Therapy Analysis - Drug addiction
Drug addiction: kicking the habit
Drug addiction is the compulsive dependence on a substance, either legal or illegal, characterized by compulsive drug consumption with associated loss of control in limiting intake, craving and surfacing of an emotional state in the absence of the drug.
This compulsion may be psychological, physical or both, and can progress from one to the other, but in many cases the consequences for the addict and those around them can be dire. These include the obvious detrimental effects on the user's health, but also their finances - drugs can be costly and a user can easily lose their job if addiction spirals out of control. Relationships can also suffer, and society often pays a heavy price in terms of the costs associated with treating those afflicted, and also the judicial costs of trying and then incarcerating illegal drug users or those who turn to crime to fund their habit.
One in three people on the planet currently smokes cigarettes, and by 2020 the number of smokers worldwide is expected to increase to 1.7 billion, with the majority of this growth to occur in the developing world. In the US, it has been estimated that up to 4% of the general population is alcohol dependent, and in the UK there is currently much focus on the culture of 'binge-drinking'. The numbers of regular users of other drugs, including 'hard drugs' such as heroin, cocaine and methamfetamine, also continues to rise at an alarming rate both in the developed and developing world.
The reason for this worldwide pandemic? Use of psychotropic drugs is certainly not a modern phenomenon. Evidence for the use of mind-altering substances, both medicinally or for religious practices or pleasure can be traced back to the earliest human civilizations. Today, alcohol use is a significant part of many Western cultures, and the use of other drugs is widely accepted in many areas. However, it was during the 20th century that drug use began to be viewed as a serious threat to our society - a modern 'plague'. This has been brought about, in part, by abundant supplies becoming available through the use of modern agricultural and chemical synthetic techniques, and the creation of worldwide illicit distribution networks.
The social stigma associated with drug addicts reflects the poor public perception of addiction, directly related to a lack of scientific knowledge and understanding. Just as mental illness was seen as a social problem instead of a medical issue until the last several decades, drug addiction continues to be incorrectly viewed as a character flaw instead of as the biological problem that it is.
