Addiction
Addiction is a psychological and physical inability to stop consuming a chemical, drug, activity, or substance, even though it is causing psychological and physical harm.
BTU Stories
The Last Puff
Every puff felt so good,
Even though it was rude to he who stood
in front of me,
Every toke felt so good,
Even though it made me broke,
Broken and shattered into fragments of
He who stood in front of me,
MISCONCEPTION #1: ADDICTION IS ABOUT DRUGS AND ALCOHOL.
Men in UGM’s recovery program often refer to “white knuckling it" - meaning an extended period of sobriety without true life transformation. Many of our recovery residents have gone without their drug of choice for months or even years before coming to the Mission, but the desire to use remained constant and they were relying on sheer willpower to abstain. Eventually, their willpower failed them, which is what brought them to the Union Gospel Mission.
MISCONCEPTION #2: ADDICTION IS ABOUT A LACK OF SELF-CONTROL.
One of the ironies of addiction is that the desire to fix one's life often makes things worse. "Just Say No" implies a form of control when recovery actually requires surrender.
Misconceptions
The Psychology Below The Unseen
Effects on The Self
Effects on Society
Your brain is wired to make you want to repeat experiences that make you feel good. So you’re motivated to do them again and again.
The drugs that may be addictive target your brain’s reward system. They flood your brain with a chemical called dopamine. This triggers a feeling of intense pleasure. So you keep taking the drug to chase that high.
Over time, your brain gets used to the extra dopamine. So you might need to take more of the drug to get the same good feeling. And other things you enjoyed, like food and hanging out with family, may give you less pleasure.
When you use drugs for a long time, it can cause changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits as well. They can hurt your:
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Judgment
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Decision making
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Memory
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Ability to learn
Together, these brain changes can drive you to seek out and take drugs in ways that are beyond your control.
Drug abuse takes an extensive toll on the family, which in turn has a negative impact on society. Studies show the tendency of one family member to abuse drugs or alcohol and this one family member’s problem causes tension amongst all members.
If a parent is misusing drugs or alcohol, it creates strain in the spousal (if any) relationship, driving the parent’s partner into frustration and fatigue, possibly resulting in a lack of effort at work, in parenting, in friendships or in the ability to care for himself or herself.
A parent abusing drugs always leads to the children receiving inadequate care. This results in poorer childhood health, reduced academic performance, neglected emotional support and more.
As the children of a drug abuser are denied basic necessities of parenting (often including shelter and food), their involvement in and contribution to society, later on, is hindered. In some cases, the emotional burden is too great, causing the affected children to turn to drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism and recreating the cyclical negative process.
When one child in the family is addicted to or abusing drugs, it affects everyone. Parenting efforts and financial resources tend to go toward helping the one child, neglecting the needs of the other seemingly stable kids in the family. The stable children are denied necessary parenting attention and fail to be pushed toward their potential that would lead to greater positive influence in society in their adulthood.
Symptoms
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uncontrollably seeking drugs
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uncontrollably engaging in harmful levels of habit-forming behavior
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neglecting or losing interest in activities that do not involve the harmful substance or behavior
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relationship difficulties, which often involve lashing out at people who identify the dependency
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an inability to stop using a drug, though it may be causing health problems or personal problems, such as issues with employment or relationships
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hiding substances or behaviors and otherwise exercising secrecy, for example, by refusing to explain injuries that occurred while under the influence
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profound changes in appearance, including a noticeable abandonment of hygiene
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increased risk-taking, both to access the substance or activity and while using it or engaging in it
Treatment
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behavioral therapy and counseling
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medication and drug-based treatment
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medical devices to treat withdrawal
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treating related psychological factors, such as depression
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ongoing care to reduce the risk of relapse
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Addiction treatment is highly personalized and often requires the support of the individual's community or family.
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Treatment can take a long time and may be complicated. Addiction is a chronic condition with a range of psychological and physical effects. Each substance or behavior may require different management.