Addiction and recovery free essay sample

Addiction is one of the major problems the modern world is facing. Many people have come to understand the term differently and thus it has affected our knowledge about it and how we are supposed to tackle it (Edwards, 2002). However, researchers have come to agree that addiction is a kind of a disease that affects the brain (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2009). When it comes to recovery, the term itself is hard to define since it involves so many processes such as treatment, interventions from the criminal and justice system, individuals and families among others (New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, nd). It can however be defined as a healing process from the effects of a particular disease and the stigma the society attaches on the disease. It may also refer to the process of regaining what one lost during the time of illness or treatment (White, Boyle Loveland, nd). We will write a custom essay sample on Addiction and recovery or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There are so many challenges of addiction and recovery in the modern society and thus this is what this essay seeks to explore on. Challenges of addiction It is a well known fact that the modern society plays a significant role when it comes to addiction since it makes it easy for people to get addicted. The capitalist system that is being perpetuated encourages growth and consumption patterns. People are encouraged to compete especially when it comes to shopping for different and sophisticated things in order to enhance their status socially. This makes people to go for things that they do not genuinely need and all these amount to addiction. People become addicted differently and this can be attributed to such factors like genetics, environment, or the combination of both of them. A person with an addictive personality is prone to addiction to different things and this will definitely affect his/her treatment (Petteri, 2010). The contemporary society is known to propagate such things as success, beauty and money and hence many people who suffer from low self esteem   think they cannot live up to those standards and thus, they result to drugs. Addiction has become a major concern for everyone in the society today regardless of whether one is related to an addict or not; this problem is becoming bigger and bigger since it is multi faceted. The modern society is faced with the highest number of addictions and that include; drugs, alcohol, medication, nicotine, stimulants such as tea and coffee, food or refusal to take food, junk food, work, exercise, beauty, cleanliness, television, internet, shopping, sex, gambling, money, love among others. Each of these addictions has destructive aspects (Sophyah, 2002). For the last 30 years, the US government has declared war on addictions, especially that of drugs but so far, there is no sign that it is going to win. This is because there is a marked increase in crime in the current society, the health care bills have been going up and the problem of drug abuse seems not to be letting up since people are getting more and more involved in dangerous drugs, for example, cocaine, crack, heroine and methamphetamine. There is no single day that can be claimed that addiction only affects the victims. This is because it affects everyone in the society including both the rich and the poor and even the people who are regarded lost in the society. Drug addiction has negative consequences and this can be seen in homes, at workplaces, as well as in both schools and churches (Lucas, 2008). In our society, the health of many people has been affected by drugs. Drug addiction is regarded as a disease which affects the brain chemistry and consequently results in a change of behavior. Apart from change in behavior, it has led to the increase in number of stroke cases, cardiovascular diseases, overdose, and contraction of HIV/AID among other health problems. Depression and suicide among individuals have been reported to be as a result of drug addiction. This addiction is usually accompanied by other serious health problems such as mouth, throat, larynx, stomach, kidney, pancreatic and bladder cancers and increase in the number of cases related to nerve cells. Besides the individuals, the people close to them are usually affected health wise (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010). Families have also had to bear the brunt of drug epidemic in that by the time it dawns on the addicted person that he/she has a problem, the family would have already been seriously affected. It affects husbands, wives, sisters and brothers and at the end, it affects the whole society. An estimation has been made by the National Library of Medicine that 20% of people residing in US have used medicine that has been prescribed for purposes which are not medical (Mission Enabled,2010). Moreover, drug addiction has had tremendous challenges on law. The media houses daily report cases of theft, shootings, drug busts, individuals trafficking drugs illegally and drugs manufacture. Some parents have also been arrested for child neglect and even murder which can be attributed to this addiction among other crimes. Moreover, the addiction has had a toll on the American economy . The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that this addiction costs the country $67 billion every year and which includes the cost of incarceration, law enforcement, traffic injuries, treatments and absenteeism at wok place due to addiction. Since drugs negatively affect reasoning, it makes drug addicts more susceptible to committing crimes than other individuals (Mission enabled, 2010). A society whose economy is affected by drugs usually lags behind and this is attributed to the illegal smuggling and production of drugs (Lucas, 2008). Drug addiction not only affects the addict himself but also the relationship of the addict with every one around him/her. It strains friendships as well as all the relationships between the addict and his/her family. In addition, it makes the individual withdraw from others in the society and also makes the society withdraw from the individual. This problem is known to affect people of all ages, both adults and teens and it continues to grow at a steady pace. The situation is getting worse since drugs are available every where in the country (Chris, 2009).