Name: Adeogun Sofiat
 

ADDICTION CRISIS AWERENESS.

WHY
WE AS A NATION ARE DEALING

WITH
ADDICTION CRISIS.

In every nations and
country we are all dealing with addiction crisis. I believe we as a
nation are dealing with addiction crisis because our mental health
and addiction crisis has led to the longest decline in life
expectancy since world war 1. This is a priority for me because as a
future doctor I see the implication of addiction crisis everywhere
I go, everything from the effect that people surrounding me are
facing.

But before
putting the horse before the cart, I will like to shed more light on
what we call addiction crisis. What do we understand by addiction,
crisis and when the two words are join together to form one sentence
which is addiction crisis. What are the consequence of addiction
crisis in our nation? How can we eradicate addition crisis.

Addiction is a
condition in which a person engages in the use of a substance or in a
behavior for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling
incentive to repeated pursue the behavior despite detrimental
consequences. While crisis is refer to a short term substantial
change in one’s psychological functioning or circumstances. And
according to the phenomenon addiction crisis is ?

Addiction crisis
are cause

CONSEQUENCES
OF ADDICTION CRISIS FOR INDIVIDUAL AND THE SOCIETY.

There so many
consequence of addiction crisis. For example addiction of drugs like
(marihuana, cocaine, nicotine and heroine) and alcohol have lot of
consequences for both individual and the society.

The first consequence
is physical and psychological dependency, in many instance the drug
addict becomes physically and psychologically dependent on the drug.
Sudden withdrawal of the drug from the addict results in the
withdrawal symptoms. The prolonged use of the drug brings about
psychological changes in the central nervous system, which causes
physical manifestation when the drug is suddenly withdrawn.

Craveness: a drug
addict craves for a particular drug and becomes increasingly upset
if deprived of it, and he/ she may uses any means to obtain the drug
either by disobeying the law or by using any other method which can
also affect the society.

Suffering : this is
usually experienced either by the drug addict or the society he/she
belongs or both. And to crown it all drug abuse or addiction leads
to an untimely death.

REMEDY
TO ADDICTION CRISIS ON BOTH THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY.

From my own point of
view before we can provide a solution to any addiction crisis I think
it is better to know the causes. For example we have so many causes
of addiction crisis e.g Some of the factors that contribute to the
risk are these:

Biological factors;

Genes; scientists find that genetic
factors contribute about half the risk for developing a substance use
disorder.

Physiological factors. Variations in
liver enzymes that metabolize substances are known to influence risk
of alcohol use disorder.

Gender. Males are more likely to
develop substance use disorder than females.

Psychological factors;

Personality factors. Both
impulsivity and sensation seeking have been linked to substance use
and gambling disorders. Impulsivity may be particularly related to
the risk of relapse.

Trauma and abuse. Perhaps by
sensitizing brain pathways of alarm/ distress, perhaps by adding to
the burden of stress, early exposure to significant adverse
experience can contribute to the development of substance use
disorder by overwhelming the coping ability of an individual.

Mental health factors. Condition
such as depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder and
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increase the increase the risk
of addiction. Difficulties managing strong emotions are also to
substance use.

Environmental Factors;

Accessibility factors. Easy
available of alcohol or other substances in one’s home, at school
or work or in one’s community increases the risk of repeated use.

Peer group influence; As
profoundly social animals, people are strongly influenced by their
peers and in generally seeking to be like them, adopt many of their
behaviors, particularly during the adolescent years. Positive social
relationships are known to strongly protect against substance intake.

Employment status; Having
a job, and developing and the skills for employment, exerts
pressure for stability and provides financial and psychological
rewards that mitigate addiction risk.

Family factor; While
strong family relationships have been shown to protect against
substances use disorders, several aspects of family functioning or
circumstances can contribute to addiction risk. Having a parent or
siblings with an addictive disorders raises the risk, as those lack
parental supervision or support. Poor-quality or troubled
parent-child relations and family disruptions such as divorce add to
risk. Sexual, physical or emotional abuse also increases risk.
Research shows that marriage and taking on child-raising
responsibilities mitigate the risk of addiction.