Substance Abuse
By Jake Kohl
The three most important aspects in the development
of substance abuse are social acceptance (peer-pressure), self-medication, and
mental illness.
Social
acceptance is among the top concerns with people in general. People want to be
loved. It’s in our nature to want to feel part of a loving relationship – if
not God, then mankind. Inaba and Cohen
(2011) state that “human beings have a basic need to cope with their environment
and enhance their existence” (p. 1.3). This coping is not only from the
uncertainties of life and what may come about, i.e., illnesses and death but
the uncertainties of who will like us
or love us. Seeking after this
natural human nature, mankind will go at great lengths to feel accepted and
attached to each other, including experimentation of substances which can lead
to dependency and abuse.
I choose
this aspect because we see all too often the blind leading the blind, especially
within our youth. We see teen girls willing to compromise their virginity to
another because the desire to feel wanted and loved. We see others, at an
alarming rate, compromising their entire life, either through friends or family
to feel the same – accepted and loved. This compromise often times results in
negative behavior which can and often does lead to alcohol and substance abuse.
Our entire lives are influenced by what
we first see, hear and then follow after.
Self-medication
is a second forerunner in my list of important aspects in the development of
substance abuse. Inaba and Cohen (2011)
state that “drugs are taken initially for their desired effects” (p.2.30). When one feels depressed, stressed or not loved
to name a few, it is easier for them to turn to a drug to gain that desired
level of feeling and thus, to compensate reality for that which is not. The
drugs are used as a reward/control pathway and are in sense telling our brain
that what we are doing “is necessary for survival” (p.2.14).
This
aspect was chosen because those that self-medicate are often seen in our
society as weak and unreachable. We see the socially afflicted youth as
mentioned above become hurt by not feeling accepted and in turn, self-medicate
with alcohol and/or drug abuse to “feel” that level of desire they desperately
yearn and need. This aspect runs together with my final choice which is all
closely related, and that is mental illness.
Mental
illness is a growing problem in our world and is often brushed to the side,
both by people and funding. It is said that mental illness is co-occurring with
substance abuse which is true. “Approximately one-third of those with mental
illness have a substance-abuse problem, and one-third of those with a substance-abuse
problem have a mental illness” (Inaba and Cohen, 2011, p. 1.35). Treating the issue at hand may reduce the
effect of this co-occurring problem and thus, reduce substance abuse
development.
Mental
illness was chosen because in short, this problem is often overlooked – or
should it be said, under-looked! Mental illness has many factors including
those aspects I have listed above. Until we treat the root cause of the
issue(s) at hand, this will forever be an increasing problem in our society for
years to come and substance abuse will grab our nation tighter than what it has
now.
Reference
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