When people hear the word addict, they immediately think that those people have failed morally. This isn’t true. To fight against drugs and discourage usage, we need to stop treating addiction as a moral issue and treat it as a medical one. Which brings up the question, is addiction a mental illness? If so, how would that change social views on addiction?
Science Behind Addiction The brain’s reward system gives people motivation to do things necessary for survival. Why would people eat if it wasn’t pleasurable? The main neurotransmitter in this system is dopamine. There are two classes of dopamine receptors, D1 and D2. D1 can be thought of as stimulate having and D2 can be thought of stimulate seeking (Powledge). Drugs have chemicals that …show more content…
You may want to try the drug again, but you aren't’ clinically addicted. These are the stages. First, experimentation is when drug usage is on an occasional and voluntary basis. Regular use is when there is an incorporation of drugs use into routines, and the person is teaching the brain to reward yourself when using drugs. Risk taking is when the drug is affecting relationships, performance in school/work, and decision making. The person realizes that there is a real problem, but can’t really quit. Dependence is when the person needs the drugs to function, a higher dose is needed to get the same “high” effect, and serious withdrawal symptoms. Finally, addiction is when the person needs the drug and will do anything to get the drug. The drug is controlling the person now. According to The American Society of Addiction Medicine, addiction is a chronic disease involving brain circuitry, rewards, motivation and memory (“Stages of Addiction”). Also, there is a genetic factor to addiction. Addiction is about 50% genetics and 50% poor coping skills. Early childhood trauma also increases risk for addiction. Children of addicts are 8 times more likely to develop an addiction, but everyone has genetic disposition to addiction because there is an evolutionary benefit (Melemis). As mentioned before, your body needs to be addicted and dependent on eating, sleeping, …show more content…
The mentally ill were locked up in asylums and treated like animals. However the founding of Mental Health America in 1909 and other legislation helped improve social stigmas and treatment for those struggling with mental illnesses. By educating people on how addiction is a mental illness, treatment for addicts can improve. Treatment for the mentally ill was never satisfactory. Doctors didn’t really understand how mental illnesses worked so treatment wasn’t beneficial. For instance, the 1900s had various inhumane “treatments” for the mentally ill. Some of these treatments were electrocompulsive therapy, insulin induced comas, hydrotherapy(in some cases was beneficial but often was taken to the extreme), and arguably the most influential, the lobotomy. The lobotomy was often
Bautista 7 performed by surgeon Dr Walton Freemen. When someone receives a lobotomy, the surgeon either drills tiny holes into the head and cuts nerve endings or pokes an icepick through the eye and swirls it around to disable the frontal lobe(Schwartz). One famous lobotomy treatment was on John F. Kennedy’s sister Rosemary Kennedy. The surgery left her with the capabilities of a child(Gordon). These “treatments” were very unsuccessful usually with patients ending up worse than how they began. Currently, mental health treatment has come a long way. People with mental illnesses are not treated as badly as they were
Science Behind Addiction The brain’s reward system gives people motivation to do things necessary for survival. Why would people eat if it wasn’t pleasurable? The main neurotransmitter in this system is dopamine. There are two classes of dopamine receptors, D1 and D2. D1 can be thought of as stimulate having and D2 can be thought of stimulate seeking (Powledge). Drugs have chemicals that …show more content…
You may want to try the drug again, but you aren't’ clinically addicted. These are the stages. First, experimentation is when drug usage is on an occasional and voluntary basis. Regular use is when there is an incorporation of drugs use into routines, and the person is teaching the brain to reward yourself when using drugs. Risk taking is when the drug is affecting relationships, performance in school/work, and decision making. The person realizes that there is a real problem, but can’t really quit. Dependence is when the person needs the drugs to function, a higher dose is needed to get the same “high” effect, and serious withdrawal symptoms. Finally, addiction is when the person needs the drug and will do anything to get the drug. The drug is controlling the person now. According to The American Society of Addiction Medicine, addiction is a chronic disease involving brain circuitry, rewards, motivation and memory (“Stages of Addiction”). Also, there is a genetic factor to addiction. Addiction is about 50% genetics and 50% poor coping skills. Early childhood trauma also increases risk for addiction. Children of addicts are 8 times more likely to develop an addiction, but everyone has genetic disposition to addiction because there is an evolutionary benefit (Melemis). As mentioned before, your body needs to be addicted and dependent on eating, sleeping, …show more content…
The mentally ill were locked up in asylums and treated like animals. However the founding of Mental Health America in 1909 and other legislation helped improve social stigmas and treatment for those struggling with mental illnesses. By educating people on how addiction is a mental illness, treatment for addicts can improve. Treatment for the mentally ill was never satisfactory. Doctors didn’t really understand how mental illnesses worked so treatment wasn’t beneficial. For instance, the 1900s had various inhumane “treatments” for the mentally ill. Some of these treatments were electrocompulsive therapy, insulin induced comas, hydrotherapy(in some cases was beneficial but often was taken to the extreme), and arguably the most influential, the lobotomy. The lobotomy was often
Bautista 7 performed by surgeon Dr Walton Freemen. When someone receives a lobotomy, the surgeon either drills tiny holes into the head and cuts nerve endings or pokes an icepick through the eye and swirls it around to disable the frontal lobe(Schwartz). One famous lobotomy treatment was on John F. Kennedy’s sister Rosemary Kennedy. The surgery left her with the capabilities of a child(Gordon). These “treatments” were very unsuccessful usually with patients ending up worse than how they began. Currently, mental health treatment has come a long way. People with mental illnesses are not treated as badly as they were