Controlled Drug Use: Is Addiction a “Disease”?
Running head: CONTROLLED DRUG USE: IS ADDICTION A “DISEASE”?
Application: Controlled Drug Use: Is Addiction A “Disease”?
5/15/2011
Controlled Drug Use: Is Addiction a “Disease”? Alcoholism is a disease in which the intake of alcohol becomes intense. Many of us drink alcohol to socialize which is not alcoholism. In the United States more than half of all individuals at least from time to time drink beverages that contain alcohol (NSDUH, 2008). An alcoholic is a recurrent usual. Alcohol affects the central nervous system depressant, dulls the senses especially vision and hearing. There are signs that profile an alcoholic the shakes, disorientation, they cannot think and function on your job. “In general, people who abuse alcohol, drink large amounts regularly, and they become depend on alcohol which allow them to do things that would otherwise make them anxious”(Comer, 2011). There are numerous sources that lead a person to alcoholism. The patterns of misuse of alcohol can cause dependence. According to Comer (2011) a person bodies build up a tolerance for alcohol, and they need to drink ever greater amounts to feel its effects.
There are controversial issues regarding to substance-related disorders. Is it possible for individuals with substance-related disorders, such as those who abuse alcohol, to moderate their drug use instead of taking the abstinence approach to treatment? This is a fundamental question. As I look back, on the days that I spent dealing with a loved one who consumed himself with alcohol. It was hard to see a man who once had control, then loss it and fade into darkness. Its seem as if he had no control. This dreaded disease controlled him, where as he lost his job and his family. It takes the loss of his family before he saw that this is not the life for him. He has been sober for 20 years, but he would tell you that, it is a day to day healing. Even after 20 years of sobriety he still gets the desire to take a sip or two. He still
Application: Controlled Drug Use: Is Addiction A “Disease”?
5/15/2011
Controlled Drug Use: Is Addiction a “Disease”? Alcoholism is a disease in which the intake of alcohol becomes intense. Many of us drink alcohol to socialize which is not alcoholism. In the United States more than half of all individuals at least from time to time drink beverages that contain alcohol (NSDUH, 2008). An alcoholic is a recurrent usual. Alcohol affects the central nervous system depressant, dulls the senses especially vision and hearing. There are signs that profile an alcoholic the shakes, disorientation, they cannot think and function on your job. “In general, people who abuse alcohol, drink large amounts regularly, and they become depend on alcohol which allow them to do things that would otherwise make them anxious”(Comer, 2011). There are numerous sources that lead a person to alcoholism. The patterns of misuse of alcohol can cause dependence. According to Comer (2011) a person bodies build up a tolerance for alcohol, and they need to drink ever greater amounts to feel its effects.
There are controversial issues regarding to substance-related disorders. Is it possible for individuals with substance-related disorders, such as those who abuse alcohol, to moderate their drug use instead of taking the abstinence approach to treatment? This is a fundamental question. As I look back, on the days that I spent dealing with a loved one who consumed himself with alcohol. It was hard to see a man who once had control, then loss it and fade into darkness. Its seem as if he had no control. This dreaded disease controlled him, where as he lost his job and his family. It takes the loss of his family before he saw that this is not the life for him. He has been sober for 20 years, but he would tell you that, it is a day to day healing. Even after 20 years of sobriety he still gets the desire to take a sip or two. He still
References: Buddy, T. Alcoholism As a Disease: But It Doesn’t Act Like a Disease! Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/info2/a/aa022697.htm Alcohol-Frequently Asked Questions: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Disease_theory_of_alcoholism#cite_note-1 Comer, R.J. (2011). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology. (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers Leshner, A. I. (2003). Addiction is a Brain Disease, and It Matter, Focus. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/info2/a/aa022697.htm Ksir, C., Hart, C. L., & Oakley, R. (2008). Drugs, society, and human behavior. (12th ed.). Boston: MCGraw-Hill NSDUH. (2008). National survey on drug use. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. Yi, H. Y., et al. (2005). Trends in alcohol-related traffic fatalities in the United States, 1977- 2003. (NIAAA Surveillance Report No. 71). Bethesda, MD: USPHS.