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Addictions Essay 5

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Addictions Essay 5
Addictions

Addiction is a very touchy subject. Millions upon millions of people in the world today are addicted to various things, be it: drugs, alcohol, sex, money, pain, and numerous other things, and the scary thing is, is that they don't even know it. People go their whole loves without ever realizing that they have lived their whole life for that one thing. Addiction can be harmless in some cases, but in others it can ruin friendships, wreck families and breakup marriages, and lead to low self esteem and even suicide in some extreme cases. In this paper I will try to cover some of the various angles of addiction, and give some statistics.

One of the most and possible addictive things in the world is also one of the most popular among the populous. Alcohol. Alcohol has been around since before Christ, and it has been wrecking lives and been being abused ever since. Many people drink alcohol with no problems, but there are the few that let it take over their lives and think that everything is ok. The national institute of alcohol abuse and alcoholism says that alcoholism is a disease and includes the 4 following symptoms: Craving - A strong need, or urge, to drink. Loss of control - Not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun. Physical dependence - Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking. Tolerance - The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get "high". They go on to say that currently there is no cure for alcohol, except willpower. That is the same with all things that are addictive, the only way you can truly ever stop doing them, is to WANT to stop doing them.

People think of drugs as something horrible that will never happen to them, but in reality, most drug addicts used to think the very same thing before they took their first "hit". Drugs are by far one of the most addictive things in this world. Drugs have taken the lives of countless people, and wrecked

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