...Alcohol and Drug Addiction Liberty University Abstract This paper is a reflection of addiction in the United States and the statistics that prove addiction is a major issue within the country. Discussed in the paper will be first the primary causes of addiction and risk factors that may lead to an addiction in an individual. Going further into the problem, the cycle of addiction and how to break free of the cycle and an individual’s addiction is talked about. Since there are different drugs that can cause addiction, a breakdown of certain drugs is given. These drugs include alcohol, prescription drugs, heroin, and marijuana. Next, the side effects of drug addiction to the drugs chosen are described in depth as well as the signs that can be viewed in screening for drug addiction. Resources available to drug addiction are touched on and treatment options to explore what can be done if an individual does suffer from drug addiction. Finally, what human service professionals are doing to assist individuals who are addicted and how they can improve on training to ensure that addiction can be caught early enough to make a difference? Introduction to Drug Addiction Addiction is a chronic disease of brain reward, motivation and memory in individuals who submit to any number of different drugs available to them. Such chronic need for the drugs leads to manifestations biologically, psychologically, spiritually and even socially in any given individual (ASAM, 2014). These, however...
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...Gambling Addiction The Good and Bad Of The Addiction DeVry University HOSP 440 15897 - Casino Management Dr. Warren Jahn - Professor Submitted by: Michael Phillip Bunker Date: 12/30/2012 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Foundation, Facts and Statistics, and the Psychological Rationale of Gambling Addiction 4 Foundations of Gambling Addiction 4 Facts and Statistics 4 Psychological Rationale of a Gambling Addiction 6 Causes and Effects as well as Consequences Concerning Gambling Addiction 7 Causes of Gambling Addiction 7 Effects of Gambling Addiction 8 Consequences of Gambling Addiction 9 Differences and Degrees of Gambling in Demographics, Types, and Stages Concerning Gambling 10 Gambling Addiction and Gender 10 Age of the Gambling Addict 11 The Different Types of Gamblers 11 Various Stages of Gambling Addiction 12 Risk Factors and Warning Signs of Gambling Addictions 13 Risk Factors of Gambling Addiction 13 Warning Signs of Gambling Addiction 14 Diagnosis, Treatment, and Help for Gamblers, Families, and Other Loved Ones 15 Diagnosis Pertaining to Gambling Addiction 15 Treatment for the Gambling Addiction 16 Help for Families, Friends, and Other Loved Ones 16 Conclusion 17 References 19 Introduction When we come to the idea of a gambling addiction, the behavior is known to be abnormal and the uncontrollable urge to gamble is strong. Exploration of these concepts will be in the following. First, will be the...
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...General Psychology Final Report 2/3/2009 Drug and Alcohol Addiction Many people in the world suffer from drug and alcohol addiction. There are many different causes and effects of addiction. Understanding the causes and effects of addiction can lead to treatment and or cures for them. Some people believe that nature; which refers to heredity, or the influence of inherited characteristics causes addiction. (Ciccarelli and Meyer, 2006). My theory is that nurture; which refers to the influence of the environment, plays a part in it as well. Often times it’s difficult to spot an addict. Some of the signs of being an addict are; mood, body language, and appearance. The mood of an addict can go from mean and angry, if they need a drink or drugs to calm their nerves, or they can be upbeat and very happy, if they are high on drugs or alcohol. Sometimes depending on the type of personality of the addict, they can become very depressed, even when they are high. The body language of someone that is high on drugs or alcohol is often apparent in their eyes, they are often vacant and void of the presence. Often times the eyes communicate an emptiness, loneliness or despair, such as in someone that is depressed. Sometime the pupils of the eyes are dilated, and the person can’t stay focused. (Answers.Yahoo.Com) The appearance of an addict can be an indication that they are using. They will often let their hair grow long and not comb it, or they are just unkempt looking...
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...Heroin Addiction Psyc 305 B-03 June 15, 2015 Abstract: This paper will serve to provide information about heroin addiction in our society. Heroin addiction is an epidemic problem in the United States and is growing every year. Factors such as genetics and environmental factors will be discussed as they relate to heroin addicts. Trends with prescription pain medication and their effects on heroin use will be discussed. This paper will also highlight the prevalence of heroin in the United States. Heroin affects different groups of people in all walks of life. Treatment for heroin will be discussed in the latter portion of this paper. This will highlight different options to fit specific needs. Addiction: a physical dependency on a substance (Doweiko, 2015), a chronic brain disease that causes compulsive substance use despite harmful consequences, (Addiction, 2015). There is no universally accepted way to define addiction. It seems that it is easier to qualify behavior as an addiction than it is to define the word itself. For the purpose of this paper we will use the four general categories of the DSM-5 to help identify and understand heroin addiction. This paper will serve to provide information about heroin addiction’s possible causes, prevalence and treatment. What causes heroin addiction? The causes of heroin addiction are not clear. As with most drugs it is thought that the user is trying to feel better or self-medicate...
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...sex addiction. In addition, this will discuss the addiction, sex addiction behaviors, and the treatment. What is sex addiction? Sex addiction is when an individual has strong intense sex desires. A person that’s addicted to sex has repeated sex thoughts and the sex thoughts make it impossible to function normally. The sex thoughts overpower a person wellbeing which makes it hard to engage in healthy relationships. Sex addicts suffer from distorted thinking which leads to justifying and rationalizing his or her behaviors (Herkov, 2012). In addition, some sex addicts tend to put the blame on other for his or her issues. However, individuals who are addicted to sex often deny there is a problem because of the shame and guilt. The addiction first starts in the mind. Once the addiction gets into the mind it moves to fantasy, ritual, acting out, and the big shame happens. It is the shame that keeps repeated sex behaviors and isolation. Sex addicts live a double life. The double life includes: trying to have healthy relationships with those around him or her and the sex addiction as a secret. The sex addict problem is not the sex but it is the pain he or she is facing (Miller, 2005). Once the pain is dealt with or discovered, than the sex addict will be set free. There are several causes to sex addict’s behaviors. Rejection is a big cause to sex addictions which leads to full shame and feeds the addiction even more (Miller, 2005). Some other causes include:...
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...Drug Addiction Angela Figueroa COMM/156 May 20, 2012 Meghan Anderson Drug Addiction In society, drugs have been the downfall for many people. There are many reasons that a person may use drugs such as: peer pressure, relief of stress, increased energy, to relax, to relieve pain, to escape reality, to feel more self esteem, and for recreation ("Drug addiction and drug abuse," 2011). What is it that causes the obsession and compulsion to use drugs? Why can some people stop and others go on to become addicts? Addiction is often now defined by the continuing, compulsive nature of the drug use despite physical and/or psychological harm to the user and society ("Drug addiction and drug abuse," 2011). MRI’s have shown evidence that the brain of an addict has specific abnormalities of tissue malfunction that non-addicts do not have (About.com 2004). Drug addiction is a disease that can be defined as a disordered condition resulting from the effect of deficiency or imbalance on the body. Drug addiction can be considered almost like a cancer or virus because it takes over one’s body and can cause detrimental physical and mental effect (Antiessays.com, 2012) s. Addiction is a disease that affects not only the person taking the drugs, but also their family, friends and the community around them. Drug addiction is considered a disease by some but others view it as a lack of will power. Addiction to drugs was once viewed as a moral issue but as more research is done they are finding...
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...Running head: ADDICTION AND FAMILIES 1 The Effect of Drug and Alcohol Addicts on the Family Brandy M. Foster Wilmington University Introduction Many families have one or more family members that are struggling with and/or overcame an addiction, whether it is drugs or alcohol. There are many programs that are established to help addicts, but there are very few programs that actually assess the effects that a family member’s addiction has on the family. The purpose of this paper is to identify how family members of drug and/or alcohol addicts are affected by the actions of those drug and/or alcohol addicted members. I’m interested in this topic, because I have family members who are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol and I want to see what ways I may have been affected by the actions of my addicted family members. My father was a drug addict for majority of his life and died as a result of it. All of my life, my father has been in and out of jail because of drug related charges and my immediate family and I experienced him getting high in our home and walking around hallucinating and being in a constant state of paranoia. He would walk around our house closing blinds, turning off lights, turning the volume all the way down on the television and constantly peeking out the windows. One time he and my uncle were in the hallway of our trailer supposedly fighting devils in the air that he saw by creating flames in the air using a certain spray and a lighter...
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...Historical Analysis Paper: Internet Addiction- A Rising Issue The number of Internet users has intensely went up over the years due to the growing accessibility of the Internet. In 2009 the amount of time Americans spent online increased by over a hundred percent from 2004. China, Japan, the United States, Brazil and India are currently the countries containing the largest populations of Internet users world-wide. The countries most plagued with Internet Addiction Disorder include mainly the countries within the continent of Asia such as China and South Korea as well as Northern America, United States (Conrad). Internet addiction has become a serious problem that is progressively modifying the brain structure and function for persons addicted. Like other forms of addiction, the Internet addiction results from the excessive usage of the computer and other internet enabled technological devices which causes increased dependency. Psychological issues and Mental disorders generally tend to lead individuals towards various forms of addictions and exacerbates their illness; this can happen in the reverse chronological order as well. College students are more likely to be disposed towards Internet Addiction because of their developing minds at that stage and the increasing role the Internet plays in the academic world. Scientists are currently researching for more and more efficient treatments for this Internet Addiction Disorder or IAD, but hey must initially be able to correct...
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...It’s clear that people with addictions have seriousissues. In most cases, they have emotional or trauma issues that cause them to medicate their minds and bodies with harmful substances. By eliminating the ability to feel, they deal with their problems the best way they know how. By the time they want treatment and recovery from their addiction, their illness progresses to the point they might need psychological treatment, even anger management counseling. Of all the issues you are dealing with, your anger issues, if any exist, deserve immediate attention. Anger has a way of permeating someone’s life until friends and family are lost forever. Anger also has a way of progressing to the point where innocent people get hurt and laws get broken....
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...Drugs A Term Paper Presented to: Mrs. Nora H. Cubal Mati School of Arts and Trades City of Mati, Davao Oriental In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements in English IV Presented by: Niño F. Sugaan IV-Zamora S.Y. 2012-2013 Table of Contents I- Introduction A. Statement of the Problem B. Significance of the Study C. Definition of Terms II- Discussion A. What is Drugs? B. Reasons why there are drug addicts C. How drug affects the personality of the user D. Drug addiction treatment III- Summary IV- Suggestion V- Bibliography Acknowledgements First of all I would like to acknowledge to my parents , teachers and classmates for their support and cooperation which help me in completion with this project and I would like to express my special gratitude to the industry for giving me such attention and time. My thanks and appreciation also go to my colleague in developing the project and people who have willingly helped me out with the use of their abilities I- Introduction A drug is a substance which may have medicinal, intoxicating, performance enhancing or other effects when taken or put into a human body or the body of another animal and is not considered a food or exclusively a food. What is considered a drug rather than a food varies between cultures, and distinctions between drugs and foods and between kinds of drug are enshrined...
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...Causes and Treatments of Addictions Tracy J Lancaster Behavioral Satistics 325 July 29th 2012 Instructor Sasha Flearly Causes and Treatments of Addiction Introduction Addiction is a condition defined by an individual's intense need to consume a particular substance, usually an illicit drug or alcohol. Typically regarded as a disease or medical condition, addiction is seen by many as a form of disability. Addiction is generally diagnosed based on the following criteria: tolerance, withdrawal, and craving. Tolerance refers to the body's ability to metabolize, or tolerate, a certain quantity of a substance prior to reaching the point of intoxication. Withdrawal refers to the agitated behavior, ranging from mild irritability to severe physical illness that many habitual substance users display when they cannot consume their desired substances (Hamid, 2002). Finally, craving refers to a user's physical, and frequently psychological, need to consume a substance in order to offset withdrawal symptoms. People are believed to be addicts when they habitually consume drugs or alcohol, often to the point of intoxication, and when they display signs of withdrawal and craving in the absence of those substances. Recently some scholarship has examined how many behaviors like gambling, sex, and exercise can also be addictive based on these criteria. Thesis Statement Drug Addiction is a relatively recent construct in a social phenomenon. That is, regardless of the use...
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...between addiction and the brain for decades. The motivations behind the core root causes of addiction and how it affects the brain have been speculated over and theorized about. Refraining from drugs can be very difficult for a person to do when they are an addict. Drugs have a way of taking over a person’s life and destroying all of their relationships around them. People start using drugs for different reasons. Some people start using drugs for fun, some use to mask the feelings they are feeling, and some use for pain. This paper is going to discuss the brain structure and functions, the impact of intrinsic factors, and the extrinsic factors, which will include hereditary and the environment. Brain Structure and Functions The brain is the most delicate organ of the body. Drugs release dopamine to the brain. “Dopamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter formed in the brain from the amino acid tyrosine. Dopamine is essential for the healthy functioning of the central nervous system; it has effects on emotion, perception and movement.”(Purse, 2009) This gives a person a feeling of pleasure. The brain makes less dopamine when people continue to use drugs. With this, when people stop using drugs the dopamine is low and your brain has a hard time with pleasure. The ways that drugs motivate the brain are two-fold, chemical and psychological. There are some drugs, such as opiates for example, that cause a chemical, physical addiction within the brain. The drugs cause the body...
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...DRUG ADDICTION ERIN GETZ LYNN FUTRAL PSYCHOLOGY 1101 28 NOVEMBER 2014 Drug Addiction Most of us know of someone who has struggled with addiction. About 15 percent of the American population is addicted to alcohol or drugs or a combination of the two (Chapter 1: What is Addiction?). Drug addiction can tear families apart by changing the people we know into someone who lies, cheats, and steals to get their next fix. Drug addiction is a serious psychological and physical illness that has many factors such as social environment, home life/family history, physical and mental problems, and withdrawals; there are also a few ways to recover from drug addiction including Narcotics Anonymous, medical treatments, and therapy. But first, what is drug addiction? The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) website defines drug abuse as “a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her.” The most common drugs hardest to give up are cocaine, heroin, marijuana, alcohol, amphetamines (Interlandi and Kelley). Almost 22 million Americans are hooked on at least one of these drugs. Drug addictions don’t normally happen overnight, it is a process that happens over time. Usually a drug is taken for the first time in a social situation, with the person not realizing the consequences that could follow. The person enjoys that temporary high and begins to...
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...What causes addiction, and what is the best approach to counteract it? One contemporary view on the main causes of addiction is positive reinforcement. While there are many factors that contribute to both chemical and physical addiction, including psychosis, a disruptive childhood, or cognitive impairment, positive reinforcement is the major underlying characteristic that envelops an individual’s substance addiction (Osher, 1989). Though the reasons for compulsive drug self-administration varies widely, most, if not all users of drugs do so to avoid negative feelings including anxiety, depression, angst and fear (Goldsmith, Holzer & Manderscheid, 1998). Positive reinforcement is a concept first described by psychologist B. F. Skinner in his theory of operant conditioning. Skinner introduced reinforcement to the law of effect (Thorndike, 1905) in psychology, stating that behaviour that is reinforced is likely to be repeated and strengthened, while behaviour that is not reinforced will likely be extinguished (McLeod, 2007). Positive reinforcement refers to the rewarding and confident emotions that drug users experience when self-administering drugs or other substances. This theory highlights that the common denominator of a wide range of addictive substances is their ability to cause psychomotor activation (Wise & Bozarth, 1987). This view is related to the belief that all positive reinforcers activate a common biological mechanism, with one of the most common components...
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...Addiction Requires Treatment Not Punishment Gloria Tooles English 112 Professor James Introduction The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world with a significant portion of those imprisoned are for drug-related crimes. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, between 1987 and 1997, the number of drug violations increased 48.2 percent. Drug addiction is an uncontrollable illness that causes its victim to commit all types of crimes to supply the ongoing urge for drugs. In short, this paper will be an attempt to examine this illness and, at the same time, determine which is better for the individual: punishment or treatment. Opposing arguments are that all drug abusers should be locked-up and the key should be thrown away. The initial law enforcements for drugs, even if no other crime has been committed, has been mandatory prison sentences to cover first time offenders, and harsher sentencing for second and third timers. There is no evidence that enacting tougher penalties will deter the drug problem or decrease the number of crimes being committed. For this matter, despite the fact that society considers drug abuse to be a crime; drug addiction is an illness and not a crime. Drug abusers should be punished for committing a crime in a way to help them with treatment to avoid them from relapse and committing the same old crimes over and over again. Definition of Drug Abuse Drug addiction is a compulsive craving for some type...
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