ADDICTION: ONE OF THE MOST JUDGED DISEASE

Not many people have a true understanding about addiction. Which is a shame because think of how many people could be helped if people just had a better understanding. First I am going to give you examples of myths that people have over drug addicts , that the addict has to deal with along with their addiction.

1. All addicts are the same: This is an untrue statement if ever the day was long. Can you really judge one person from what you know about the other. Addiction effects all types of people from every walk of life all around the world. To say every addict is the same is almost laughable. Some of their behaviors are the same but that is the illness.

2. People who are addicted just lack will power: At a certain point in addiction, it takes over. And the addict has lost control. It is just like eating a lays potato chip. Try to eat just one, more than likely you can't do it. That is exactly how it is for addicts the will power is replaced by the illness.

3. Addiction is a sign of moral failure: I could go on and on about this one. It is understandable to think that because of the things the addict does or the way he or she behaves. But if people would understand that when a addict is not practicing drugs they are great people. They have big hearts and most the time a desire to help others. When the addict is not using they are hard workers good parents , and actually have better morals than most.

And there are many more myths about addicts . I could right my whole article on just that. Why are there so many? It is because people do not understand about addiction and are not educated about it. Not that people are stupid in any way but to say they don't have all the facts is right.

Addiction is a brain disease that gets worse and worse over time. When someone uses drugs there is a chemical in their brains that release dopamine. Dopamine acts as a neurotransmitter, it is a chemical released by neurons to send to other cells. Dopamine is released when your brain is expecting a reward. So when an addict does drugs the brain gets a triple shot of dopamine making that person feel pretty good, especially the first time. The more drugs the addict uses the more drugs the brain wants and the addict can spend many years chasing the feeling of the first time they got high. Prolonged addiction has many effects on the brain that include: difficulty learning, it effects a persons judgement, it effects there ability to make decisions, causes stress, memory loss, and effects there behavior.

There are a lot of contributors that cause addiction, I will explain a few.

1. PSYCHOLOGICAL: Many people with mental illness also have substance abuse problems. They are known to self medicate themselves not liking they way they are feeling and the drug seems to help them , in their minds anyway. Depression is linked to substance abuse.

2.SOCIAL: This is why I think most people try the drug to begin with. They find themselves with a person who is using. The drug is offered to them and if you are a person with an addictive personality you will want to do it more than once and become addicted.

3. GENETICS: They say drug addiction runs in families and that a mother addicted to crack has a high chance of passing the gene of addiction to her children. And you will find lots of times the addict's family has a long history of addictions passed down from on generation to the next. It is not always the case but often it is so.

Another thing to be considered is that if a person has no coping skills often they will turn to something to help them. Even if it is just a cigarette, people say that smoking helps them calm down . It helps them when they are nervous or upset, it does the same thing that cocaine and other drugs do. So for instance if someone goes through a really bad breakup and is completely heartbroken, that person may turn to drugs to help them deal with that. And the facts is most addicts are not terrible people but, hurting people, who need the support of others. But the fact also is many addicts are blamed for there problems and not met with the compassion as other people with chronic health problems. The shame guilt and fear prevents people from seeking help.

Recovery is the answer for people who are addicts. I personally don't think it means you have to use the traditional AA or NA programs, although I have had success with them. There are many programs that offer recovery, the addict has to find the one that works for them. Relapse is a threat because drug addiction is a chronic relapsing disease. Recovery is more than just staying sober. Addicts that get sober and stay that way have to change their whole life style. They have to learn to live life without the drug and without the drug lifestyle. That includes for most getting a whole new set of friends and letting some of the old ones go. Sobriety can be fun, it can be the way you make it ,just like anything else. There are some happy people in recovery who lead productive lives and there are some who are miserable. To make the best out of it you have to give it your best effort.

I didn't write this article so I could explain what addiction was and what it effects, although I did some of that. I wanted for people to understand the addict a little better. An addict is just a person, they are someone's son or daughter, they are someone's mom or dad. They are not people who are bad or immoral or evil, but people who need the help. The chronic illness of addiction is just the same as any other chronic illness, so in short if you can not help someone at least don't judge them.