In Nic Sheff's appalling memoir, "Tweak", he takes you through his many attempts at recovery, and the mental and physical hardships he endured. The first time he got drunk was at age 11, and in the years that followed his life swirled out of control as his addiction to methamphetamines (along with cocaine and heroin) became more demanding. What I thought really differentiated his memoir from others about addiction was the courage he had to try again, after so many failed attempts at getting sober. From prostituting himself to stealing from the people he loved, Nic not only had to fight the rest of the world, but his own demons as well.…
The book “Hooked” by Dr Lonny Shavelson is a fascinating read regarding the rehabilitation of 5 individuals (Mike, Darlene, Crystal, Darrell, and Glenda) dealing with heroin, meth, crack, and alcohol abuse. In the memoir, Dr Shavelson follows these 5 participants through their everyday dealings with the network of recovery facilities in San Francisco during the “open-door” policy implemented in the 1990’s, allowing addicts to seek treatment if they wanted. From what I gather, he noticed the chaotic nature of these participants replicated and correlated the with chaotic nature of the rehabilitation system in San Francisco during that time. In the following paragraphs, I will attempt to explain the issues related to alcohol and substance abuse…
There are people from all walks of life suffering from the same addiction. Individuals suffering from addiction begin to recognize and admit their addiction. With recognition and admitting their addiction, they begin to believe that they can overcome it. The 12 step program offers information on the consequences of relapsing but does not belittle the individual.…
Dania Reynolds, “Former Addict Speaks Out About His Past Experiences”, www.covecenterforrecovery.com website, Original author, published by Cove Center For Recovery at 10:06 AM , accessed on October 10th,…
They are taught about the dangers of extended substance abuse and also directed to look at their own situation for a better understanding of how addiction dominates their lives. While therapy and treatment are being administered, patients begin the process of collecting the life skills and tools they will need to live a normal life. Living a normal life will include avoiding…
The outcomes of the treatment are evidence that the approach is results oriented (NIDA, 2012). Patients suffering from drug dependency are able to develop coping skills that help them to regain control of their lives. Furthermore, by assessing and identifying the root cause(s) of alcohol and cocaine dependency, the approach helps patients to develop best practices for turning their lives around. They are able to learn the positive outcomes of a drug-free life and pursue…
Growing up with an alcoholic can drastically affect a child’s life. One in five Americans has lived with an alcoholic relative while growing up (“Children of Alcoholics”). I am one of those five. Yes, my father was an alcoholic while I was growing up. It is a touchy subject for me, but it is safe to say growing up with an alcoholic dad was very difficult for my family. After an emotional separation, my father realized what his life had become, and he worked to overcome his alcoholism. Many of these efforts to recover died out quickly, and my dad had to jump from organization to organization until he finally recovered through Help Incorporation. Whenever I ask my dad about why it was so…
sight and work with addicts through different ways to help understand addiction and learn how to…
Each and every single day, we walk past many different types of people that come from all walks of life and some who are the typical definition of “normal” that are battling addictions to alcohol. My eyes were opened up a great deal when I attended an open Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that had a guest speaker named James and if I would have walked past him on the street, I would have never known the internal battles that he has faced and does face everyday he gets up out of bed.…
There are many benefits when it comes to using the Ashford University Library; the Ashford University Library is a digital library that a student can access at any time of the day. It is also a scholarly resource. Like a public library a user has access to books, magazines journals and multimedia. The difference between a library and the Ashford University Library is that all the books, magazines, journals and multimedia have been converted into digital formats and stored into databases allowing the user easy access them by going to Ashford University webpage.…
Chloe has made some excellent contributions to class discussions during the topics of drugs, alcohol and resiliency. Her research assignment on ecstasy demonstrated a clear understanding of the concepts being taught.…
This essay will describe the benefits of using the Ashford library. The Ashford library is a great place to help out with assignments how to write papers and tutorials to help you get through Ashford University. The benefits of using a proprietary database such as Ashford’s Library is that this database can only be used by Ashford students and faculty. Ashford’s library is a Digital Library everything in the Ashford library is accessed through the internet. I feel that the benefits of using this type database is that it’s not open to the public and is only available to a certain group of people who have paid to enter the database or belong to a organization associated with the database. The Ashford library is made up of many databases J such as STOR, EBSCO, and WORLDCAT just to name a few. EBSCO is the most popular in the Ashford library and it is used to locate books as well as journals. JSTOR is also a proprietary database that is made up by journals written by scholars about science, social science, and humanities. WORLDCAT is a database that helps find books at local libraries and is connected with local libraries which makes it easier to locate books you need.…
The novels, Tweak by Nic Sheff and Beautiful Boy by David Sheff have shed an enormous amount of light on a topic that most of the population tries to avoid and pretend doesn’t exist: drug addiction. These novels are both compelling and haunting. They leave the reader anxiously turning each page, unable to read quick enough. Both sides of a drug addiction story, the addicts and the families of addicts, are told with deep sincerity and powerful insight. Because of these novels countless of people have a changed perspective towards addiction, sobriety, and strength. Addicts are not solely comprised of their addiction and addiction does not equal strength. People should not be ashamed to talk about their life story, Nic Sheff explained that “[He’s] come to discover that holding on to secrets about who [he is] and where [he came] from is toxic. [His] secrets will kill [him]” (Sheff, N., 2009, p.322). These novels have challenged society’s “hush, hush” mentality about addiction, and have brought an intimate insight into how addicts and families of addicts think and feel. This information will greatly change addiction treatment, therapy, and the Social Work profession.…
Upon entering the NA meeting I had mixed feelings. I didn’t know how to come to the meeting knowing my intentions were neither to give nor receive help. I felt like I was an intruder. I didn’t understand why I should betray others or act as if I was an addict who chose not to interact in the healing and recovering process. All of those things pushed me into the door of a meeting and open my mind to the hurt behind the physical appearance of these people. Their stories were heart wrenching. They all wanted help or do be noticed at some point of their lives before they became addicts. Never knowing the decisions they chose to take that first hit would turn their worlds upside down and take their family and friends from them. Forever changing their lives and not knowing if it will ever return to what it once was.…
I had Many reservations about doing this assignment. I initially felt I was inappropriate for me to attend a meeting, when I have never had a problem with addiction. I felt that going to this meeting would be intruding on their healing processes, almost as if I was using them as lab rats, to further my own education. However, my opinion of this changed after expressing these concerns to a friend who is a recovering addict. They told me there is no reason to feel awkward, or guilty about going and observing, because I’m not going there for a negative reason, I’m going to learn, so that one day I can also assist in a person’s recover, if that’s the profession I choose.…