Addiction Problem for Drug and Substance Abuse - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theAddiction Problem for Drug and Substance Abuse. Answer: Introduction Drug and substance abuse has been a great tragedy in the 21st century, and it has come about with many consequences in the society (Bissessar, 2014). The media has also been an important communication platform, and many individuals gain information through different media platforms such as newspapers, movies, books, and advertisements (Gaal, Szabo, Kovcs, Csepregi, 2015). Drug and substance abuse being a critical problem in the world according to (Butler, 2017), and it is therefore communicated through different forms of media since many people can easily access the different forms of media. Several movies have been released showing drug and substance abuse problems and one of these movies, in this case, a documentary is called The Anonymous People. This documentary has filmed a community of about 23.5 million American people living with drug and substance abuse problems and also people facing long-term recovery conditions (Cohen, Mikhitarian, Reilly, Williams, 2014). The recovery faces have been hidden and the voices silent for an extended period due to stigma in the society which is intensely entrenched. The story of these anonymous people is told through the voices and faces of the volunteers, the leaders, celebrities and corporate executives putting it all out in black and white to save the lives of other individuals just like them (Mikhitarian, 2015). The recovery movement was aimed to fuel a changing conversation intended to transform public opinion and shift a problematic policy to the direction of a lasting recovery solution. Several stereotypes, attitudes, and assumptions were portrayed in the society. The attitude that drug addiction was a crucial problem in the society was highlightened since most of the prominent people and celebrities in the community such as Chris Harren, a basketball player came out and talked about their addiction problems so bother to help other persons like them in the society. The portrayal is very genuine since it talks about real people in real life situations battling or who had battled with drug and substance use problems and it is not fiction as it is in the movies. The documentary film also captures the challenges that these drug addicts face in the society which is a similar portrayal of exactly what happens to many people around the globe (NEPA Scene, 2016). However, this does not stigmatize a persons clients, but on the contrary, it gives them hope. In the documentary, the 20-25 million Americans facing alcohol and other drug and substance abuse problems have optimism through the emergence of active grassroots advocacy recovery and support movements. Brave people who have recovered from drug and alcohol addiction problems came up and formed associations uniting for the first instance in years to offer hope and address the addiction problem which was America's most persistent problem in public health. Stigmatization of individuals with addiction problems is highly condemned, and the faith of coming out of the slavery of the addiction problem is given to the addicts through the life-changing stories of different people. The society should realize that drug addiction makes a person enslaved to drugs and therefore turning back is never easy. When this concept is understood stigmatization will be significantly reduced. The society has to accept people with addiction problems and also help them change because isolation has never solved drug addiction problems, but it instead increases the cases. The victims need to feel like part of the community, and they need to be cared for and counseled by service providers, law enforcers, policy m akers and the media at large. This can be done through the media channels, seminar forums, in the rehabilitation centers and also in homes. The Anonymous people views stigmatization as being a societal disease and campaigns against it (Phoenix House, 2013). Many famous faces and voices offer to come out to the light and talk about their addiction problems so that individuals facing the same can be able to relate to them and overcome their challenges just as they did. The general public is also discouraged against stigmatization since it causes enduring mental and health stress to individuals with addiction problems. Stigmatized people are more likely to be depressed, and this reduces treatment, and it worsens their addiction problems since they tend to turn to drug abuse for consolation (Livingston, Milne, Fang, Amari, 2012). Some may even be harmful to themselves and other people, therefore, being a threat and they might also end up being at logger's heads with the law as a result of the stigma. The positive portrayals of people who faced addiction problems and overcame gave hope to others, and the recovery results wer e positive. The psychological model could be appropriate to practice in the field of drug addiction because it focuses on what takes place for a person to start using drugs. The model emphasizes that drug addiction is psychologically motivated therefore making everyone vulnerable to addiction (Ngo, 2014). The social learning theory of addiction is applicable in this case. This model reflects current issues in drug addiction since a learned behavior, and a character defect and a learned behavior is an addiction (Kelly White, 2010). This is evident in the current addiction situations since most people become addicts as a result of several circumstances such as a marriage separation, being fired from work among many other issues. The psychological model is linked to the social service work theory as the observing people with addictive behavior could psychologically motivate others also to start using drugs. It is, therefore, crucial to learn about stigmatization and the addiction problem to learn on how to handle persons with addiction problems and how to help the society to be able to view drug addicts as normal people and to help them recover. Conclusion Stigmatization being a worldwide problem, it is essential to find ways to deal with how people view drug addicts in our society to help them change and to help their rehabilitation process to be a lot easier. Given the widespread of addiction in the various parts of the world and echoed by the happenings of the movie it is a clear indication that the issue needs clear policies to control the behavior of the people. The policy will help in building the self-esteem of the addicts which is essential for the recovery process. References Bissessar, A. M. (2014). The Tragedy of a Small Country: Combatting Substance Abuse and Illegal Drugs. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science , 51-65. Butler, J. C. (2017). 2017 ASTHO President's Challenge: Public Health Approaches to Preventing Substance Misuse and Addiction. Journal of Public Health Management Practice, 531-536. Cohen, A., Mikhitarian, B., Reilly, j., Williams, G. D. (2014, August 8). The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from https://beta.theglobeandmail.com: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/film-reviews/a-misguided-attempt-to-bring-addiction-out-of-the-closet/article19963543/?ref=https://www.theglobeandmail.com Gaal, Z., Szabo, L., Kovcs, N. O., Csepregi, A. (2015). Exploring the Role of Social Media in Knowledge Sharing. The Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management Volume, 185-197. Kelly, J. F., White, W. L. (2010). Addiction Recovery Management: Theory, Research and Practice. Berlin: Springer Science Business Media. Livingston, J. D., Milne, T., Fang, M. L., Amari, E. (2012). The effectiveness of interventions for reducing stigma related to substance use disorders: a systematic review. Wiley-Blackwell Online Open, 39-50. Mikhitarian, B. (2015). Many Faces, One Voice: Secrets from The Anonymous People. New York: Central Recovery Press, LLC. NEPA Scene. (2016, February 31). NEPA Scene. Retrieved from https://nepascene.com: https://nepascene.com/2016/08/anonymous-people-film-recovery-addiction-screens-free-scranton-sept-8/ Ngo, V. (2014, March). Addiction According to Moral, Disease, and Learning Models. Simon Fraser University , pp. 1-12. Phoenix House. (2013, September 10). https://www.phoenixhouse.org. Retrieved from Phoenix House: https://www.phoenixhouse.org/news-and-views/our-perspectives/the-anonymous-people-what-does-anonymity-actually-mean/