Addictions are among the major issues in the United States. Many people of different ages get addicted to different things due to different reasons. The ways in which such addictions get also treated differs depending on the addiction, the addict, as well as, the factors that led to that addiction. The term addiction is defined as a brain disease that is more complex than other brain diseases. It involves altering normal functions of reward and enthusiasm schemes. This paper is going to focus on addictions, the types of addictions, how addictions are formed, and whether or not addiction can be treated.
There are several types of addictions. They include sex addictions, food addictions, video games addiction and drug addictions amongst many others. People, who are addicted to sex, are not able to go for long without having sex. Such people have a hard time to socialize with people of the opposite sex because they are obsessed with sex. They get addicted to sex when they have sex for a long time for wrong reasons (Hollander, 2012). This type of addiction is mainly among the young people. The other type of addiction is the food addiction. It is among the most dangerous addiction because it might lead to obesity. People who are addicted to food eat all the time. They eat all types of food, but mainly, and they eat junk food, which is, usually, not healthy for them. People with food addictions get bored whenever they are not eating. They do not necessarily eat because they are hungry but they mainly eat because there are foods and food is, usually, the only thing on their minds.
The other type of addiction that has affected many of the America’s youth and more especially the teenagers is the addiction to video games. Many children and young people prefer to sit in the house to play video games that out there and get involved in outdoor activities. Video game addictions cause many effects to the addict. They may lose their focus and only concentrate on playing video games. School going children go to the extent of thinking about video games alone. They may discuss it in schools, and whenever they would get home from school, they can go straight to video games and even lie to their parents or guardians about home works. The other type of addiction that is mainly discussed in both regional and international conferences is the addiction to drugs. This addiction is a global issue that affects people of all ages. There are different types of drugs. They can either be classified as hard drugs or soft drugs. Hard drugs are that most harmful drugs that cause a lot of effects on the addict. Hard drugs include cocaine and heroin, and they are, usually, very expensive as compared to the soft drugs. Drug addicts are the word addicts because they can hardly function without drugs. They can go to any extent to get drugs for themselves (Hollander, 2012).
Many people who have addictions and wish to deal with them can get cured. All the types of addictions are curable, but they require a lot of time and a certain process to be followed. Due to the magnitude of the problem of addictions, many people including philosophers, religious leaders, political leaders, scientists and scholars have come together to provide treatment to addiction. Different addictions can be treated using different methods. Some people believe that the best way to treat addictions is by replacing them with other addictions. For instance, a child who is addicted to video games can easily drop the addiction when he gets introduced to other interesting activities such as playing basketball. However, this is not a solution. It is just a way of postponing then problem (Henningfield, 2007). The mostly used and agreed way of treating addiction is by confining the addicts in the rehabilitation centers for some time. This way, people with similar addictions are brought together to share their difficulties, as well as, as encourage each other. The other successful way of dealing with addictions is by treating the root cause of the addiction. Some get people get addictions due to depression, loneliness or low self-esteem. Such causes can be easily controlled; thus treating addictions.
It is not clearly understood how addictions are formed. However, most psychologists argue that addictions are as a result of pleasure turning into dependency. From a psychological point of view, addiction is regarded as a compulsive behavior. In most cases, it occurs when an individual loses control of their pleasure (Henningfield, 2007). Therefore repeated consumption of an addictive substance is likely to lead to addiction of that substance. In this case, the substance transforms the way the individual thinks, especially with regard to the substance itself. Besides, it is also argued that the environment plays a crucial role in the addiction process. Environmental factors such as exposure to peer group and family beliefs tend to a vital part in initial substance abuse.
References
Henningfield, J. E. (2007). Addiction treatment: Science and policy for the twenty-first century. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Hollander, B. G. (2012). Addiction. New York: Rosen Pub.
