Understanding Addiction

By Shiela Saang
In today’s modern world, almost everything that is likable in the eyes are already served
in a manner where everyone can see and have an access to it. From the things that we eat,
wear, use and even want to feel are now being plastered around every corner, making it much
easier for the new generation to desire something and think of it as the only thing that can
provide euphoria to oneself. In addition to many societal factors and the advent of media, our
world nowadays seemed to be shaping the human satisfaction to only be dependent on things
that are tangible. And what is more alarming is that some of the things that people seek to
satisfy themselves tend to be so destructive in nature, both to oneself and the surrounding
environment. But nevertheless, the stigma that comes from this is too overpowering now that
instead of alleviating the issue, the society find it way too easier to criticized of something that is
incomprehensible in the minds of men.
Addiction is one of the most talked, discussed and stigmatized issue concerning
humanity from the past centuries. Undoubtedly, even at this very moment that you are reading
this essay, thousands of studies, government interventions and civic activities have been
currently formulated, planned and conducted in addition to the many previous one with the aim
of potentially declining the number of addictions from around every country in the world. It is
easy to define addiction for a layman to understand, however, addiction from this viewpoint
heavily reflects only its bad reputation to humanity. Being addicted to something is mostly
criticized by the society and its victims aren’t getting sympathy because of the social construct
that this is just a matter of life choice and they’ve made the bad one. Instead of addressing the
underlying psychological and health issues from it, society and even government heavily relies
only to the exercise of law relating to this.
According to West in 2015, addiction most involve the concept of a repeated powerful
motivation to engage in an activity, acquired through experience with that activity, despite the
harm or risk of harm it causes. There are many types of addiction to cite for, some are harmless
but mostly, bring adverse effects at any matter of time. Here in my country, the Philippines, drug
addiction is one of its all-time menace that it became the goal of the current administration to
eradicate drugs in any possible means, either through discourse or blood. But even though the
harm it imposes is greater than what seems to be its “positive” contribution to the user, it is too
difficult to understand from a clean person’s viewpoint why people continuously choose to intake
what means danger to one’s being.
In accordance to the two models polarizing theories of addiction, addiction is either seen
as a moral failure or a disease, with the latter being considered now in many interventional
approaches. In addition to that, according to Pickard in 2015, the theory that addiction is a brain
disease became a scientific orthodoxy as human capacity to observe neurobiological
phenomena improves, which resulted to the now increasing addiction research which informs
public of the understanding of addiction. However, the theory that addiction is a matter of moral
failure seems to still be the most overused reason as to why addiction exists and because of
this idea, victims are being perceived as though people who are legally misaligned and
therefore they are being judged and punished.
Addiction isn’t only an individual struggle to live by. Having a relative, a close friend or
even a member of your community who is being influenced by these dangerous substances is
too overwhelming to accept that many chose to bear them as their own burden too out from pity,
fear, and even compassion. Many are dreaming of becoming successful in life and endeavors
but there are still some that are only aiming for themselves to break free from addiction and its
strings attached even to those people it doesn’t directly affects.
I wasn’t born in home where I’ve experienced the bitterness of life caused by any
addictions by my loved ones. I am fortunate enough to grow in a home full of compassion and
nurturing that it pains me to see children having to live a life with addicted parents hanging
around the corner. It pains me to feel that not all children are able to eat all meals in a day
because their drug-afflicted parents had to sustain their own cravings for their unfathomable
thirst. It pains me to know that there are young adults like me that only relies their happiness on
the tiny grams of white substances to be able to live every single day of their lives. It pains me
to understand that humanity is so fragile to life’s bitterness that they can only succumb to the
false satisfaction offered by these temporary pleasures.
Whenever I see news about the lives lost because of the influence of excessive
substance usage, I’ve always thought about the consequences of these tragedies that befall to
the lives of their loved ones. From the eyes of the media, I saw many stories of loss and death
and it is a scene so heartbreaking even from a stranger like me. The thought that many children
losses a parent or two, even parents losing a child, it is very disheartening how drugs can easily
take away someone else’s future and life. From people who were previously drug dependents
but lived to tell the tale on how they overcame what they had experienced, telling drug afflicted
individuals to stop using drugs is something that is easier said but never done to their side.
Stopping addiction will eventually bring them back to the habit of using it again to satisfy their
unfathomable cravings that it will be very difficult for them to finally be free from its chains
without proper and adequate medical help. Being in rehabilitation centers are costly nowadays
that only those who are privileged enough are able to take. Especially to those who are mostly
from the marginalized area of the community, seeking professional help and admitting to
medical institutions is only second to their priorities, thus, making it too difficult to alleviate the
said addiction.
As to why I chose this topic, it wasn’t because it is inspiring me on how to become
successful or its inspiring me to inspire people to be successful too. I chose this topic only from
the fact that I am a human, a human who sees life as important as the day it was born that
seeing it being wasted and destroyed because of a small amount of a grain is too unbearable to
bear.
I chose this topic simply because I wanted to be of any use for the betterment of
humanity. I chose to understand addiction in a non-authoritarian point of view, but as a human
who understands that some people, whether who they are and where they came from, are all
subjects of compassion. That in order for us to change our world, we must advocate things
without stigma and judgement, most especially to our brothers and sisters who needed it the
most. I wanted to change the world starting from my city. I wanted to change my country, do
something of my own platform to influence people and extend of what I could help to end the
stigma of addiction. And by the time I would be able to do this, I’d hope I’d be able to give a
significant change in the society.
I’ve always dreamed the world to be in a better place, but with all the things that are
happening in the past, present and the near future, it gave me the conviction of doing something
to help save the humanity from downfall because of tangible things that destroy men’s lives.
And I hope I’d be given the chance to do so.