Understanding Drug Addictions and the Causes behind Them

Introduction

Drug addiction is a term used to define and explain the brain’s tendency to avert to the use of drugs and causes a dependency on the use of drug and substance use. The user does not realize or rather knows the consequences and tends to ignore them. The user is adamant to use the drugs, and it causes a trend that the brain adapts. Unfortunately, with time while abusing the drugs, the affected person tends to start having problems with the brain functionality. There is a lot to put into consideration when dealing with people who have been affected by drug addiction, and in most cases, the addiction is beyond repair. However, scientists and therapists have found useful ways to ensure that people with drug addictions are well supported and recover from their addictions. Drug addiction is a problem that faces a lot of individuals, and the causes of these addictions have not been well identified by people. This paper gives a precise detail of what causes drug addictions and how to prevent these causes from getting to a person, society or even a family.

Drug addiction

For there to be a drug addiction, one has to be well aware of the issues and the agendas that underline the usage of substances. These are chemicals that alter the way the body functions and when it comes to the fact that stopping the behavior is challenging; most people are not able to cope. Individuals who are involved in the intake of substance and drugs to be specific, both prescribed and un-prescribed, tend to have a strong interest in taking of those drugs (Hsieh Mei-Hui et al., 48). Drugs are meant to alter the functions that the body is used to handle and they are taken to suppress feelings or even emotions. The young people are the most affected of this lot, and some of them start without even knowing it. They start it as a way to find relaxation and find comfort. Some even go to the extent of getting addicted totally and have a weak body system. They cannot do without these drugs and they end up being mixed in a lot of things[1]. They may also develop other serious and chronic disorders such as anxiety among others (Hsieh Mei-Hui et al., 48).

These drugs can be taken into the body through injections, ingestion or even inhalation. These methods tend to affect the pathway of these drugs, and they end up affecting the entire body system. Drug addiction kicks in when the body cannot function without the use of these substances. Looking at the bigger picture, drug addictions do not originate from the individual only; they come from the society, the family, friends, and social media.

Drug addictions due to family and friends

It is very unfortunate that most people do not have any idea of what to do or how to handle the issues of family. Family members play a significant role in contributing to drug addiction problems. What happens when the family itself, pressures too many issues on one person? The person tends to reach a breaking point whereby they are not able to cope with the hurdles of the day to day basis and ends up finding comfort in drugs such as cocaine to cool off. These drugs are at times offered by a friend or even someone very close, with the assurance that the intake will help make sure that the person is well accorded with comfort and relaxation. Addiction is a process of which starts with experimental and later graduates to uncontrolled cravings of the drugs by the user (Hsieh Mei-Hui et al., 48). Another contribution that family causes is when they expect too much from an individual. Blair (2) notes that the family structure also contributes to a higher extent in one getting stress. This situation is very common with single mothers simply because of the life pressures they endure while raising kids on their own[2]. In such cases, the family structure and difficulties that come with it can lead someone to engage in drug abuse.

At some point, there are a lot of things that tend to cloud an individual’s thinking. The youths are vulnerable to these incidences and choices from the onset of their maturity, and they are not able to deal with family well. When addiction kikcs in, the relationship between the affected individuals and that of other members tends to shrink even in circumstances where the members are always ready to offer the required help (Choate 462). Looking at the basis of what pushes a young person, who has all he or she needs in the family and still ends up being hooked on drugs, one associate with certain deficiencies[3]. A family may not demand anything from the children or even any other family member. In fact, they may provide every essential need to the individual, but lack to provide the essence of emotional needs and psychological needs (Lobato, Mónica, et al., 145). Most young people need emotional support and advice when transitioning to adulthood or even better when handling certain issues. Young people may end up getting advice from their peers who are already in drugs, and they may find solace since that is where they find their identity. Being talked to and even being approached in case anything is noted, may bring a good light to what the teenager needs.

Figure 1: A Heroin Addict

Based on the image it is apparent that the person is an addict. The man is shown after injecting himself with heroin with a group of other people. It can be interpreted that they are his friends or peers which clearly illustrates the effects of bad company on drug abuse.

Drugs addictions due to Society’s Neglection

Another cause of drug addiction is the community or the people surrounding an individual. Looking at the kind of lifestyle that people are living nowadays, it is hard to identify where morals have gone. There is a blooming effect of what people need to do and how they need to handle these issues. The major effect that causes drug addiction is the ease of access to these drugs that are from the community. The society does not have people who are keen to look at what the young people are doing, and it is not interested in identifying what kind of issues they are facing. Unfortunately, when one gets addicted and the negative effects of drug usage kicks in, the same society starts discriminating and stigmatizing the affected individual (Hsieh Mei-Hui et al., 48).

The use of drugs starts when there is no community engagement for the young people, and they end up involved in the bad company of friends. Rehabilitation centers do not necessary provide the required help and most people are not identifying the moral decay that is there in the society (Pasche Sonja et al., 533). Everyone is living their lives and abandoning the responsibility of taking care of the young to the parents and guardians[4]. Lack of community watchdogs that survey what the young people are up to is making drug addiction a general case in the society. Lack of awareness to the youth on how drug use affects their lives and how it only tends to bring more pain than gain is yet something else that most communities have not yet been able to do. To ensure these cases, do not go on, the community members need to take up the responsibility of ensuring that youths have sensitization on why drug use is not useful for their health. The community also needs to engage the young people in development programs and any other idle people that may be within the community.

Figure 2: Teenager smoking

            Teenagers are the most vulnerable to drugs abuse in general. Due to family neglect teenagers becomes experimental as the means of escaping boredom and surviving. It might be noted that he might be lacking any social or family based guidance thus opting for drugs as the means of escapism from reality.

Figure 3: Drugs due to Neglect

Alcohol accounts for the most abused drug due to family neglect. It is asserted that more than half of the children living with alcoholic parents end up abusing drugs. Alcohol abuse remains to be the primary cause of foster placement, unemployment and homelessness in the country. Those that tend to abuse the drugs are unable to live independent lives leading to high dependency.

Drug addictions due to social media

In a generation where technology has taken over even the slightest thinking of most people, drug usage has become yet another subject of concern. Most people see in the media especially in music videos and in movies, it is evident that the press portrays the use of drugs as a trend that most people need to adapt. Brunborg Geir Scott, et al., (477) notes that there is a high correlation between those young people who abuse alcohol and their use of social media. It is unfortunate that the people who exposed to these videos and images are the young people who still have a lot to do in their lives. When drug intake is a trend, the young tend to take the issue up and adapt to its lifestyle.

The moment they start using these drugs, they become hooked, and it is no longer a trend, but a way of life. They are dependent on these drugs and they no longer function well without them. Their lives are disrupted, and their entire being is questioned. What happens is that the person is robbed of any opportunity of developing since most drugs are hard to get out of the system. The media needs to identify its role in the society and not that nowadays what it gives to the people, is what defines the people. Individuals need to be guided on what to do in the midst of a chaotic generation that is low on morals[5].

Figure 4: Drugs at Such a Young Age

Most children are introduced to drugs at school based on their vulnerability and the desire to try new things. Since parent have opted to compensating their children with money given that they have limited time to spend with them it gives them the opportunity to try new things. Children lack the needed information thus opting to acquire it from practical experiments.

Drug addictions caused by traumatic events and injuries

There is a thin gap between depression and the use of drugs to ensure that the effect leaves the body. Most people when faced with depressing times and events in their lives, they tend to seek solace in loneliness. At this stage, one is vulnerable of being engaged in the use of drugs to erase the bad feelings and memories (Hammersley Richard, et al., 136). In most cases, the doctors may have prescribed to the use of stress relieving medicines that help these individuals stay relaxed and get their lives in order. The moment these episodes are not able to leave the person’s mind and the drugs are the only ones that give peace, a person gets hooked to these drugs. They use the excuse of having bad memories and wanting peace to request and buy these drugs from the drug stores[6]. It becomes a trend and soon a habit that is unable to leave their lifestyles.

Injuries that occur on people also tend to bring an effect of drug addiction, as people tend to get adapted to the use of pain relieving medicines. These people are not able to distinguish or even specifically give a clear distinction of what the medicines are helping or destroying in their bodies. Lack of proper medical care and guidance to patients who have faced traumatizing events and injuries, leads to addictions. Doctors need to take care of their patients and check the medical history of their patients. Some drugs should be avoided on patients who have had traumatic experiences and proper counseling should be considered (Hammersley, Richard, et al. 138). Most individuals may even start these drugs as a way to cool off and find comfort but proper guidance and follow up can help in establishing any underlying problem. Looking at the prescribed medicines given by doctors, it is relevant to state that most times, doctors are not cautious on who gets these medicines and their implications are not reviewed well.

 

 

Works Cited

Blair Sampson Lee. Economic Stress and the Family. vol. 1st ed, Emerald Group Publishing        Limited, 2012. Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research. EBSCOhost, search.

Choate Peter. "Adolescent Alcoholism and Drug Addiction: The Experience of     Parents." Behavioral Sciences (2076-328X), vol. 5, no. 4, Dec. 2015, pp. 461-476.          EBSCOhost, doi:10.3390/bs5040461.

Hammersley Richard, et al. "Trauma in the Childhood Stories of People Who Have Injected             Drugs." Addiction Research & Theory, vol. 24, no. 2, Apr. 2016, pp. 135-151.       EBSCOhost, doi:10.3109/16066359.2015.1093120.

Hsieh Mei-Hui, et al. "What Is the Addiction World Like? Understanding the Lived          Experience of the Individuals' Illicit Drug Addiction in Taiwan." Perspectives in         Psychiatric Care, vol. 53, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 47-54. EBSCOhost,          doi:10.1111/ppc.12136.

Lobato Mónica, et al. "Marijuana Use and Dependence in Chilean Adolescents and Its      Association with Family and Peer Marijuana Use." International Journal of    Behavioral Medicine, vol. 24, no. 1, Feb. 2017, pp. 144-152. EBSCOhost,      doi:10.1007/s12529-016-9595-2.

OPR. (2018). How Kids Get Hooked on Drugs at Such a Young Age. Retrieved from http://operationcleanrecovery.com/how-kids-get-hooked-on-drugs-at-such-a-young-age/

Pasche Sonja, et al. "Staff Attitudes and Services Provided by Community-Based Organizations for Alcohol and Other Drug Users in Cape Town, South Africa: Implications for Training and Education." Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy,        vol. 15, no. 6, Dec. 2008, pp. 532-544. EBSCOhost,             doi:10.1080/09687630701610706.

Patterson, E. (2018). Drug Abuse Problem. Retrieved From: https://drugabuse.com/library/drug-abuse-problems/

 

 

 

[1] Addiction of substances is actually considered to be a behavioral disorder (Hsieh Mei-Hui et al., 48).

[2] Most of single mothers are disadvantaged in many areas such as lack of proper education, unemployment and tend to come from not a well-to-do family. All these factors among others contribute to stress and depression of which tiger one to engage in drug abuse (Blair 2).

[3] Addiction affects family function (Choate 462)

[4] There is much that needs to be done even beyond taking the addicted individuals to rehabilitation centers (Pasche Sonja et al., 542).

[5] Most of the teenagers who spend a lot of time on social media may end-up getting in the trap of engaging I drug abuse (Brunborg Geir Scott, et al., 477).

[6] Persistent psychological effects of trauma may lead to heavy substance use as a form of avoidant coping.