Drug addiction is a major social problem facing many communities today. Many people especially the youths are engaging in drug abuse which eventually makes their brains increases the desire for taking drugs thus making them addicted. Therefore, this research emphasizes of the problem of drug addiction which has been at a high rate in communities, explaining what causes drug addiction, its effects and how it can be solved through treatment with social institutions contributing to the treatment process. Drug addiction varies from one individual to another depending on the factors surrounding the drug users. Environmental factors such as school, home, peer and family expose an individual to the risk of drug addiction because they are the immediate environment surrounding a person. Drug addiction can be biologically driven through genes, gender and ethnicity. Drug addiction has social, health and physical consequences in the community hence the need to have a solution to the addiction problem in the societies. Drug addiction can be solved through treatment through medications, behavioral strategies or applying both approaches. Social institutions such family, community and church contribute to drug addiction treatment process facilitating the process.
Introduction
Drug addiction is a chronic infection is characterized by drug use and dependence which is hard to control despite the adverse health effects it has on the victim. When starting drug abuse, the decision is voluntary in most people but as the user continues the brain is affected, and this poses a challenge the drug users as they lose their self-control. The brain addiction affects the individual’s ability to challenge the firm desires to use the drugs (Meil & Ruby, 2016). Social institutions including the family, church and society play an essential role in the treatment of the issue of drug addiction. Family therapy is an essential process in the treatment of drug abuse as the family provides financial, emotional and physical support to the addicted individuals. On the other hand, the church helps in the treatment of drug addiction in various ways including church activities to make addicted people recover, educating people on drugs and providing the chance for addicted individuals to feel accepted in the church and by the church members. The society can aid an individual recover from drug addiction as it has been seen in individuals with drug abuse issues staying in a collaborative environment. Addicted people living in a society-based facility will be easily treated more effectively than individuals who do not live in a collaborative environment. This paper explores the problem of drug addiction, what causes drug addiction, its effects and the solutions to drug addiction.
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Causes of Drug Addiction
Similar to other health infections, drug addiction varies from one individual to another. This is because the substance addiction depends on various factors where an individual is exposed, and people with more risk factors will be to be at risk of developing a drug addiction. The risk factors include lack of parental supervision, aggressiveness during childhood, poor social skills, drug experimentation, society poverty and accessibility of drugs in schools. Biological factors can contribute to drug addiction in an individual. Biological factors which can expose a person to the risk of becoming a drug addict include genes, development stage, ethnicity and gender. According to Robbins et al., (2008), genes combine with environmental factors impacts an individual’s gene expression known as epigenetics which are known to cause between 40-60% of an individual’s risk of drug addiction. Teenagers and people with mental problems are at higher risk of becoming drug addicts than other people.
Environmental factors such as home, family, peers and schools can also expose people to the risk of becoming drug addicts. The home environment in which a child grows is an essential factor in determining the type and behavior of a child in the future. Homes with family members especially parents who use drugs or go against the law can facilitate the risk of children developing drug addiction in the future. This is because children learn behaviors through imitating people within their childhood environment hence these kids will adopt the behavior of using drugs. Peer and school are other environmental factors contributing to the risk of children becoming drug addicts. Friends and peers groups have a strong influence during the teenager stages. Youths who engage in drug abuse can easily influence even the young people without the risk factors to take drugs for the first time. Struggling in schools and lack of social skills can make a kid be at risk of becoming a drug addict. This is because teens in schools who struggle with their education will develop stress over their learning and due to inadequate social skill, they will use drugs as the remedy to their stress.
Other factors such as early use of drugs can expose people to develop a drug addiction. Although the use of drugs at any age causes drug addiction, the study by Robbins et al., (2008), indicates that starting drug abuse at an early stage makes a person at risk of developing severe issues. This is because the drugs cause harmful effects to develop brains of the young people. Drug addiction at an early age can also be caused by a mixture of early biological and social factors such as lack of stable families and homes, being exposed to sexual and physical abuse, mental problems and genes. The method used in taking the drug determines drug addiction in an individual. Drugs taken through injection or smoking into the body veins increases the addictive potential of the drug. However, the feelings given by the drug fades quickly making individuals to repeatedly take the substance which increases the chances of them becoming addicted.
Effects of Drug Addiction
Drugs have various short and long-term impacts on an individual’s health depending on the type of substance taken. The consequences of the substance depend on the nature of the substance, how long and the amount of drug is taken and the general health of an individual. Drugs effects are far-reaching as they can affect any organ of the body. Drug addiction can cause weakening of the immune system which increases the risk of an individual to contradict various illnesses and infections (McGinty et al., 2015). Drug addiction results into heart complications including abnormal heart rates, heart attacks, collapsing of veins and blood vessels and diseases from injection of substances. Addicted people can develop nausea and abdominal pains which changes their appetite resulting in weight loss.
The addicted people can develop liver complications which make the liver strain which in turn causes liver failure or damage. Brain damage, stroke, mental confusion and seizures can develop in addicted individuals, and this impairs judgment and decision making of the affected person resulting in difficulties in daily living. Drug addiction causes lung issues which affect the breathing process of an individual especially in people who smoke. Drugs can have global effects on the bodies of addicted people such as the development of breasts in men and rising body temperatures which can result in other health problems. Severe health problems arising from drug addiction can lead to the death of the affected individuals.
Drug addiction can have social effects on the affected individuals as well as on the community. Drug addiction can make individuals lose their concentration, fluctuate their moods change their interests as the desire of drugs becomes high. Drugs cause family tensions even in situations where the drug users hide their drug intake and change friendship dynamics as non-drug users will find it challenging to interact well with drug users (McGinty et al., 2015). Drug addiction results in the collapse of social circles where individuals continue to abuse drugs on a personal and daily basis without human contact and this results into loneliness. Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety develop due to the loneliness of addicted individuals. Addiction can lead to people losing their jobs, divorce, be suspended or repulsed from social activities such as sports and changing their relationships both in families and with their friends. Teenagers who are addicted to drugs are at high risk of death through suicide, accidents, grave infections and homicide.
Solutions of Drug Addiction
Drug addiction can be solved through the provision of treatment which aims at helping infected people stop compulsive drug use and search. The treatment can take place in various environments, be of varying forms and for varying time lengths. Drug addiction is considered as a chronic problem hence its treatment is characterized by occasional relapses and short-term treatment because one-time treatment will not be efficient. Treatment of various forms of drug addiction is long-term involving various interventions and regular monitoring. Treatment of drug addiction can use medications, behavior therapies or a combination of both strategies. Social institutions including churches, families and community play an essential role in the treatment of drug addiction. Drug addiction treatment can be provided in two environments including the inpatient and outpatient setting.
Community plays a vital role in drug addiction treatment because it provides a collaborative environment for addicted individuals helping them to recover. The way societies view drugs, and drug addicts in the community can improve treatments given to these individuals and change the treatment options to better ones. Developing an understanding and welcoming attitude towards drug addicts making them feel welcomed in the community can help in the approach of drug addiction treatment (Amaro et al., 2016). Societies embracing and understanding perspectives make drug addicts to freely interact with other people in the community and share their problems making treatment process easy. The society offers a supportive environment and social support network for drug addicts making their recovery better than when they are lonely.
Churches play an important role in enhancing drug addiction treatment as they make addicted people feel accepted in the church and freely interacts with the church members. Churches provide education on drug abuse to teenagers and other people which make them develop a full understanding of the problem of drug addiction (Dermatis & Galanter, 2016). The church leaders open discussions about the issue of drug addiction and provide compassion to drug addicts in church congregations and the societies. Churches educate young people on the symptoms, causes and effects of drug addiction and treatment process together with the challenges the victims would face during the recovery process. They provide physical, emotional and spiritual support to the affected individuals making the recovery process easy for them. Many of the addicted people feel free to openly talk about their addictive conditions and the challenges they are facing during the recovery process to the church leaders who advise them appropriately.
The family is an essential pillar in drug addiction as it facilitates the treatment of addicted people. Families offer financial, emotional and physical support to the affected individuals making them feel welcomed into the society. Family therapy which refers to the categories of treatment styles is an essential aspect in facilitating the treatment of drug addiction (Mowen & Visher, 2015). Family therapy helps in providing support to the family members as well as boosting the health of the addicted individuals and their recovery chances. Family therapy helps drug users to acquire an awareness of their behaviors and requirements. It helps in enhancing mental and physical health of the family members of affected people making the family members acquire self-care interventions for their people. Family therapy ensures improved communication between drug users and other people hence strengthening their relationships. Family therapy prevents drug use from spreading to other family members as well as to the future generations.
Conclusion
Drug addiction is a major social problem affecting societies today. People who engage in drug abuse make voluntary decisions at the start and after they are addicted the drug desires increases making it difficult to do without the drugs. There many factors which contribute to drug addiction in people. Environmental factors including school, peers, home and family encourage drug addiction because many people, especially children, imitate the behavior of individuals surrounding them. Lack of parental supervision, drug experiment, human poverty and lack of social skills exposes individuals to risk of becoming drug addicts. Biological factors such as genes, gender and ethnicity contribute to individuals becoming drug addicted. Drug addiction is a condition which causes severe health problems to the affected individuals such as mental problems, liver and lung problems, cardiovascular complications and weakening of the immune system. Drug addiction causes social issues such as breaking of relationship ties, divorce and family tensions. Therefore, drug addiction should be treated using medications, behavioral therapies or a combination of both with social institutions such as family, church and community contributions to facilitate the treatment.
References
Amaro, H., Raj, A., Vega, R. R., Mangione, T. W., & Perez, L. N. (2016). Racial/ethnic disparities in the HIV and substance abuse epidemics: Communities responding to the need. Public Health Reports.
Dermatis, H., & Galanter, M. (2016). The role of twelve-step-related spirituality in addiction recovery. Journal of religion and health, 55(2), 510-521.
McGinty, E. E., Goldman, H. H., Pescosolido, B., & Barry, C. L. (2015). Portraying mental illness and drug addiction as treatable health conditions: effects of a randomized experiment on stigma and discrimination. Social Science & Medicine, 126, 73-85.
Meil, W. M., & Ruby, C. L. (2016). Recent Advances in Drug Addiction Research and Clinical Applications.
Mowen, T. J., & Visher, C. A. (2015). Drug use and crime after incarceration: The role of family support and family conflict. Justice Quarterly, 32(2), 337-359.
Robbins, T. W., Ersche, K. D., & Everitt, B. J. (2008). Drug addiction and the memory systems of the brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1141(1), 1-21.
