We Must Understand About Addiction

Imagine if millions of people around the world were shackled to their own poison. Well, it's not an imagination; it’s reality. Drug addiction is literal enslavement to any harmful substance that can damage the mind, body, and behavior. Drug addiction is being tied to a substance and depending on it hand and foot. An individual named Donald Lynn Frost once put it as “Drugs take you to hell, Disguised as heaven”; as the worst part about addiction is that one finds an alternative to happiness that is nothing like the true emotion.

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.

Many people believe the misconception that an addiction is a moral problem and not a disease. To better understand the reasons why an additicition is in fact a disease; I will identify several types of addictions, and the problems associated with them. I will examine reasons why certain people are more susceptible for developing an addiction. Also, I will determine why many addicts deny their problems and many recovery methods addicts use to fight their illness. Researching these issues, will help aid my claim that addiction is a disease.

Some people continue to believe an addiction is nothing but a choice. If presented well, it could make a valid argument along

“Addiction is a choice not a disease”, is a common phrase that stigmatizes drug addiction in our everyday language. The lack of public knowledge about this social problem causes widespread stigmatization and discrimination of the ill. As a result, many individuals who seriously need professional help feel isolated and hopeless, making it harder for them to recover.

Over the years, there have been many discussions on whether addiction is a disease or if it is a choice. Addiction has been considered a disease for many years because it shows the same signs as a disease would. Many believe that addiction is a choice and not a disease. Two articles discuss the topic of whether addiction is a disease or a choice and the article that is saying it is a disease is "Addiction Is a Disease and Needs to Be Treated as Such" by David Sack and the other article is stating that it is a choice and this article is titled "Addiction is not a disease- and were treating addicts incorrectly" by Kyle Smith. Article one, "Addiction Is a Disease and Needs to Be Treated as Such" by David Sack is better than article two "Addiction

Is addiction a disease? This question has long been debated and not just among the medical community. It seems if you ask this question to any random people you can find varying opinions on the issue. Stanley Peele's wrote an article which argues that addiction is not a disease and the growing influence of addiction as a disease will create problems within our society. Stanley presents several arguments for his points, however these are not strong enough arguments for people to consider his point of view. Addiction is not a disease, because addiction is a choice, it's something a person does and not has, and it refers to a behavior. This essay will expand on Stanley Peele's arguments.

At the end of the course, it would only make sense that we turn to the question that we considered at the beginning of the course: What is addiction? Although the many decades of research on the topic have focused on many of the same topics, there are still disagreements on the answer to this question. Despite differences in opinion related to some of the most basics aspects in the field, there have been improvements in treatment and the way the topic is discussed. When I began this course, I was firmly ground in the belief that addiction is a disease, but there were some different parts of the course that have encouraged me to reexamine my initial understanding of addiction. This final paper will detail the process in which my beliefs at the

Addiction kills more than 300,000 people each year (NIDA 1). Addiction to a substance or multiple substances affect the brain and body's functioning's. Addiction is classified as a disease that affects both the brain and behavior (CDC).

One mystery of health and science is the problem of addiction and how we treat or even cure it? Many call it a disease, problem, or an issue in which he or she has no will power over the power of the drug. The idea of addiction and the future of curing/treating it is debated in Laura Miller’s article “Addiction is not a disease”, Benoit Lewis’ article “An Anti-Addiction Pill”, and the Ted Talk about addiction knowledge and it’s preconceived notions. The overarching themes/ideas/issues that are addressed in each of the readings are the need for a better health system that can better treat addicts, the need to better understand addiction and the human brain, and the need to understand the people who use drugs and the reasons for why they do so.

My journey to understanding addiction did not start with walking into Epworth United Methodist Church, but started in a classroom in the basement of Toledo Promedica. Sixteen students and two clinical instructors gathered to hear a young man give his testimony on his road to recovery. He speaks of his own experience and knowledge of opioid addiction, and how to properly use Narcan Nasal Spray. He spoke on his own overdoses and the first time he felt the feeling of being “HIGH” sitting in front of a TV playing video games. The path of addiction started for him at the age of 13, when his father who is a doctor gave him cough syrup for a cough; consequently, he would chase the feeling of being high for years.

Imagine laying on the floor in your own pool of sweat—miserable, your mind bouncing off the walls while the cloud of your darkest thoughts looms over you. Teeth chattering anxiously, waiting to receive the next second, minute, hour of painless bliss. This—this is the life of an addict; does this horror appear to be a choice or more like a disease haunting the mind of the user? Despite the fact a choice was needed to initiate the result, addiction itself is a debilitating disease NOT a choice due to initial influences and anatomical changes to the brain.

First, addiction should be defined. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, addiction is defined as, “The state or condition of being dedicated or devoted to a thing, esp. an activity or occupation; adherence or attachment, esp. of an immoderate or compulsive kind.” Now with this definition, it seems like people can be addicted to just about anything. That being said, there are two main types of addictions; behavioral and substance. Behavioral addiction is defined by the American Addiction Centers as “The compulsion to continually engage in an activity or behavior despite the negative impact on the person’s ability to remain mentally and/or physically healthy and functional in the home and community.” Simply put, people with behavioral

The topic about addiction resonates in my life in many ways. First, sexual addiction is a generational struggle in both my biological and adopted family. As Ray spoke, my heart was gripped with a new understanding of how any addiction can be a vicious cycle and capture the lives of men and women. The most powerful point in the presentation is how the addiction cycle works within the chemistry of the brain. Emotional triggers lead to cravings, which leads to rituals, which turns into using the “drug of choice”, which leaves the user with shame and guilt. For me, the cycle usually begins when I am overwhelmed or very stressed out. I then start looking for chocolate or something that will take the edge from the feeling of stress. I then consume

When I began this class I had a very specific experience and understanding of addictions. One of the major influencers in my view of addictions has been my mother. This is something I never fully processed until I began really learning about addictions and what they do to people. I had impressions of addiction which were completely off base, and I had never taken the time to filter my prejudices through the reality of addictive disorders. Nevertheless, this project and this class has had a wonderful effect on my perception of those struggling with addictions.