Widespread addiction and how to stop it
While Addiction at this point is a well-researched topic that has tons of information available for learning, your average person might not have a complete grasp on what it’s about, even if they do know about how bad it can be and what can be done about it.
What I want to explore with this project when it comes to addiction, besides going over it in itself, is to go over what other people personally think about it, both professional and the every day person, to see how people think about it from different perspectives, and the kinds of solutions that can be found.
Friends and acquaintances of mine each shared different, but similar perspectives on addiction, how they viewed it and what their experiences were with it. They also gave out similar solutions, ones that, while not the same, all felt like generally good advice.
One question that I brought up that resulted in several answers both unique and repeated often was types of addiction. Why we could get addicted to just about anything we can interact with. While some of them did offer their explanations on why this was, they differed. One wasn’t able come up with an explanation at all. So in order to find a more in depth and well defined answer, I help an interview with someone with a more professional take on Addiction.
Julie Trytek is a Human Services counselor at College of Dupage, and has a background in studying substance abuse, having 20 years worth in treating addictions and working with those who are affected by them, directly and indirectly. She gives a much more in depth overview on addiction, explaining that addiction can be caused by a release of dopamine into the brain, a natural part of the body, and how any sort of activity can release this chemical, which is what leads to people repeatedly doing this activity in order to experience these releases again and again. She also talks about the nature vs nurture aspect of the cause of addiction, and how both sides can contribute to the start of one.
She also goes very in depth on the solutions and preventative measures we can take in order to stop an addiction. She goes over the methods and steps taken to help addicts manage and eventually stop their addictions, while also bringing up outside factors that one wouldn’t think would relate to addiction, like what connections to other people one might have, or the stressors around a person’s life that might lead them to an addictive activity in order to cope. After the interview proper, she pointed me to a video I could watch, and proceed to share.
While seemingly not related in terms of who created them, the video Julie mentioned up top, as well as the TED Talk video below it both share the same premise, that addiction as we knew it back then is wrong. Both videos came out in 2015 and they both go over the same points in talking about Addiction. They each go over connections, that people have with other people or activities, and how a lack of good, proper connections can lead someone to an addiction when they connect with a less savory activity. They also bring up points that both Julie and even the interviews I conducted with my acquaintances brought up, how we as individuals should work to be more accepting and helping of those that addicted when societal systems, at least here in the United States, are doing more harm then good in their methods of stopping addiction.
While we may know a lot about addiction, it never hurts to go learn more, Especially if, and maybe when, it pops in your life, in yourself or in others you know. And whether you already knew how to deal with addiction, only found out more recently, or perhaps even don’t know at all and simply go by your instinct on how to go about it, it’s always good to know as much as you can before delving into a solution. Though with that being said, it’s hopeful to know that different people of different backgrounds and levels of knowledge can already come to the same conclusion on addiction, that we need to be careful, caring, and considerate of others that are addicted, so that we may help them out and lead them towards kicking the habit.
