Addictions

     I see it as a way of self medicating. It is a way of a person ‘escaping’ from present days stresses. Some addictions, such a cigarette smoking are more commonly accepted by the public. My mom smoked since she was thirteen and just recently quite. She had a schedule of smoking and it was usually after some sort of stress. She’d smoke in the morning when she woke up, on her way to work, on break, after work, after dinner, and more frequently when stressors were present. I know when she lost her stepdad she chained smoked. Assuming this was a way to calm her and help her cope. Now after she quit smoking which she did cold turkey, she gained an extreme about of weight, assuming she was replacing her nicotine cravings with food and snacking. She would have what we’d call and oral fixation. We also see how food itself can be an addiction a sense of comforting, I know when I am sad ‘naughty’ food is ‘soul’ food and is comforting. Now there are those how have an extreme problem with comfort eating. And once over weight and insecure they lose control and then have a tendency to consume more for the sad feeling of insecurity therefore need more treatment then just a diet to solve their problem.

With any addiction I think it on a level of environment and emotionally stability. Some people just have addictive personalities. Such as those who drink too much yet it is hard to determine whether or not they have a severe problem. The type of person in which they go out often and they often drink to have a good time and this occur way too often than normal. But then they become addicted to this lifestyle, that euphoric feeling of being out, drinking, and ‘having fun.’ Assuming this type of behavior will eventually catch up to them and become a severe problem or the alcohol and the night life is a gateway to other substances and opportunity to abuse those substances to have more ‘good times.’ Such as those who just ‘experiment’ with substances such s ecstasy, cocaine, the ‘party drugs’ and become addicted.

Also hanging out with wrong crowds, maybe all experiencing hardships and then begin to self medicate with drugs such as heroin and pills, more so to ‘cope’ then for fun. I have seen people addicted to substances who are more functional and more stable when on the substance then off, that sometime is the cycle an addicted individual falls into. I had a friend who in our sophomore year of high school blossomed. She looked beautiful, lost weight, was getting great grades, was modeling for her dance school, was doing a lot of dance projects, her ballet was better, she danced better, she was on top of her game. Everyone was amazed at how far she had come. But then she got too skinny, and everyone grew suspicious, and then by junior gained all the weight back and went downhill she was out of control, getting in trouble with cops, just an emotional mess. I knew her home life wasn’t easy for her but I didn’t not know what to make of her in consistency in school and her weight. She finally confessed to me her junior year and all our sophomore years she was addicted to cocaine and ecstasy. I would have never known or guessed. Then she confessed that she then substituted cocaine and ecstasy our junior year with weed, alcohol and prescription pills. It was almost like she had to keep substituting certain drugs for ‘lesser’ drugs until she finally came clean of it all. She is finally just getting it together and drinks on occasions. Both her brother a sister where is rehab for different substances and her mom had surgery and is addicted to pain killers. I argue this as addictive personalities this supports the fact that maybe it’s genetic.