I quickly called back to inform her mother that I have not heard from Sonny in months, and the last time we poke she was doing well and taken a trip to Florida with her new boyfriend. Her mother began to tell me that Sonny was addicted to drugs as well as alcohol. She began to experience with alcohol a little after high school, which lead to the use of drugs. Sonny's mother also explained to me that this boyfriend of hers was not good to her; he fed her the alcohol and drugs. He also abused her physically, verbally, and mentally.
My heart was filled with so much pain and emptiness.This was my best friend my sister and she was gone. Drug and Alcohol addiction is one of the largest social problems we are faced with today. Addiction may have many unfortunate factors, such as serious physical and psychological problems. This has many factors including environment, hereditary, mental, and physical addictions and withdrawals. There are many treatments out there to recovery, such as AN meetings, medical treatment, and therapy to save an individual from making a horrible mistake in life.
I only wish Sonny new this.Alcoholism and Drug addiction is a medical disease. Addiction is when a person is cannot control the aspects of the addiction without help because of the mental or physical conditions involved. (www.
Indiscriminately. Mom) Alcohol dependency people or alcoholics have extremely strong cravings and physical dependencies on alcohol. Someone can be drinking every day or they could be skipping days. Someone who is an alcoholic will get to the point where they cannot function without a drink first, in most cases this drink will come before everything in their life.
In most case an alcoholic will become focused on alcohol use and will abuse alcohol regardless of the adverse consequences and affects. Alcoholics tend to have distorted thinking and will be in complete denial, and will not have full control of their drinking. Some alcoholics may have genetic predisposition to the disease. People with the disease of addiction to alcohol often need treatment, counseling, and medical help to overcome their drinking and to live a better life.
Not all people who abuse alcohol will become an alcoholic. Those who abuse alcohol when they drink it may not dine it all the time.There is a difference between an alcoholic, and alcohol abuse. (www. Indiscriminately. Com) Many people mistake abuse and addiction of drugs and alcohol as the same thing, although they often go hand in hand they are two very different conditions.
Abuse is defined as an inappropriate use of drugs or alcohol, repeated use to produce pleasure or to alleviate stress or alter or avoid reality. (www. CDC. Gob/alcohol/FAQ.
HTML) Abuse refers to the use of a substance that is not accepted and differs from society while alcohol and drug addiction is a chronic disease.Dealing with abuse and addiction abuse is often more complex. Addiction involves the type of action the drug had on the brain's reward and motivation system it produce neurological disturbances within the brain and as a result the drug becomes the dominant devotional factor for the person. (www.
Drugless. Gob) Abuse of a substance involves the misuse of a substance that includes only the most powerful aspects of the two, also accompanied by strong motivational effects. (www. Drugless. Com) Alcohol use is different than alcohol abuse.Alcohol use is done in moderation, having a drink once in a while.
This will not affect someone's everyday life. Abusing a substance can affect your life in many ways such as legal issues, health issues, personal issues, and employment issues. Having a simple drink or a few drinks at a social gathering, having a meal, or Just sitting home watching a movie is not harmful, these are examples of alcohol use. For many families it's very hard for them to tell if someone is addicted to a substance. Sometimes the symptoms and signs of addictions are not always hidden.Signs and Symptoms are different for each person, maybe because of the substance they are addicted too, or their family history or their personal circumstances may also play a role.
Withdrawal symptoms happen usually when the body levels of that substance goes below a certain level, a person may have physical and mood related symptoms. They may also have cravings, moodiness, bad temper, poor focus, experiencing depression and emptiness, frustration, anger, bitterness and resentment. (www. Indiscriminately. Com) Some people who have withdrawal symptoms have a sudden loss in appetite, and insomnia is also a common symptom.In some case a person may become constipated or have diarrhea.
Withdrawal can also trigger someone to be violent, cause them to have tremors, seizures, hallucinations and sweats. Addicts are so addicted to the substance that they do not realize that they are harming themselves physically causing urological damage. Alcohol and drugs can cause many different problems to a person body. Alcohol and drugs affect every cell of every tissue of every organ of every system in the body. Being addicted to most substances can cause Central Nervous System Disorder.
Central Nervous System Disorder causes epilepsy, Parkinson disease, and multiple sclerosis, Listener's, (womanliness. Com) which causes someone to have nervous system problems. The main issues with alcohol and drug related medical problems or birth defects, brain diseases, heart disease, liver image, pancreatic, and ulcers are that these healthcare problems can be linked to addiction. Many researchers have found some connections between some alcohol, drugs and cardiovascular diseases.
Alcohol and drugs can create changes in someone's behavior.This change can be short term because of the substance in their system or the change could be a constant issue due to long term abuse, as a result treatment of mental health services. A diagnostic criteria substance abuse is conducted when going for treatment. This is done to diagnose someone properly. ADSM-IV substance addiction is a maladaptive pattern of drinking alcohol or using drugs leading to clinically significantly impairment or distress, as manifested by a least one of the following within 12 month period.
(American Psychiatric Association, 1994).There are so many ways to help someone that is addicted to drugs or alcohol. Alcohol and drugs are treatable diseases yet it is a lifelong disease. Alcohol like any other illnesses can be put in remission, and when a person stops drinking they start the recovery process.
Recovery starts with decoding, getting treatment, either impatient or outpatient, and dealing with the issues that may have started you to drink or use drugs. In some addiction cases physical conditions may not be treatable and its very important that the person stop using the substance and have a doctor check them out.When a person realizes and identified themselves as an addicted, they cannot drink or using drugs of any kind or amount. Temptation is always going to be on an addict mind, this is why it's important for a recovering addict to have support like a sponsor, AAA, and a family member. Addiction is a devastating disease that has the power to destroy everything.
There are numerous consequences of its disease that all affect society in one way or another. There is a vast ignorance towards addiction because until you have gone through it or have been directly affected by its consequences, most people do not comprehend addiction.Addiction causes numerous problems for the addict and those around them. It causes many physical problems that can lead to prolonged depression, insanity, and suicide. The war on drugs and alcohol has been a constant battle and sometimes seems impossible to fight but it's not.
There are steps that can be taken to weaken the holding that drugs and alcohol have on society. I have personally seen the effects drugs and alcohol causes the addict and the families. Sonny's mother received a call today from the police department, to inform her that they have found her daughter and she needed to come to the hospital right away.Sonny's mother went to the hospital in hopes to hug her daughter, to tell her that she loves her very much and that she is going to put her in treatment.
When she arrived to the hospital she was greeted by me, she was happy that the police found her daughter. I sat her down and explained to her that they found her in a hotel room dead. Sonny had died of a drug overdose. The look on her face is something I remember every time I close my eyes.
I went numb after I told her the horrible news, and all could hear was the sounds weeping, and screaming.I only can imagine how her mother felt, what I felt was not the same. She had lost her only daughter, her only child; I had lost my best friend a sister. Her mother's world was ending and my world was going to continue.
What we both share is that we lost Sonny to an Addiction. Addiction is a disease, Alcoholism and Drug addiction is a medical disease. Addiction is when a person is cannot control the aspects of the addiction without help because of the mental or physical conditions involved. (www. Indiscriminately.
Mom) References American Psychiatric Association (Criteria for Alcohol Abuse) http:// www. Electrocardiographs. Org/ business/about/ADSM. HTML Alcohol and Public Health Center for Disease and Control Prevention http:// www.
CDC. Gob/alcohol/FAQ. HTML Author: L. Gull MD, M.
Mooney MA,2005, Alcohol-related Neurological Disease http:// www. Healthier. Com/cajolement/ alcohol-related-neurological-disease Understanding drug abuse and addiction, National Institute on Drug Abuse http:// www. Drugless.
Gob
