Drugs Problem in Modern World

What is substance abuse? Substance abuse is the use of excessive amount or dependence on a very addictive substance. It is the use of dangerous or lethal substances which could be alcohol or illegal drugs. These substances that are used can trigger psychoactive behavior. Substance abuse use can lead to dependency disorder such as behavior, mental, and physical issues that progress after a repeated amount of substance use and can usually include a strong craving to take the substance, struggle in controlling its use, continuing its use even knowing the harmful consequences, a higher importance given to substance than to other events and responsibilities, higher tolerance to the substance taken, and sometimes a physical withdrawal state, which can take a long time to overcome.

        A lot of people use substances to get away from the real world or people around them because of what is going on in their life.  Substance abuse can be triggered by many reasons for many people for example, stress at work, family issues, legal trouble, health issues and mental or behavioral health. There are many other factors that can cause a person to depend on substances for comfort and dependence. A lot of stories I have heard related to a past traumatic experience that brought them to this point in their life of substance abuse. The first personal story regarding substance abuse is about a lifestyle and fashion influencer on instagram and YouTube. She shares her journey about her sobriety and how she changed her lifestyle after substance abuse. She has a YouTube video explaining her story about how she started becoming dependent on alcohol at the age of fifteen. The problem was very big for her but she always ignored the issue because alcohol was her life and everything to her. She talks about her parents splitting up when she was just twelve and her father not caring to have a relationship with her which led her to rebel and party and start drinking alcohol every opportunity she got. In the end of her story she somehow stumbles upon an AA meeting in the area and relating so much to the other people and realizing she needed help. With the help of AA meetings and motivation of not wanting to live that lifestyle again, she is now three years sober.

        Another personal story about substance abuse is about a student who started medical school. Medical school was getting hard and one night he was finding it hard to stay awake to study for a very important exam, and a friend told him about some drugs that were available to them at the moment that would help him stay calm. He felt as though the result was just what he needed and he began using the drugs just whenever he needed a boost, just like a cup of coffee. After graduation Medical School, he was practicing and was determined to be the best doctor imaginable. After practicing for a while, his patient capacity grew very fast, and he had trouble keeping pace with his business and other stress. He found himself taking more and more drugs just to keep up with the new business and patients. He didn't really think anything bad about his drug use because after all he was a doctor and no street druggie. Throughout this time he still felt good and high when he would use the drugs, which would help him thrive in his practice. He provided excellent care and had no patient complaints. One day, the DEA came to the door questioning him about his fraudulent prescription practice. Not only did he face the legal and professional consequences of having written improper prescriptions, but he had to cope with the personal embarrassment as well from family, friends and professionally.

After months of treatment and therapy, he learned about his disease and learning about himself, he came back home feeling strong and well. He was healthy, sober, clear thinking, and ready to pull his profession back together. Unfortunately, his profession was not yet ready for him, he had to deal with a lot of issues legally to practice being a doctor again. Although he discouraged with the difficulties he was facing, he now had the tools to deal with this stress. In the end, he did return to practice, the process took years but he waited patiently. What I have learned in this personal story is that doctors, like all humans, have the vulnerability to become sick and the ability to become well. He is now sober and can't imagine life any other way.

As I was scrolling the internet, reading different personal stories, I came across a very different story regarding a young boy who was a great high school student, athlete and in a few HBO movies. He was 80 days sober from his drug addiction when he decided to try it one more time just a week after his high school graduation and he paid the price for his mistake with his life.  My uncle from my husband's side of the family was heavily involved in drugs when he graduated high school back in the 1980's. He even became homeless so many times, and lost a lot of his teeth but that didn't change his mindset of the addiction until he met a girl at the bar who he fell in love with and helped him recover from his addiction.  He was able to get out of that addiction and better his life for his wife and children and even start his own business. He always says that he believes the big problem with substance abuse is that it's so easy to get and that's why so many people can have it easily handed to. 

My friend's ex-boyfriend was going down the wrong path of using prescribed drugs to get high and feel different. He would tell his doctor that he was having severe back pain because of working out at the gym every day. The doctor did do an x-ray to check if something was wrong and saw his disk was slipped. The boyfriend did not agree to surgery because of money issues but did agree to have a strong medication prescribed to him all the time which he later got addicted too. He was not able to function without the prescription. After a few years, he became domestically violent and started abusing my friend, which is when she took a stand called 911 for help. They took him, and he then realized what he was doing and got help. After years now, he is off the prescribed drug and learning how to cope with his back problem.

There are many people who are addicted to so many things because I believe that getting alcohol is so easy and getting your hand on drugs/prescriptions are easy, there in our own medicine cabinets. The government needs to identify and find out who are these prescribers are that are providing large numbers of narcotics that are so easy to get ahold of. A lot of people also suffer with so many addictions and our system does offer  many places where people can go and be vulnerable and try to get help but I believe that many treatment centers do not work hard enough up to the standard. These treatment programs but have a very low rate of efficiency. Treatment options should include motivational improvement, cognitive-behavioral treatments, relapse prevention, family education and support, wellness efforts and medication to help stop from some relapsing and maintaining sobriety.

Cite this page