Preview

Addictions Essay 5

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
909 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Addictions Essay 5
Addictions

Addiction is a very touchy subject. Millions upon millions of people in the world today are addicted to various things, be it: drugs, alcohol, sex, money, pain, and numerous other things, and the scary thing is, is that they don't even know it. People go their whole loves without ever realizing that they have lived their whole life for that one thing. Addiction can be harmless in some cases, but in others it can ruin friendships, wreck families and breakup marriages, and lead to low self esteem and even suicide in some extreme cases. In this paper I will try to cover some of the various angles of addiction, and give some statistics.

One of the most and possible addictive things in the world is also one of the most popular among the populous. Alcohol. Alcohol has been around since before Christ, and it has been wrecking lives and been being abused ever since. Many people drink alcohol with no problems, but there are the few that let it take over their lives and think that everything is ok. The national institute of alcohol abuse and alcoholism says that alcoholism is a disease and includes the 4 following symptoms: Craving - A strong need, or urge, to drink. Loss of control - Not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun. Physical dependence - Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking. Tolerance - The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get "high". They go on to say that currently there is no cure for alcohol, except willpower. That is the same with all things that are addictive, the only way you can truly ever stop doing them, is to WANT to stop doing them.

People think of drugs as something horrible that will never happen to them, but in reality, most drug addicts used to think the very same thing before they took their first "hit". Drugs are by far one of the most addictive things in this world. Drugs have taken the lives of countless people, and wrecked

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Gabor Mate’s essay “Embracing the Needle” presents the origins of addiction and its effect upon the people who suffer from it. He seeks to educate about the causes of addiction, and how people continue in addictive cycles. Mate states that even when the source of the unhappiness is not obvious, that is what addiction always stems from. The essay begins by exploring causes of addiction and goes on to provide examples of situations which influence a person to develop and sustain harmful coping behaviours.…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Introduction Addiction is a chronic disease, and can be progressive, relapsing and fatal (Heyman, 2009). There are many models of addiction theories. The disease model, which sees addiction as a medical condition along the same lines of diabetes and arthritis, is the most widely known in the public due to its depiction in media and film as a result of the popularity of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). It is also the most dominant treatment model in the USA (Rasmussen, 2000).…

    • 3033 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Addiction is not easily defined. For some, it involves the “continued, self-administered use of a substance despite substance- related problems, and it results in tolerance for the substance, withdrawal from the substance, and compulsive drug- taking behavior due to cravings” or drives to use the substance (Schuckit, 1992, p. 182). No single theory adequately describes the etiology of addiction or dependence (McNeece & DiNitto, 2012). Most models of addiction is an “addictive disease” (Washton, 1989, p.55). In this paper will compare and contrast the moral model and the disease model conceptualizing addiction. Describe the two on how they take competing views on addiction, and a summary on a theory that can be most useful in helping to intervene on addiction.…

    • 1074 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    sonny's blues

    • 1322 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Reading this text I have realized that drugs can and will have a big effect on a persons life mentally physically and spiritually.It is actually depressing to see what drugs do to peaople and their lives . Some people loose hope in their selves . Some people loose family and friends . There is always a reason behind any ones actions .people do take drugs because they are hiding something or because something is hiding from them .…

    • 1322 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Addiction has long been understood to mean an uncontrollable habit of using alcohol or other drugs. Because of the physical effects of these substances on the body, and particularly the brain, people have often thought…

    • 44692 Words
    • 179 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Addiction should not always be looked down upon. Addicts are not bad people, they are people in need of help to overcome something that has been so destructive. People may view them as bad or selfish people because they can abandon their family, they do not have self control, they can be weak, and they can deceive their families. Some may not realize that anyone can become addicted to…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Addiction is a worldwide epidemic. Many people in all parts of the world have addictions. Whether it be gambling, exercise, illicit drugs, shopping, or sugar. Studies show that nearly 80% of people have some sort of an addiction. I have always found addiction and addictive behavior to be very interesting. Some addicts are believed to have been born with an addictive personality. People born with addictive personalities are thought to form problematic, unhealthy, addictions much easier and much earlier in life. Some even have multiple addictions at the same time. Some people do things like run and exercise every day, but to the point that it is not healthy. When things like running or exercise have become not-so-healthy, it usually goes unnoticed. Most people do not see activities such as exercise as possible problematic, addictive, behavior, but anything that is done excessively can become unhealthy.” The unproblematic addictions are the ones that do not cause any problems. An unproblematic addiction would not cause any type of life disrupting issue and is not life threatening in any way, and those are the addictions that ok to have.…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Phobias and Addictions

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Addiction is defined as “a state of physiological or psychological dependence on a potentially harmful drug or behavior (Encarta, 2009).” Addiction has the distinction of creating a positive feeling or a false sense of euphoria. This is seen most prominently in drug and alcohol addictions as they both give the user a false sense feeling of well being and happiness. Although drug and alcohol addictions are the prevalent addictions, they are not the only ones. Some other addictions are: shopping, smoking, gambling, and sometimes sex addictions give the addict the same sense of well being. However, they all share the same negative outcome to the individual as his or her compulsion to acquire the “high” overrides the logical and rational sense of self-preservation.…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Addiction is a compulsive and irresistible craving for something. Someone who is hooked to something mentally believes that they are not able to function without what they are addicted to. Addiction is a mental, psychological chronic disease that leads to the dysfunction of the brain and causes one to abstain from their desire. Addiction comes in many forms, whether it is a video game addiction or a food addiction, they still cause harm to the human body which makes it dangerous and very serious problem in today’s world. The most common types of addiction are drug addictions and gambling addictions. Each represent different stories with different plots; however, they both have the same conflict of addiction.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In today’s session, group members received education re: the definition of addiction, the addiction process, and the different types of substance(s) withdrawal symptoms.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Understanding Addiction

    • 1317 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As early as 1939 with the publication of the first edition of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous the medical community was aware that addiction was more than a moral shortcoming. In the first addition of the book in the chapter The Doctor’s Opinion, Dr. William Silkworth (1939) wrote the following, “We believe, and so suggested a few years ago, that the action of alcohol on these chronic alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy; that the phenomenon of craving is limited to this class and never occurs in the average temperate drinker. These allergic types can never safely use alcohol in any form at all; and once having formed the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their self-confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile up on them and become astonishingly difficult to solve” CITATION Alc76 \p xxvi \n \y \t \l 1033 (p. xxvi). This paper will examine the problems associated with addiction, the definition of addiction and treatment for addiction.…

    • 1317 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Addiction is the fact or condition of being dependent upon a particular substance. The ripple effect caused by addiction not only affects its victims but also the loved ones and people close to them. As someone that has seen the disastrous effects addiction can cause for both parties, there isn't one specific path it can go.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Opiate Addiction Essay

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Treating persons suffering from opiate addiction is beneficial not only for the individual, but also for society as a whole. Brightside Clinic in Northbrook, IL, knows exactly how drug, opiate, or heroin addiction can impact individuals and their loved ones. These drug dependence experts are devoted to offering caring treatment to help people get back on their feet. Rather than simply punishing or incarcerating individuals suffering from addiction, they believe in comprehensive drug addiction treatment.…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Substance Abuse Outline

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Addiction : A 9 page research paper discussing the problem of addiction, its causes, process & development, treatment etc; Bibliography contains 6 sources. Addict.wps Addiction # 2 : 5 pages in length. Beginning with an anecdotal introduction, paper discusses addiction as it specifically applies to drug and alcohol addiction. The addictive properties of specific drugs are outlined. Bibliography not available.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Why is it when someone is diagnosed with cancer others are concerned and feel horrible, however, when someone is diagnosed with an addiction to drugs they are faced with alienation and ridicule? It seems so, because, people know that cancer is a disease that has been studied and researched for many while drug addiction has not. Individuals who abuse drugs are affected by physiological changes that occur in the brain, unfortunately these changes lead to addiction and should be treated as the disease it is and not as if it is a choice.…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays