Drug Abuse and Addiction Essay Example for Free

Drug Ab do and Addiction EssayDrug ab theatrical role and dependency atomic number 18 a major burden to society. Many people do non understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the soul to foster compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may measure up those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug ab affection abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are all willing to change their behavior. What people often underestimate is the complexity of drug addiction that it is a disease that impacts the brain and because of that, stopping drug abuse is not simply a matter of willpower. Through scientific advances we now eff much more about how exactly drugs work in the brain, and we also know that drug addiction can be successfully treated to help people stop abusing drugs and resume productive lives. So what is drug abuse and why do we became addicte d to certain drugs? Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is a patterned use of a substance (drug) in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods neither approved nor supervised by medical professionals. Addiction is the continued use of a mood altering substance or behavior despite adverse dependency consequences, or a neurological impairment leading to such behaviors.Addictions can include, but are not limited to, drug abuse, exercise abuse, sexual activity and gambling. Classic hallmarks of addiction include impaired control over substances/behavior, preoccupation with substance/behavior, continued use despite consequences, and denial. Habits and patterns associated with addiction are typically characterized by immediate gratification (short-term reward), coupled with delayed deleterious effects (long-term costs). Physiological dependence occurs when the body has to countersink to the substance by incorporating the substance into its normal functioning. This state creates the conditions of tolerance and withdrawal.Drug addiction and drug abuse, chronic or habitual use of any chemic substance to alter states of body or mind for other than medically warranted purposes. Traditional definitions of addiction, with their criteria of physical dependence and withdrawal (and often an underlying tenor of misdeed and sin) have been modified with increased understanding with the introduction of new drugs, such as cocaine, that are psychologically or neuropsychologically addicting and with the realization that its stereotypical application to opiate-drug users was remove because many of them remain occasional users with no physical dependence. Addiction is more often now defined by the continuing, compulsive nature of the drug use despite physical and/or psychological harm to user and society and includes both licit and illicit drugs, and the term substance abuse is now ofttimes used because of the broad range of substances (including alcoh ol and inhalants) that can fit the addictive profile.There are many different types of drugs you should be aware of. Some are prescribed, others are known as club drugs, illicit or illegal substances, and some are called designers drugs. They include Antidepressants, Barbiturates, Cannabis, Depressants, Hallucinogens, Inhalants, Narcotics, Steroids, Stimulants and Tobacco.