect of a diseased brain. Additionally, those that choose to continue being addicted over a long period of time illustrates that by making that choice they are not helpless compared to a person who has a chronic disease. “Rather than being the inevitable, involuntary product of a diseased brain, these actions represent the essence of voluntariness. The addict’s behavior can be modified by knowledge of the consequences. Involuntary behavior cannot (Satel, Goodwin, 1998, pg. 5).

In the speech,”Everything you know about addiction is wrong,” spoken by Johann Hari, attempts to inform the audience about how society takes drug addiction the wrong way and is completely normal for a human to use drugs as a last resort in life. The presentation starts off when he explains to the audience the many different drug addicts he has met in his life a few years ago while traveling a long 30,000 mile journey. He then goes onto stating from his research that everything humanity has been taught about drugs is completely backwards. A experiment was done in the 50’s to show the relationship between drugs and social life. The reason people start drugs is not because they want to, but it is caused by not being able to bear a present in your life. Moreover, there is cruel punishments of drug abuse in America and how Portugal has tried to change it in their country. Luckily people can get over any kind of addiction when they have a friend or blood relative that they can call on if they have a crisis. Finally, people should be more supportive and open in their heart when it comes to others that have a addiction. The author uses logos and pathos to emotionally connect and comfort the people that have thought about drugs in their life and people that dislike drugs and addicts, but using ethos he tries to make a change in the natural drug habitat.

Individually, we create a metaphorical puzzle as we reflect on our life. These puzzle pieces represent all of the small-scale decisions we’ve made. Inside of those decisions, also consists of other people and how they influenced our upbringings. When this puzzle is put together, all of these decisions create one large picture. Specifically, Wes Moore’s “puzzle” obtains unfinished than other people, these pieces may not fit particularly well with other pieces, and they may never will. The reader may never perceive why Wes made any of the poor decisions he has made in his lifetime, nevertheless, there’s one large section of the puzzle that holds together–this would be Wes Moore’s influence from drug abuse. The idea of drug abuse continues to be frowned upon by other people. However, what most people may not understand is that there’s an addiction that comes with it, not an addiction to the drugs specifically, though an addiction to the lifestyle that came with it.

Another, aspect, spirituality is not as much a prearranged system, it is a quest and a prolongation of one’s development.

In his essay “Embraced by the Needle”, Gabor Maté sets out the stages of drug addiction and its consequences, its effects bring many torments to people who are vulnerable to drug dependences. At first, he explains the physiological effects of using drugs. Then, he reflects upon different degrees of stress that cause emotional youths are easily involved in substance abuse.

The history of addiction goes back centuries, and unfortunately, there is still a long way to go for people to realize the effects of chemical substances do more harm than good. The difference between drug use and abuse relies heavily on a person’s dependence on the substance. The line between the differences is often very fine. Depending on other factors involved, such as morals, values, environment, and genetic predisposition, the line will most likely be crossed without regard to the consequences until treatment and recovery are the only options left. This is essay compares two theoretical explanations

Although, there are many efforts to reduce the stigma of addiction, false concepts among individuals still persist. Many individuals may describe drug addicts as “people who are morally weak and cannot control their impulses”, or simply just “people who cannot get their life together”. Such misconceptions suggesting that

What qualifies the continued engagement in an activity or use of a substance as an addiction as opposed to an interest or hobby? In describing her own relationship with her lover, which had been downtrodden at the hands of her partner’s daily ritual with alcohol, Donna Steiner, in her essay Sleeping With Alcohol, reveals the negative effects that alcoholism, or addiction in any form, can have on the life, well-being, and relationships for the agent of the addiction, in this case her partner, as well as those people with whom she is close. While many characteristics are shared between sufferers of various types of addiction, there exist three essential components to all addictions: the detriment that the activity has, the compulsiveness of engaging in the activity, and the futility of the subject’s attempts to stop partaking, all of which can be observed of Steiner’s partner in Sleeping With Alcohol.

Addiction is formed by an initial choice fueled by external beguiling factors. From the time we are born, we know absolutely nothing, our minds are a blank slate. In fact, according to Jean Piaget’s cognitive stages of development, the mind does not begin to think abstractly from concrete ideas or reason until the final stage (formal operational), which lasts all the from age twelve and on. Because of this, we can deduce that at any age in our development, we are susceptible to external factors influencing our behavior. With that being said, a person’s decision to participate in the use of any substance is influenced by much more than their knowledge that it is “wrong”. Peer pressure, stress, curiosity or even medical practices can ignite the choice to abuse substances. The majority of addictions that begin in the pre-teen and teenage years stem from their exposure to drugs and alcohol in the media, many even claim that

In a specific adaptation of the debitor-creditor relation that was discussed earlier, we owe our ancestors a debt of gratitude for making our society prosperous, at least to the extent that we continue to exist. The more prosperous the society in which an individual find himself, the more debt he find himself owing. It is this situation man is forced to suppress his natural instincts, particularly his will to power, in order to be a social animal reaping the benefits of society. This ironically is done for the sake of survival. “I regard the bad conscience as the serious illness that man was bound to contract under the stress of the most fundamental change he ever experienced—that change which occurred when he found himself finally enclosed within the walls of society and of peace... in this new world

The disease model of addiction and the moral model of addiction provide completely different explanation for the tendency of substance abuse. The disease model of addiction predates to 1784 when the American physician Benjamin Rush published a pamphlet which discussed alcoholism in medical terms and outlined treatments for what he considered was a “disease” (Atkins, 2014, p. 52). This model of addiction generally argues that it is not the individuals fault for their addiction to drugs and that not all, but some people, will inevitably become addicts in the future (p. 52). Inversely, the moral model of addiction does not view addiction as something that an individual “cannot control,” rather this model looks at addiction as something that an individual can certainly control but that the individual does not chose to because of “weak moral character” (p.52). Although both of these models have been, and still are, widely applied to other substances, the most common substance that it was used was for alcohol.

When discussing the relationship of brain and behavior, the materialist view of human experience runs into conflict with the historically dominant religious accounts. Recent studies, however, suggests that there may be a "middle view" between the two world-views. Religions, especially Buddhism, stress the role of meditation in one's spiritual growth. Meditation has tangible psychological and physiological benefits, though, which can be explained strictly in neurobiological terms. Understanding of how meditation affects the brain, and, by extension, human behavior, also gives insight into consciousness, the role of feedback loops, and the nature of the I-function.

Numerous individuals do not comprehend why individuals get to be dependent on drugs or how drugs can change the mind to cultivate enthusiastic drug abuse. They erroneously view drug misuse and dependence as entirely a social issue and may describe the individuals who take drugs as ethically powerless (Alving, Matyas, Torres, Jalah, & Beck, 2014). One extremely regular belief is that drugs abusers ought to have the capacity to stop taking drugs if they are willing to change their conduct and be a member of society (Alvin et al., 2014). What individuals frequently underestimate is the intricacy of drug dependence that this is

Consciousness: Awareness about the action takes place and also applies the moral principles on daily basis.