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I can’t believe that in a few short weeks, it will be time for UltraMom’s Spring Break. In some ways, it seems like the semester is just getting started. In C N A, I have now completed 3 sessions at the nursing home. Last week was on the rehabilitation floor, where people can actually recover to the point that they are able to leave the institution. That floor is busy and fast-paced and Geronimo and I got more practice taking vital signs.
In Tai Chi, we have learned all 9 forms of our series, and are now learning them in reverse. I don’t have to continually watch the instructor now and I feel a little more graceful and in control, though UDad says I look rather silly.
In Drugs and Society, I actually could use a little help. We have to write a paper on Addiction that is worth 10% of our grade. I wrote the following paper as an early assignment. What I would like from you is YOUR opinion of addiction, ie personal experiences or of those you know, if you think it is a disease, and what actually constitutes an addiction.
I stopped at the public library to do a little research, and found, nestled among such tomes as “Living with Lupus” and “You and Your Heart” titles that hint at topics more mysterious, potentially heartbreaking, yet, in way, morbidly fascinating: “The Hitting Habbit”, “Education of a Gambler”, “The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing”, “Sober and Staying that Way”, “Obsessive Love”, “The Codependency Conspiracy”, and of course all manner of books about eating disorders. How does someone come to continue a harmful behavior to the point where she can’t give it up? Is what he gets out of it worth what he loses because of it? And, can you truly understand and help someone overcome an addiction if you haven’t gone through it yourself? Tell me what YOU think.

ADDICTION by UltraMom
“The term “addiction” is a complex concept, and one has only to Google the phrase “addiction definition” to see that no clear-cut, agreed upon definition exists. Wikapedia states that the term “used to describe a devotion, attachment, dedication or inclination,” going on to say that in the present, it is used to describe a “recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences to the individual’s health, mental state, or social life.” The first definition does seem far too mild to describe the types of addictions we have been discussing; that is addiction to using drugs.
In our text, Drugs and Society, the authors prefer the term “drug dependence” to “drug addiction”, due to negative labeling connotations, but note the psychological attachment to the addictive substance as a condition of addiction. In “Overview of Drug Use and Åbuse,” Jon Jules states that in an addict’s body has physically adapted to the drug to the point where he feels abnormal without it, and using the drug has become the focal point for his life. Bill Moyers in “The Hijacked Brain” give us some insight into why someone would actively pursue a substance to the point where it destroys him physically and emotionally and ruins his most valued relationships. Addiction, he tells us, is a brain disease, and many addicts have a gene indicator, supporting the view of biological factors. Addictive drugs produce changes in dopamine functioning, changing the addict’s brain in fundamental ways so they, essentially, are a different person. In rational moments, they realize what they are doing, and vow to stop; even taking radical measures to externally control the addiction. But the compulsion is too strong to ignore for long.
The initial reasons for the addiction are various, and have much to do with the substance and what the user gets from it. Many get hooked on a feeling, such as euphoria, numbness, power or perceived increased competence. The effects of the drug lessen over time, so the addict uses more and oftener trying to get the initial effect, which he never can.
Of course people are addicted to many things besides drugs. Personally, I have an ongoing problem with food, and after losing a significant amount of weight several years ago, have been working for WeightWatchers to help other people deal with this debilitating addiction. Overeaters go through the same cycle of thought, feeling, mood, preoccupation, craving, and memory, leading to abusive eating. After the relief phase comes self-loathing, depression, amends, remorse, promises and oftentimes external controls until the trigger situation or negative stress starts the process all over again. I can already tell that many things I learn in this class will be helpful to me in understanding my members and how to better help them.
Biological, societal and emotional factors may help explain why one drug user becomes an addict while another does not. This can be useful in helping an addict understand his disease and the steps he needs to take to overcome it.”

Come on, help me with my homework!

UltraMom