Drug Addiction and recovery steps
Drug Addiction
Introduction
People are trapped in drug addiction due to various reasons. Some will try to take drugs just because of curiosity, some is because many people and friends take drugs, or even to have best moments. Again, athletes take drugs with the aim of improving their performance as well as reduce certain problems i.e. depression, stress or anxiety. The use of drugs does not lead to the drug addiction automatically. It is not possible to measure the level at which the use of drugs may be regarded to as casual or even problematic. It depends with an individual. Drug addiction is not counted through drug consumed or the many times it is consumed, but the consequences brought about by the drug addiction. This means that irrespective of the small amount one consumes, as long as the use of drugs is lead to problems in life, there is a high chance of drug addiction or drug addiction (Sinha, p 351)
Drug addiction can be caused by various factors this paper discusses some them for instance, are family history on addiction, social environment, heredity, mental addiction, peer pressure and escapism. The paper will also highlight the physical addiction, symptoms and withdrawal. Finally, the paper aims at highlighting methods used to ensure an individual is able to recover.
Factors leading to addiction.
Background of addiction
The family history on drug and alcohol addiction is likely to place an individual in a very high risk of getting addicted to drugs. Genetics, however, do not guarantee that an individual having a family history of drug addiction will become an addict. This is because there is no single gene which has been identified to be responsible to pass the said traits. However, heredity has it that interaction taking place among the multiple genes is likely to place an individual in the family at a very high risk of abusing drugs (Sinha, p 351).
On the other hand, the environment at home sets a pace to the family members. The examples that the older members of the family set up led to the drug addiction being passed from generation to generation. The young people are in a position to observe the old ones taking the drugs. Some of the adults even go to the extent of sending the young members of the family some of drugs such as beer and cigarettes. This exposes the young people making them eager to use the same (Sorensen and Amy, p 23).
Mental addiction
Human beings are social beings and, therefore, are able to socialize in school, work and even with the community. Peer pressure is one of the factors which lead to drug addiction. When an individual watches his or her friends use certain drugs and tend to feel relaxed, the individual is tempted to try. This continues for some time and becomes a habit. This eventually leads to drug addiction.
Escapism, on the other hand, leads to drug addiction. People like to focus their attention on the enjoyable and pleasant things. Such kind of people will tend to use the drugs such as cigarettes and beer just to enjoy themselves. This may continue for long and can lead to addiction and drug addiction (Williams and Douglas, p1074).
Physical addiction
Some drugs such as alcohol, tranquilizers and opiates lead to a physical addiction. This leads to some people experiencing physical withdrawal, which is different, depending with the individual. Some of the emotional symptoms of withdrawal are anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, headaches, irritability, poor concentration, social isolation and depression. The physical symptoms are sweating, palpitations, racing heart, muscle tension, tremor, chest tightness, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, problems in breathing among others.
Withdrawal is very much uncomfortable especially on drugs such as heroin. This is no dangerous, however, unless one had mixed the drugs. When one is withdrawing heroin for instance, it does not cause any effects like seizures, stroke or heart attack. The first withdrawal stage is called acute stage, which occurs in a few weeks. One may experience the physical symptoms of withdrawal. The next stage called post-acute stage where little physical symptoms are experienced. However, one may experience more psychological and emotional symptoms. One is, therefore, expected to be patient, have self-care, relax and carry on with the flow so as to finish the stage.
Ways to recover
Narcotics anonymous
The twelve steps (Fiorentine & Hillhouse, p67) used in the recovery process include;
The identification and acceptance that the addiction has taken over the life of the addict. Additionally, coming to the realization that only a greater power and strength of will can help the addict get back to normalcy, the decision to change one’s life and quit drug use, consideration of the moral stature of the addict, acceptance of the ills committed as a result of the addiction. Furthermore, one should be ready to hand over the life of the addict to high power with the aim of removing the wrongs, they should seek help from the high power as well as come up with a list of people who have been wronged and plan for amendments. Additionally, it is imperative to ensure the amendments and continue with the process of self-assessment and accept wrong doings. They should seek a deeper relationship with respect to the high power by praying and meditating and awaken spiritually and assist those who are struggling.
Addicts are supposed to use these 12 steps to aid in their recovery. However some of the drug addicts tend to repeat some of the steps many times as they find them helping in their recovery process (Fiorentine & Hillhouse, p67).
Services offered
The Narcotic anonymous offer services based on the request plus the available volunteers. In many cases, the common requests are directed to the volunteers to have a presentation to a certain facility having inmates or even residents. The main purpose for the volunteers is advancing the NA program awareness to all individuals seeking to recover from drug addiction (Crape, p296).
They provide to the inmates the necessary support on the drug issues and chemical dependency. The volunteers are also supposed to share their experience of the narcotic anonymous program and the best way of living a life that is drug free. The program makes individuals appreciate the effect of drugs in their lives and continue with the struggle to recover. This makes the individuals improve their life and lead a quality life thereafter.
Testimonies
People give testimonies on the life on drugs. One example of such from Judy is given below.
One of my friends, named Judy has been struggling with drug addiction for the past two years. She is only 22 and is really stressed. She has engaged in drug taking since she was 15, after being introduced to alcohol by some of her friends. She soon started takings stronger drugs such as cocaine and heroin, in addition to smoking marijuana. She has been arrested severally for Driving under the Influence. At one, point she was almost involved in a fatal road accident as she passed out at the wheel. Luckily she had just driven off, and her car stopped. After this near-death experience, she decided to kick the habit, and she has since joined several community groups that help in the fight against the addiction. She is making commendable progress as so far she is two months clean.
Medical treatment
Most drug addiction cases have treatments which include the inpatient, outpatient programs and self-help groups among others. The treatment programs include therapy sessions and educational sessions which aim at preventing relapse and getting sober. These can be done in group, individual or family sessions.
Counseling is also done to individuals and even family members. This is done by a psychologist, addiction counselor or even a psychiatrist who is involved in assisting the patient be able to overcome temptations of going back to addiction. The therapies on behavior help individuals to cope with the craving of drugs, come up with strategies of avoiding the drugs and also give suggestions on the way to deal with relapse whenever it occurs. Counseling also enables individuals talk about legal issues, relationships and job problems together with family issues (McLellan et al, p1691).
Therapy
Residential facilities on treatment give an opportunity to move back from stresses and triggers of day to day life and aim at being cured and recovering. The treatment facilities offer a 24 hour service on medication as well as clinic support to provide a quick process of recovering (Szapocznik, p 2).
Behavioral therapy assists individuals in the treatment of drug addiction offers incentives to these individuals so that they remain abstinent and be in a position to modify their attitudes and also behavior in relation to drugs. They also improve their life skills so as to be able to handle difficult circumstances, which may lead to drug taking (McLellan et al, p1694).
The programs are available for therapy treatment, which includes therapy and educational sessions. They involve the individuals, families and even groups.
In conclusion, drug addiction is caused by various factors such as family background, peer pressure, mental illness among others. People take drugs to feel relaxed, reduce stress among other reasons. However, excess taking of drugs can lead drug addiction or drug addiction which causes body damage and may even lead to death. This paper has succeeded in looking at the various factors which cause drug addiction some of which are family history on addiction, social environment, heredity, mental addiction, peer pressure and escapism. The paper has also highlighted the physical addiction, symptoms and withdrawal and finally the methods that can be used to ensure individual recovers, which are medication and therapy.
Work cited
Crape, Byron L, et al. “The Effects of Sponsorship in 12-Step Treatment of Injection Drug Users.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence 65.3 (2002): 291-301. Print.
Fiorentine, Robert, and Maureen P Hillhouse. “Drug Treatment and 12-Step Program Participation: The Additive Effects of Integrated Recovery Activities.” Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 18.1 (2000): 65-74. Print.
Goldstein, Rita Z, and Nora D Volkow. “Drug Addiction and Its Underlying Neurobiological Basis: Neuroimaging Evidence for the Involvement of the Frontal Cortex.” The American journal of psychiatry 159.10 (2002): 1642. Print.
McLellan, A Thomas, et al. “Drug Dependence, a Chronic Medical Illness.” JAMA: the journal of the American Medical Association 284.13 (2000): 1689-95. Print.
Sinha, Rajita. “How Does Stress Increase Risk of Drug Abuse and Relapse?” Psychopharmacology 158.4 (2001): 343-59. Print.
Sorensen, James L, and Amy L Copeland. “Drug Abuse Treatment as an Hiv Prevention Strategy: A Review.” Drug and alcohol dependence 59.1 (2000): 17-31. Print.
Szapocznik, José, Olga Hervis, and Seth J Schwartz. Brief Strategic Family Therapy for Adolescent Drug Abuse. US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse Bethesda, MD, 2003. Print.
Williams, Jill M, and Douglas Ziedonis. “Addressing Tobacco among Individuals with a Mental Illness or an Addiction.” Addictive behaviors 29.6 (2004): 1067-83. Print.
