Conclusion

There are many who suffer from drug abuse-and more counting their family members and friends who have to watch someone they love suffer through the addiction. It's not easy to watch somebody go down hill, especially when you don't know how to help. But what I have learned is that the best thing you can do for someone who has a substance abuse problem is to be supportive whenever they think about getting away from the drugs, and try to remember that the person you used to know is still there-they're just hidden away under all the drugs. Hopefully one day they will wake up and realize that having a drug problem is not the way they would like to live their life. There is one last video I would like to post. It is called "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace. The reason that I decided to use this video is because of the lyrics and what the singer said about the song. He said that it was about being in a "very dark place, but being able to see a way out". He went on to say at another concert that is like "feeling like you don't belong here, and wanting to give up, but never giving up". Adam Gontier, the singer, was addicted to pain killers for a while, so when I thought of a good video to end the blog on, I almost immediately thought of Three Days Grace because I knew that he had some songs about what he went through. In a sense, I think ex-addicts or even people who are still addicts can relate to this song because they're in a dark place, trying to find their way out.

Rehab Centers

If an addict does decide to enter an in-patient drug rehabilitation center, there are different stages. These stages are:

• A Break from the Situation-you will find yourself in a drug-free environment. By separating yourself from your current lifestyle, you will be able to objectively see how the addiction affected you, your lifestyle, and the people around you
• Detox-the addict will then go through a medically monitored detox (because withdrawals can sometimes be severe)
• Individual and Group Therapy-an important aspect of successful recovery is getting the addict to understand that they are personally responsible and accountable for maintaining sobriety. Here they will learn coping mechanisms and develop new life skills
• Reconciliation with Family and Friends-this is important to ensure that the environment the addict will return to is supportive and not chaotic
• Community Participation-some facilities offer 'outings' in the general community for cultural enrichment or other activities

Here is one example of a person who was able to complete the 12-step program:

Information for rehab facility was found at:  What Happens at Rehab?

Effects of Substance Abuse

There are many effects of substance abuse. Some include:

• Alcohol
• weight gain (empty calories in beer)
• Liver Disease
• Cancer (2-4% of all cancer is alcohol related)
• High Blood Pressure
• Drugs
• Overdose
• Paranoia and Psychosis
• Rapid Heart Rate and Memory Impairment
• Fatal Heart and Lung Failure

Why Should We Care About This Topic?

I suppose that one of the more important questions to ask is why should we care about the topic of substance abuse and how it can affect more than just the person who uses the drug? We all know that drugs are harmful to the user, but I also wanted to point out how one person using drugs can affect a whole family's relationship which could in turn make the family dysfunctional (which is not fun). I also looked at how an intervention could help and what you should do if someone in your family or one of your friends abuse a substance. So I guess the main reason that I think people should care about this topic is because it affects everyone, and it could happen to anyone. 

Impact of Illegal Drugs on Society In the United States

Drugs not only have an impact on the individual and their family/friends, but also on the society as a whole. The economic cost is estimated to be around $215 billion. Illicit drug use also affects the criminal justice system-it taxes resources at each stage of the arrest, adjudication, incarceration, and post-release supervision process. It also has an impact on productivity because using drugs can cause premature death, illness, injury leading to incapacitation, and imprisonment. Productivity is also lost due to drug-related unemployment (such as failing a drug test). The environment also suffers from illicit drug use. Clearly, there is more at stake than just an individual’s drug problem; using drugs creates tribulations for society as a whole.

More information about this can be found at:  Impact of Drugs on Society

What To Do If A Loved One Is An Addict

What should you do if you find that one of your friends or a family member is an addict? There are many things that you can do; but one of the best things that you can do is be there when they look for help and a way to quit. Another thing that you can do is try to encourage them to get help but don’t keep pushing them if they refuse-it is ultimately the user’s choice whether to get help or not. Educate yourself on the disease so that you may understand the problems your friend or family member may be going through. One thing that may not be a good idea is to completely turn your back on them and not have anything to do with the user. You may be angry with the person who uses drugs, like I was when I first found out about my aunt, but what I do is try to remember when you actually enjoyed being around that person-that person is still there, they’ve just been hidden by all the drugs. At least that is how I looked at the situation with my aunt-she used to do a lot with me, my brother, and one of my cousins before she started using drugs, and maybe someday we can get back to doing things together once she becomes completely clean.

Why Do People Start?

I have looked at what drugs do to the body, both on the outside and inside, the strain it puts on relationships, the effect it has on family and friends, etc. But I wanted to look at why people use drugs even though they know all the problems it can cause. Of course there are the obvious reasons such as peer pressure. But what are some other reasons? While researching, I found many other reasons, such as they do it to feel relaxed or to forget problems. Some use drugs to cope with stress or simply because they are adventurous and curious. There are some who use because their whole family is addicted to drugs. But in many cases, people use drugs as a way to deal with problems they don’t know how to handle. It could be to deal with problems at home, in relationships, or in school/their work. There are probably many other reasons why a person would start using drugs; these were just a few that shows why many start to use drugs.

What Do Drugs Do To The Body?

What do drugs do to the body on the inside? Drugs are chemicals that make changes to the makeup of the human body. Drugs affect the brain; the brain is what controls the way you feel. So the drugs make the brain send certain messages to make you feel a certain way. Chemical messengers made by drugs can send wrong messages from the brain and make you see, hear, and feel things that aren’t real and doing things that you normally would not do. Eventually, people will start to develop a tolerance toward the drug they use. Some believe that this is their body accepting the drug, but in reality it is the drug killing the parts of their body that is used to resist the drug. To get the feeling again, some people will try using more of the drug which could result in an overdose. Drugs can cause liver damage, make your body unable to fight off infection, your heart beat too fast, cause your body temperature to get so high that it causes damage to your brain, cause a stroke, and even death.

Teenager's brain on drugs. Drugs make holes in the brain
and lowers brain activity

When Someone You Know Uses Drugs-The Effect

When a child, parent, aunt, uncle, or any other relative or friend uses drugs, the effect it has on the family can be devastating. When a child uses drugs, the parents may feel like it is their fault that their son or daughter became an addict. When a parent uses, a child may feel like they have lost their childhood. I have seen firsthand the toll drugs take on a child when one of their parents use drugs. To some extent, my cousins have lost their childhood as well. One of them-the second oldest-is pretty much like an adult and she is only eight years old. I guess that she thought that she had to step up and act like a parent. She is very protective about her siblings and often treats them as a mother would her children. It is kind of sad to see her have to take this position. My aunt has definitely gotten better recently, I’m not sure if she is still using or not, but my cousin still acts like an adult to some extent; so she has lost out on many childhood experiences to this point. Many children will also feel responsible for their parent’s drug usage as well. They may feel like it is their fault that their children started using, which could affect them for the rest of their lives.

How Do Drugs Affect People Physically?

People change both on the inside and out when they use drugs. I was able to find a video that showed the pictures side by side of the changes over the years. These videos show how much people have changed over a few years, or even over a few months. This video are meth users, but other substances can cause physical changes as well.

Helping Someone-Family Interventions

There are some people who accept help and change on their own. And there are some who need some help to decide whether or not they need help. Sometimes, family interventions can be that help. The order of events will usually follow as:  Preparation, Family Intervention Day, and Post-Intervention Day. The preparation starts when a family decides to have an intervention for a loved one. They must then get together people who will be part of that intervention and hold some meetings that will explain what will be done and how it will be done. Treatment options should be explored, as well as educating each other about the dysfunction that is at hand. The preparation stage may take one or two weeks. The next event-the actual intervention day-occurs when the family and friends get together and meet with the person who is abusing a substance. Here, people tell the user how much they (the user) means to them and how using the substance has affected them and the relationship they once had and they are asked if they will accept treatment. If they do, proper arrangements have already been made. If they do not, however, the user must understand that their relationships with their family will continue to suffer. Everyone should always be respectful and kind in the intervention; they should not be judgmental or argue. The last stage begins after the day of the intervention. Here, people follow up on their word to get help. Everyone would benefit from help to find out how to be supportive and how to get their relationship back to what it used to be with everyone because one person's substance abuse affects everyone's lives and their relationships with each other.

More information can be found at:  Family Intervention

Are You Addicted?

Since my blog is about addiction I decided that I should have at least one post that deals with how to tell if someone is addicted to alcohol or some sort of drug. For alcohol, I heard something a while ago that made sense to me. It said that if you think that you have an addiction to alcohol; try not drinking any type for at least 30 days. If you can do it, you probably are not an alcoholic, but if you are not able to last the 30 days, then you may have a problem; but only you can decide whether or not if you are addicted. As for drugs, I was able to find a pamphlet that has 29 questions somebody could ask themselves. As the pamphlet points out, some of the things do not have anything to do with drugs at all, but are relevant questions because drugs affect all areas of a person's life. But as I said before, the user has to decide that he/she has a problem and they must be the ones to decide they need help. The pamphlet and questions can be found at:
Am I an Addict?

What Exactly is Substance Abuse?

I wanted to clearly define what substance abuse was since my whole blog is about it and what it can do to relationships. Substance abuse can essentially be defined as the "use of illicit drugs or the abuse of prescription over-the-counter drugs for purposes other than those for which they are indicated or in a manner or in quantities other than directed" (Medline's Medical Encyclopedia). However, alcohol, inhalents and solvents, and even coffee and cigarettes can be used to a harmful extent. The difference between use and abuse can only be determined by the individual using though. If the individual does not believe that they are abusing the drug, then they are most likely not going to be willing to get help. They have to believe that they have a problem before they decide what is best for them.

• Definition taken from About.com-Substance Abuse

Substance Abuse and Relationships

Substance abuse can destroy relationships because it places huge burdens on the people around them. The burden and stress that is put on their family and friends causes family roles to become warped or reversed. For example, a child puts their drunken father to bed or a daughter (or son) hiding their mother's pills so that she can't use again. Or, drug addiction could isolate someone entirely from the world and have no close relationship. These may be the ones who sit in their living room and wonder why no one comes to see them anymore.

Relationships are usually the hardest thing for an addict to fix. It often requires years of hard work, cooperation, and therapy. When a relationship is allowed to deteriorate, it may create a cycle of addiction because the children learn faulty social behavior and coping mechanisms. Statistics show that the child of an alcoholic is four times more likely to become an alcoholic than the national average.

• Information taken from Treatment Finder-Substance Abuse and Relationships

How Does Substance Abuse Cause Changes In the Family?

• Aggression - Research shows that substance abuse is not a risk factor for many factors in and of it self; however, substance abuse can strength other risk factors. Where there is a risk for violence and child abuse, substance abuse can increase the risk by causing loss of control, decreased inhibitions, and impaired judgment memory and attention.
• Abusers often neglect children, both with regards to physical needs, as well as emotional and cognitive needs. Research has shown that children with heroin addicted parents show the same pattern of cognitive delays
• Substance abusers are often more prone to engage in conflict, to be emotionally abusive mood.
• Substances alter moods, and can result in increased depression, anxiety, and paranoia. This is relevant not only to the abuser, but also the partner. Research shows that the partner of the abuser is often at the greatest risk for psychopathology.
• Sleep/wake patterns, eating patterns, and personality characteristics can all change when abusing substances. Imagine having two parents; the sober dad who is verbally abusive, and the drunken dad who is emotionally expressive and loving.
• Taken from http://www.psychpage.com/family/library/familysubstanceabuse.htm

So basically, what it is saying is that substance abuse alters a person. Aggression is shown more often and this can affect a family because the substance may cause the user to lose control and have impaired judgment. Which means that they are more likely to do something that they wouldn't normally do when they are sober. They are also more likely to be in an emotionally abusive mood, which can also put the family at risk if they anger the user in some way. When someone is abusing a substance, they are usually not aware of what is going on and they probably don't realize how their actions can hurt another person, but as the facts have pointed out, it does in fact cause conflicts for more than just the person abusing a substance

Intervention

Just wanted to share a video that shows what the user and their family go through. The video is from the Emmy Award winning show Intervention. This episode highlights Salina and Troy. Their addiction puts the family in a difficult spot, and can sometimes even split the family apart. It pushes everyone to both the emotional and physical edge. There are two parts to this episode

The Reason

I wanted to share the reason why I decided to do a blog on how substance abuse affects more than just the person abusing the substance real quick. Unfortunately, this issue hits close to home for me. I have a relative who is a substance abuser (alcohol and pills, perhaps others as well) and it really does affect the family relationship. Back when I was younger, we (that being my brother and cousin) would spend a lot of time with her and she would take us many places. She even took us to see our favorite cartoon movie the night it came out in theaters-I still remember that very night. However, things would not last this way. Over the past 5 years or so (maybe even longer), she has become involved with pills and excessive alcohol consumption. She has been to jail and the hospital within the past year and a half and she has stolen from our house. To be honest, my siblings, cousins, and I don't know how to deal with this. It affects us directly because 1.) She stole money from my brother and I that we need for our car payments 2.) We can't really invite her over for parties because she will drink too much alcohol and take pills and then attempt to drive home with her kids in the car (not that we don't try to stop her) and 3.) She endangers my younger cousins when she takes these actions and thus not in the state to take care of them. I've said something to my cousin and brother about how I'm more worried about her kids than anything because they're taking the punishment more than anyone else. They're growing up too fast for their own good; but they don't really have a choice in the matter because of the actions their mother has taken.

Introduction

This blog was made for a course project for Introduction to Sociology (SOC 111). My topic is about substance abuse and how it affects not just the user, but the whole family as well. The main discussion here will be how an entire family is affected by a person's substance abuse; how it affects their day-to-day lives, how it affects relationships in the family, etc.