Do these beliefs stigmatize addicts?

Learning Journal Unit 8

Credit: EarnedGrace.com




In Chapter 16, Substance Abuse Disorders are discussed. Substance Abuse Disorders are prevalent in society.  Among the medical community, addiction is considered a chronic disease, but this concept seems difficult for some to understand or believe.  

What is it about addiction, do you believe, that keeps it a taboo subject?  

Depending on your socio-cultural background, you may have been brought up with certain beliefs about addicts and addiction.  Reflect on the dominant beliefs of your society. 

Do these beliefs stigmatize addicts?  

How do the dominant beliefs in your society either help or hinder addicts from receiving treatment?   

If you have some experience with someone that you know, consider what you've witnessed and offer your thoughts. 


The Learning Journal entry should be a minimum of 400 words and not more than 750 words. Use APA citations and references if you use ideas from the readings or other sources.


Foundamentionally, most of the main-stream religions have failed us generally by introducing society exclusively with bias and prejudice against any inclusive way the society unites impartially.  Traditionally most religions belong to monastic ways of life which have elements of spirituality incorporated within their religious way of life.  Ever since the damn materialistic way (rat race) has successfully creeped into our modern life which leads the societies suffering from depression coincidentally in line with the development of modern societies.


Most of the Abrahamic monotheistic religions were introduced to accept authority without questioning, based on blind faiths, and all kinds of secretive revelation which brings a lot of damage to the societies generally.  The non-explanations supernatural with no evidence insisted their religion is the only way which has clearly seen religion is very corrosive toward science.  


Most of the modern youths today has loss hope on religions mainly most of these so call religious leaders has lost their morality, failed to bring meaningful or sense of purpose to their life  in the last couple of decades and using the damn fears factor stir up by a father figure who gives order and behaves as if he has a complete power, a dictator benevolent creator. Some of the worst kind of evil religious cults beliefs that I knew of were introducing 72 virgin girls in heaven to screw once they kill other human beings which do not belong to their same evil religious beliefs.  Personally I find it very disgusting fictions trying to brainwash their religious followers.


With the absence of spirituality in our modern societies, they have found another way (shortcut) to gain some happiness to replace the emptiness lies within themselves using shortcuts of their life using chemicals(alcohol, drugs, etc).  


Personally when I was in England, I met many regular drinkers in pubs and some of them managed to take in 24 glasses of alcoholic drinks within 12 hours.  They  suffered loss of jobs or joblessness which depend heavily on Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) which is an unemployment benefit paid to people who are unemployed and actively seeking a job.  Some suffered from chronic depression with long-term ill health or a disability ended up dependent on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP).


Commonly addiction is rooted from complex mental conditions, often creating a stigma for those who are struggling with any form of addiction especially a lot of misunderstanding or misconceptions about substance abuse which can make it difficult for victims of these addiction to seek help.  Personally I met many alcoholic addicts who have a root mixture from Genetics, Family History of Addiction, Peer Pressure, Co-occurring Mental Conditions, Experimentation with Substance Use at a Young Age, Questionable Prescribing Practices and Other Factors.


Sadly I came across few youths (due to peer pressure not to be timid) and young adults love to attend Free Parties (underground squat parties), usually held in isolated outdoor venues or abandoned buildings. Small donations or small introduction entrance fees of £50 will introduce a starter pack of free small quantities of drug substances like MDMA (ecstasy), amphetamine, cocaine, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, cannabis, nitrous oxide, and ketamine, mixture with free alcoholic drinks.  Some of these youth also start simple substances with experimentation of smoking and alcoholic drinks out of curiosity.  After being caught up in high, group multiple partners various kinds of casual sexual activities  also kick in and float within premises for 12 to 24 hours.  Once they get addicted to these substances, they might become criminals to get money to fund their addictions.


Through our my life, many of my favourite musical artists i.e. George Michael, Michael Jackson, Prince, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston died from drugs over dosages abuses and some even started to prescribe drugs from their doctors.  With modern technology has evolved within our lives, new type addiction has merged with playing addictive mobile games, and  hock-up addictive social media has become the latest social problem as a modern escapism element factors.  Few acquaintances I met before include my nephew suffering some kind of Internet gaming disorder (IGD).


I always believe prevention is better than cure.  Those already caught in any form addiction, he or she should seek help from holistic addiction treatment and here is the list of them.


  • Ayurveda
  • Acupuncture
  • Acupressure
  • Tai Chi
  • Hypnosis
  • Massage
  • Meditation
  • Yoga
  • Mindfulness
  • Art therapy
  • Sound therapy
  • Animal-assisted therapy
  • Sports and exercise
  • Nutritional education.


Don’t Let the Outside World Control Your Happiness. True happiness comes from a connection to our true being.









Words count: 750


References

OpenStax College (2017). Psychology. Retrieved from https://openstax.org/details/psychology.


Lisa Arcelia (2017). When You Realize You are Complete Now, You are Free. Retrieved from https://earnedgrace.com/1115/you-are-complete-now/


Rebecca Mckown (N.D.). Don’t Let the Outside World Control Your Happiness. Retrieved from https://tinybuddha.com/blog/dont-let-outside-world-control-happiness/


Oasis Recovery Communities (N.D.). Holistic Addiction Treatment. Retrieved from https://www.oasisrehab.co.uk/holistic-addiction-treatment/


Frank W Paulus, Susanne Ohmann, Alexander von Gontard, Christian Popow (2018). Internet gaming disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dmcn.13754


Nicole Spector (2019). Why mobile games are so addicting — and how to reclaim your time. Retrieved from 

https://www.nbcnews.com/better/lifestyle/why-mobile-games-are-so-addicting-how-reclaim-your-time-ncna1031266


Lopez-Fernandez, O., Männikkö, N., Kääriäinen, M., Griffiths, M. D., & Kuss, D. J. (2018). Mobile gaming and problematic smartphone use: A comparative study between Belgium and Finland. Journal of behavioral addictions, 7(1), 88–99. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.6.2017.080


Wikipedia (N.D.). Free party. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_party


Source: Jobseeker's Allowance on Gov.uk (N.D.). Jobseeker's Allowance. Retrieved from 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobseeker%27s_Allowance


Editorial Staff (2020). What Are the Reasons for Addiction? Retrieved from

https://sunrisehouse.com/cause-effect/reasons-addiction/


OGL. (n.d.). Financial help if you're disabled. Retrieved from

https://www.gov.uk/financial-help-disabled/disability-and-sickness-benefits


Carol Galbicsek (2020). Alcohol and Depression. Retrieved from

https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/dual-diagnosis/alcohol-and-depression/


https://alcoholchange.org.uk/ (N.D.). Alcohol statistics. Retrieved from

https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/fact-sheets/alcohol-statistics


Carol Galbicsek (2020). Alcohol and Depression. Retrieved from

https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/dual-diagnosis/alcohol-and-depression/


Luczak, S. E., Prescott, C. A., Dalais, C., Raine, A., Venables, P. H., & Mednick, S. A. (2014). Religious factors associated with alcohol involvement: results from the Mauritian Joint Child Health Project. Drug and alcohol dependence, 135, 37–44. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.10.028


Samuel G. Freedman (2014). Alcoholics Anonymous, Without the Religion. Retrieved from

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/22/us/alcoholics-anonymous-without-the-religion.html


Robert Christian (2014). The Catholic Church’s Drinking Problem. Retrieved from

https://millennialjournal.com/2014/03/03/the-catholic-churchs-drinking-problem/


Matt Slick (N.D.). The Failure of the Christian Church. Retrieved from

https://carm.org/failure-of-the-christian-church


Jendella Benson (2015). 3 ways the Church has failed us. Retrieved from

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/3-ways-the-church-has-failed-us/69892.htm


Patricia Lotich (N.D.). 11 Mistakes a Failing Church Will Make. Retrieved from

https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2016/02/11-mistakes-failing-church/


Graham Lawton (2019). Richard Dawkins: How we can outgrow God and religion. Retrieved from

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24332480-100-richard-dawkins-how-we-can-outgrow-god-and-religion/


Sadhguru. (30 Aug 2016). How to Overcome Addictions and Compulsive Disorder? | Sadhguru [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKwLz6aI3aU


Talks at Google. (11 Oct 2018). 21 Lessons for the 21st Century | Yuval Noah Harari | Talks at Google [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw9P_ZXWDJU


Positive Thinking. (4 Jun 2018). Sadhguru meditation - Don't Let The Outside World Control Your Happiness [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umgl1o0qcwM


OnePath. (19 Jan 2018). sadhguru about mental illnesses, thin line between sanity and insanity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agOJ1_zG14s



Location: Sunderland, UK

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