Monday, April 21, 2008

Substance Abuse Essay

Living Addicted

Living ones life in addiction is probably at first a blissful fun time into another realm; however, after the fun is gone then ones life turns into mush! The brain is a powerful organ system tied into the wonderful nervous system of ones body. Eventually the body from substance abuse becomes a broken down non-functioning brain. Families are left in shock because of their own children freezing to death in subzero weather because of using crystal methamphetamine or any mood altering chemical. Nursing homes and mental wards are full of the ones who are still alive, but the families are left behind to deal with the aftermath. The affects of an addicted person starts off where moral decisions are made for enjoyment but end causing one to live the rest of ones life in a pitiful mess.

Morally we were given the power to choose to either use our brains to make decisions all the way from the dawn of time. Consciously one doesn’t start out life deciding I’ll be an addict and ruin our entire life and our family! We normally don’t run out into the street to be hit by an automobile, and when we do, we usually learn not to repeat that type of action. Learning curves are taught to us as human beings as we are guide by ones parent; however, when one carries the gene for alcoholism or chemical dependency one is more prone to this disease to become an addict.

Enjoying life with using a bit a substance one doesn’t see the out come of addition and the harm it can cause. Probably one started off with just either taking a drink or doing prescription drugs or a bit of recreational drug use; thus, somewhere a metaphorical switch of an invisible line is crossed after prolonged usage and one becomes an addict to whatever substance one was using at the time. Also women are more prone to becoming chemically dependent than men because a women’s body composition is different from a man’s. No human being has immunity to this disease, because we all fair game to this illness. Unfortunately, when addiction occurs in ones life one becomes a terrible self-destructive train wreck reeking havoc through ones life and destroying others who are in his or hers path like a tornado running on a rampage.

Living ones life in a chemical fog becomes a downward spiral of dehumanization. In the beginning one can tolerate certain amount of chemicals; however, over time the dependency and the amount it take to squelch the thirst eventually can never be satisfy. So an individual will keep drug-seeking behavior till one can attain the high they need to fulfill the original satisfaction. The video on the emergency phone call to the operator, the young speed addicts can’t communicate where they are at and are having hallucinations, which ends in their deaths. Addiction leads towards a person forgetting to take care of their basic needs like putting on make-up, bathing, eating regularly, and it alters ones perception of reality. Sadly enough an addict slowly starts losing mental faculties and social habits where it affects ones self-esteem. Once this vicious cycle starts one has a difficult time getting off the chemical either because one is physically addicted or has a mental obsession to the point of total dehumanization of ones self. The part of the forebrain and brain stem falsely deceive one to keep seeking till either one either dies, institutionalized, jailed, dies, or develops a wet brain!

Hopefully one day maybe science will find a simple solution for those who suffer in this malady. There are support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous who offer a solution if one follows their Twelve Steps regimen. Treatment programs also help detoxify real serious issues with withdraw symptoms. One major step is for the person to admit they have a problem and then one can seek a solution; but one has to ask for help and then the journey may be a long tenacious up hill battle towards recovery.

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