In today’s society, substance abuse is a serious issue that has many explanations as to why it occurs. Peer pressure, boredom, rebellion, etc., are all common examples of why a person uses drugs and alcohol but there is more depth to it. Individuals will often get blamed or judged on the actions they perform and do not usually think of society itself as a factor. There are relatively stable patterns of social relations that contribute to the values and decisions of humans. Three levels of social structures that surround and permeate us are macrostructures, microstructures, and patriarchy.
Addiction and drug abuse is used as a way to escape the harsh problems in society.
The notoriety of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has made the narrative about the duality of man humanity known even to those who have never open the book nor seen the famous film adaptation. However, though it may not be immediately apparent, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is, at its core, a story of addiction. Britain’s Pharmacy Act of 1868 had sought to identify and eliminate the use of narcotics, and though the effects were largely beneficial at first, by the 1880’s, when Stevenson’s novella was first published, deaths related to opium were on the rise. It is no coincidence that the title character is a chemist, like those affected by the Pharmacy Act, nor is it a coincidence that he is the victim of an addiction.
The legalization of drugs has been at the center of interminable debate. Drugs have widely been perceived as a dominant threat to the moral fabric of society. Drug use has been attributed as the source responsible for a myriad of key issues. For instance, it is believed that drugs have exacerbated the already weak status of mental health in the United States in which some individuals suffering from mental illness administer illicit substances such as heroin or cocaine in an attempt to self-medicate. Moreover, drugs are blamed for turning auspicious members of the community into worthless degenerates.
This is a summary taken from “Saying Yes” by Jacob Sullum; Chapter 8; “Body and Soul”. An ever-present theme in Sullum’s book is what he calls “voodoo pharmacology”—the idea, promoted in large part by the government, that certain drugs have the power to hijack people and enslave them in an inescapable prison of craving and compulsion. Sullum seeks to show that this idea is a myth, that only a tiny percentage of illegal-drug users become addicts, whereas the vast majority of people who use illegal drugs live normal, productive, loving lives. The book is filled with valuable insights derived from deconstructing government statistics about drugs and drug use. Sullum shows how even the most vilified drugs, such as heroin and crack cocaine, are
(Earnshaw, et. al 117). In addition to affecting the lives of patients, addiction impacts the community’s functionality. Interestingly, frequent use of psychoactive medications by patients of all ages can lead to addiction, but administration of these medications is a valuable technique of treatment for ailments. Medications can provide relief from discomfort that a patient may experience, nevertheless while causing an alteration in
According to a newly published review of decades of archaeological research, humans worldwide have been using psychoactive substances since prehistoric times. What started with the fermentation of wild berries and collecting mushrooms filled with psilocybin has now evolved to one of humanities biggest industries. Pharmaceutical companies spend millions of dollars each year on the research and development of pills, while at the same time a college student using household chemicals is making his own substance in his dorm room. Students, servers, doctors, soldiers, lawyers, politicians, parents, artists, teachers, police officers, fire fighters, and judges were all participants in Baker’s series. Showcasing the diversity of those who have the
1. “But addiction is another one of those words— dismissive, full of judgment, too encompassing—and while that is to some extent on the mark, a cautionary on many levels” (pg. 8). This section directly relates to the taboo recreation idea of addiction and is one of the reason drugs are considered taboo. Unlike other forms of leisure drugs can affect your body in such a way that you need them and without them you will experience withdrawals.
When someone becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol, there are often more factors involved than just a chemical dependency. Sometimes, people begin to self-medicate in response to emotional trauma, mental disorders or pain conditions. To recover from an addiction, the cause has to be addressed as well. At a holistic rehab center, doctors and trained specialists look at why the individual developed their
Literature Review Substance Use Disorder Defined According to the American Psychological Association, the definitional boundaries of what addiction is has changed multiple times over the years. Addiction was relabeled dependence in 1964 by the World Health Organization, as it thought that the word addiction closely linked to opiate use. A few years ago, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was released and combined the diagnostic categories for substance abuse and substance dependence (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These diagnoses have replaced the term with substance use disorders.
Addiction is the reliance on a routine. There are many addictive stages. Addiction, as it comes along, becomes a way of life. The persistent use of the substance causes to the user serious physical or psychological problems and dysfunctions in major areas of his or her life. The drug user continues to use substances and the compulsive behavior despite the harmful consequences, and tries to systematically avoid responsibility and reality, while he or she tends to isolate himself/herself from others because of guilt and pain (Angres, & Bettinardi-Angres, 2008).
One aspect Bowen family therapy focus on is the idea people are the result of an evolutionary process. One component of the model is differentiation of self. Differentiation of self is the separation of one’s intellectual and emotional functioning process from other. Hunger the acronym in HALT states “People who are drug-dependent often try to satisfy this stress signal with drugs”, Anger states “ you might thing of yelling and screaming obscenities or fighting, then maybe going to grab a drink at the bar”, Loneliness states trying to learn how to live without drug dependency”, Tiredness states frequent drinking or drug use leads to problems with sleep, and operating on a lack of sleep can lead to errors in judgment, poor decision-making, and increased stress” @. (2016). What Are the HALT-ernatives To Drug Use?
Criticism on Social Learning Theory Introduction Social learning theory is a theory related to classical and operant conditioning, which proposed by Albert Bandura in 1977. According to Albert Bandura, people are active agents in learning while they use cognition and social interaction in learning (Rogers, 2010). Albert Bandura considered that people are living in the environment, therefore, human behavior should be studied in social context rather than in laboratory (Bandura, 1977).
People use these addictions to escape the world they live in, similarly to the way Case has a dependency on drugs. This type of dependency is usually started because people have the feeling of emptiness and are struggling with this feeling, looking for an easy way to feel better. Case was given the opportunity to escape his addiction, but instead Case states, “Thanks, but I was enjoying that dependency” (45). He enjoyed his dependency on drugs and alcohol because it was a form of an escape from his body, a chance to forget about his body slowly deteriorating. As Case gradually weakens he continues to abuse stimulants to help with the loss of energy.
Teens who recover from abusing drugs, tend to relapse later on in life. Relapse is a return of a disease or illness after partial recovery from it. This certain relapse is where you go back to abusing drugs from a time period of recovery. There are many reasons why people relapse on drugs. One reason for relapsing on drugs is stress.