5-6 Milestone One Persuasive Essay Draft Weddle PDF

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Addiction is a disease of the brain that is brought about by choice; the choice to use illegal drugs instead of finding a healthy way to cope or have fun. After a few times the addict’s brain has changed and now relies on the drug creating the dependency. Genetically speaking there are those who are prone to addiction, but it is by choice that they pick it up. I, for example, come from a family of addicts of different colors. I chose to stay away and deal with the triggers that can lead me down that path. My husband however was basically given his first drug at the ripe age of sixteen by his father and continued down that path. He has been fighting this demon his whole adult life. I will be referencing my husband (Raymond) with his complete knowledge and approval. Sobriety and recovery is completely dependent on the person, they have to want it and work at it.

We can read all the literature we want on addiction and sobriety but until you see it first hand, the nastiness it shows, numbers will always just be numbers on a piece of paper. I am writing this in the hopes that it could possibly help somebody else make a choice. Addiction is a mental health disease of the brain that makes the addict use despite negative consequences.

The first point I want to make is about the addict using a drug to cope. Drugs and alcohol are used as a temporary respite from stress, pain, emotional issues, and many other issues. Coping is defined by Merriam-Webster as a way to deal with and attempt to overcome problems and difficulties. In the brain dopamine is most commonly associated with the brain's pleasure and reward system. Serotonin also plays a pivotal role in moods, sleep, and pain. Dopamine and serotonin levels are impacted by drug abuse. It is said that addiction is a stress-induced defect in

the midbrain, and because of this defect the ability to perceive pleasure is impacted. Drugs, both stimulants and depressants, cause a flood of dopamine in the midbrain. An average person will drink a cup of coffee or an energy drink in the morning “to get going”. With an addict, because the substances interact with the dopamine receptors in the brain, they may need the hit “to get going”. Likewise, an average person can drink a single glass of wine at the end of a long day to unwind the addict will take another hit to unwind. This also varies on the drug of choice.

“These behavioral addictions can then become tools for managing unhappiness and stress, and may also be used as coping mechanisms” (Addiction as a Coping Mechanism and Healthy Alternatives, 2019). For example, Raymond started using meth as a way to cope with his job. He was a diesel mechanic for a trucking company that hauled sand. The trucks were constantly on the go and in turn so was he, long hours turned into even longer days; he couldn’t do it on his own and coffee wasn’t working. Most of what you hear about the trucking industry is true and they have their ways to get around drug tests. He used this stimulant to keep up his performance at work during the week only to crash out on the weekend, unbeknownst to me at the time. He was able to stay awake for longer periods of time and at the same time he was able to deal with the stress better.

The second point I’d like to make is about the brain and chemical dependency. Addictive substance can overstimulate the brain by flooding it with dopamine, which can cause an extreme state of well-being, or satisfaction, or even being happy or content if you will. Once the “high” comes down said person can be uncomfortable with the level of satisfaction so they choose to use again. The biggest problem with that is that your brain will start to decrease the levels of

dopamine that it makes to combat the “fake” dopamine. In essence the addict gets use to the “happiness” and when they come down they are depressed and can feel lifeless, so they continue to use to feel normal.

For about a year and a half Raymond used without me able to find viable proof, however that fateful day came where he got into legal trouble because of it; lost his job, almost lost his family. The fight of his life began. When you research addiction/sobriety you don’t see the symptoms of psychosis. These drugs can completely alter your reality. However, the brain can be healed with time, and in certain circumstances medicine, with the loss of the synthetic dopamine the brain will be triggered to start making it on its own again. If you can ‘will’ yourself better by not continuing the life should it really be called a disease?

“Ultimately, if addiction is a disease, then it's a disease so fundamentally different than any other that it should probably have a completely different name that doesn't imply all the things contained in the term "disease"—such as the idea that the "will" of the afflicted is irrelevant to whether the condition continues” (Slate, 2014).

Most people don't understand the why or the how about becoming addicted to drugs. They sometimes think that those who use substances lack morality and/or willpower and those who have started should stop by simply by choosing to. Drug addiction is complex and quitting usually takes more than good intentions and a strong will. Drugs change the brain in ways that make quitting hard, even for those who want to.

My counter argument is that it is a disease, not a choice. My viewpoint however is not that it is a disease but that it becomes one. Becomes a brain disease; as I stated in my previous point dopamine is a huge factor. He finally said enough is enough, but because of the damage of this particular brand of drug our lives have been a living night mare for the last four months. There is something called a meth induced psychosis, which is different from meth mites which cause that hallucinations that users get that cause the marks and scratching because they believe they have bugs crawling on them. This psychosis causes hallucinations, delusions, and massive anger among other things. It is a disease of the brain because he chose to pick up the pipe.

“Simply put, the disease model says that you have an organ (bone, liver) that gets a physical, cellular defect (cells die, cancer develops, an infection sets in, a bullet whizzes through the organ), and as a result you see symptoms. You see the same symptoms in all patients with that defect in that organ, differing only by severity or stage of illness” (McCauley, 2009)

However, taking in what is said in the article, it is fair to put addiction into the disease category. We know what part of the brain is affected, and because of this we can explain everything about addiction without the variables like personality or choices. Addiction is a treatable mental illness, and even though it is difficult to treat, it is possible for addicts/alcoholics to recover. I do agree with the findings that just like a defect in a bone can cause a break or fracture quickly, the defect in the midbrain can cause personality and behavior changes when up against drugs.

Addiction is an illness that millions in our country are suffering from. This addiction comes from the choice to use the substance. The changes to the brain cannot be ignored through that choice. We have to be able to understand the circumstances in order for those who are addicted to come and ask for help. They first have to want it then work for it with the proper tools. I hope, along with Raymond, to be able to open a place where people can get help. They can choose to stay clean. Addiction is a choice that turns into a disease; this is what I want to get across. People need to have the understanding that it affects the brain in ways that nothing really could. They say dementia is like losing a loved one while they are still alive and it’s hard, but how hard is someone disappearing and reappearing mentally not just as hard. If there is a way back from that then help them make the choice to come back and get clean.

Works Cited Addiction and Chemical Dependency. (2017). https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/ps/i.do? p=OVIC&u=nhc_main&id=GALE| PC3010999090&v=2.1&it=r&sid=OVIC&asid=b698e8ef.%20Accessed%2024%20July %202020.

American Addiction Centers (2019). Addiction as a Coping Mechanism and Healthy Alternatives. americanaddictioncenters.org. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/sobriety-guide/coping-mechanism Heyman, G. M. (2013). Addiction and choice: theory and new data. Frontiers in Psychiatry. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00031/full

McCauley, K. T. (2009). Addiction Is a Disease, Not a Choice. GALE IN CONTEXT Opposing Viewpoints. https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/ps/i.do? p=OVIC&u=nhc_main&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE %7CEJ3010103273&inPS=true&linkSource=interlink&sid=OVIC

NIDA (2020, July 10). Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction Treatment and Recovery. National Institutes of Health. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugsbrains-behavior-science-addiction/treatment-recovery

Slate, S. (2014). Addiction Is a Choice, Not a Disease. GALE IN CONTEXT Opposing Viewpoints. https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/ps/retrieve.do? tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=MultiTab&sear chType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=1&docId=GALE %7CEJ3010103402&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZX AY-MOD1&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE %7CEJ3010103402&searchId=R1&userGroupName=nhc_main&inPS=true&ps=1&cp= 1...