



Facts
People under the influence of drugs also lose their inhibitions and put themselves in dangerous situations. One of the most common of these is having unprotected sexual relations. This can lead to contracting a sexually transmitted disease or to an unplanned pregnancy. Mia recalls, "I ended up having sex with guys when I didn't really want to just because I was high. It wasn't exactly against my will; it was just that I was feeling so high that even though I wanted to say 'no,' I just couldn't." Drug-induced reinforcement, like reinforcement by food, water, sexual activity, or escape from harm, simply means that the behavior that causedit has an increasedlikelihood of being repeated. Some other process or processes must enter into play if that behavior is to become so strongly entrenched that it comes to dominate the individual's thinking and activities. Various hypotheses have been put forward concerning the nature of such additional processes. One suggestion is that activation of the rewardsystem is controlled by something analogous to a thermostat, regulating the "set-point" of the system, and that frequent repetition of drug-taking leads to a change in set-point so that reinforcement grows progressively stronger over time. Another, perhaps related, hypothesis is that the degree of reinforcement by a given drug is regulated by genetic factors, and therefore vulnerability to addiction is greater in those who inherit either an abnormally high sensitivity to the reward system or a low sensitivity to the aversive (punishing, disagreeable) effects of the drug. Another view holds that the essential feature leading to addiction is not reward (i.e., pleasure or liking for the drug) but drug-induced sensitization of the process of incentive saliency (i.e., the subject's awareness of, and "wanting" for, drug-related stimuli becomes progressively greater, so that they have a steadily increased probability of controlling behavior). Yet another, and closely related, hypothesis is that drug-taking generally occurs within certain specific environmental or social contexts, and cues arising from these contexts can become linked to the drug effects as conditional stimuli, which then become able to elicit drug-taking behavior and further reinforcement. School is a place where many kids start experimenting with drugs. The problems of drugs in school and on the street may not look as bad as many think. But drugs have become more and more common in recent years, particularly among the younger students in school. According to the most recent government survey in 1998, 8.3% of the students in senior high schools were interested in drugs and considered taking them. 62% thought drugs should not be taken at all because those were (and are) prohibited by law. 20.4% of those asked thought taking drugs was a matter of individual choice. In 1995, 17,364 individuals were caught for drug use. This is a 16.65% increase from the previous year. The number of minors caught for use, possession, selling, or buying of drugs was 1,083. This is a 30.2% increase from the year before. The number of senior high school students arrested for drug use doubled from 1994. In 1997, over 20,000 were arrested due to drug related problems. The number includes 43 junior high school students and 219 senior high school students. Conservative estimates from the early 1900s reported that the United States had four hundred thousand addicts. Initial research established that addiction may take only two to three months to develop, depending upon the method of ingestion; injection was the fastest route to addiction, followed by smoking and then oral consumption. |
Intervention
An intervention is when a group of loved ones and/or a trained intervention counselor meets with the person in need of help for the purpose of breaking down their denial and motivating them to immediately seek drug addiction treatment. Often, individuals in the midst of drug addiction engage in a variety of self destructive behaviors. Although baffling to friends and family members such people generally either aren't aware on a conscious level that they have a drug addiction problem, or even when they know they have a problem they may cling to the false belief that the problem will somehow go away without any outside help. When an intervention is held a moment of clarity is created
for the addict. Most people struggling with the problem of drug or alcohol
addiction will accept help the very day of the intervention.
Withdrawal
Withdrawal is what happens when a person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol discontinues use. There are numerous symptoms that take place both physically and emotionally when an addicted individual stops using. Withdrawal can last a few days to a few weeks and may include nausea or vomiting, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety. Keep in mind; this only occurs if a person has regular, heavy use of a drug or alcohol. Withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable without professional help. Treatment for withdrawal from alcohol or drugs may require a medical professional to be present. Drug and alcohol rehabilitation is often the best way to overcome withdrawal and its symptoms as well as recovery from drug addiction.
Addiction Treatment
Addiction treatment is needed when an individual finds that they have developed a drug or alcohol addiction which they are not able to successful end on their own. With the help of addiction treatment, addicted individual can get help to control their drug taking behavior and live happy and successful lives. There are several addiction treatment options available for drug and alcohol addiction. Some of these options include self-help groups, counseling, drug rehabilitation programs (in and out-patient), and residential treatment facilities. Each of these differ
in their aims and outcomes and elements of these addiction treatment options are often
combined.
Drug Rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a place or program that an individual enters to treat a drug or alcohol addiction. Through therapy and education, the individual is restored to their former non-drug using self. They are then able to re-enter society clean and sober. There are many reasons why a person would need to attend a drug rehabilitation program. Some of the many reasons are: the inability to control their drinking or drug use, alienating their friends and family, problems with the law, and problems at work. Also, there are several different types of drug rehabilitation programs available: inpatient, outpatient, residential, short-term, and long-term.
Tolerance
Tolerance to a drug takes place when an individual is exposed to the same drug repeatedly and begins to build up an resistance to the drugs effects. The body then adapts and develops a tolerance for the drug. The addiction that is produced is so powerful that it creates cravings in the user. These cravings for the drug are the result of its impact on the individual's memory with feelings of pleasantness and euphoria which the individual has come to associate with the taking of the drug.
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