Cycles of Drug Addiction, Essay Example

The Endless Cycle of Drug Addiction

It is tempting to think that those with drug addiction problems lack will power, and could free themselves from the habits with only a reasonable amount of effort.  I tend to believe, however, that the reality is much more complex than that.  First of all, and as research supports, addiction itself is never only a physical condition.  Just as it is triggered by emotional or psychological motivations, so too do those factors assist in maintaining the addiction.  I do believe that many people begin taking drugs out of ignorance, curiosity, or a misplaced confidence in being “able to handle it,” just as many turn to drugs initially for a simple means of escape.  At the same time, I also think that addictive personalities then get defined once the drugs take hold.  As this occurs, these personalities are locked into a cycle of need created by an interaction between the mind and the body; as the drug is physically craved, then the mind requires it to satisfy the person’s whole being.  The initial reason the drug is taken, then, becomes lost or unimportant, and all that matters is that it be continued.

Throughout my own life, I have periodically witnessed how this happens.  An aunt of mine has struggled with an alcohol abuse problem for, I am told, her entire life.  In observing her, I have noticed that there is no actual pleasure in drinking; it seems more that she is only out to end one form of feeling, rather than achieve some kind of euphoria.  More exactly, in family gatherings, there is a great deal of tension regarding what she will do, but beyond this I see that she is anxious until she can have a drink.  She will declare that she is only having two, and sometimes this is what happens.  Nonetheless, it is clear to me that those two only generate a greater need.  It is as though the fear she is trying to eliminate is then a little distanced, yet she perceives this happening and badly wants to protect herself further.  I know that a great deal of medical literature addresses this kind of psychological pattern, but actually seeing it is different.  What happens, each time, is that I get a real sense of the actual cycles at play.  She herself, I think, is aware of them.  I have also come to believe, based only on my observing her behavior, that this addiction is so strong, she barely hangs on in order to keep up an appearance of normalcy.  My impression – and it is frightening – is that she would prefer to leave everything behind, if only she were free to drink as much as she would like.  The grip is that strong, when the cycle is that firmly in place.