addiction
The realities of addition; the truth about living under, above and beyond the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Purple Orchid
Walking into the empty room, I felt different. I pictured the tapestries on the walls and the cushions covering the floor. It was no bigger than a closet; in fact, that was the original intention. There was one small window. When I first saw it I thought it might be cause for depression, but as I got to know her, I realized it was her place of comfort, of safety. The door was never locked, I knew that I would always be welcome, even when she wasn’t there. Slowly, it became my place of safety as well.
By Anna Mirella5 years ago in Psyche
Escaping or Finding Freedom
Escaping or Finding Freedom? From the very first time, I fell in love with the euphoria of running away. That chains are off, feet are moving, heart is pounding breaking out into the cool night air was like a hit of some new drug. What’s not to love about that? The problem was, I was bringing just as much trouble with me than I was leaving behind. It took years for me to get tired enough to do something different.
By Nadine Buxton-Whatoname5 years ago in Psyche
Life’s Ups and Downs
I am 57 years old.I’ve done great things in my life. Then I’ve done the worst things. The great things are when Iwas a critical care nurse for a large hospital group.I truly loved my job;caring for the sickest people in the hospital.I’ve kept the sickest patients alive all night and I’ve helped the sickest die with dignity.I remember one lady in particular. Mrs May was 78 years old and in our critical care unit for three months. She was on a ventilator the entire stay. She was sedated and never conscious for her stay. Her husband came every day to sit at her bedside. I was there to care for him and his emotional needs just as much as I was there to care for her. I worked 12 hour nights at that time. My care for her was mostly comfort measures as aposed to heroic measures. She was a ‘no code’ or DNR- do not resuscitate. The things I did for her were to keep her comfortable and her husband comforted and informed on her status. I washed her hair and styled it like the pictures of her hanging on walls. I painted her nails a pretty pink as that was her favorite color. I spent the time with her family to know these details. These care measures didn’t improve her psychical condition but did help her husband feel she wasn’t suffering. Yes-I also maintained her airway,suctioned her lungs frequently,and assessed her condition continuously. I drew her blood and kept up with her medications. But the maintaining of her beauty and physical care was just as important. Some of the nurses felt Mrs.May shouldn’t have been left on life support for so long as she was dying. But I understood that her husband needed this time to love her and prepare to let her go. I wasn’t there the night she slipped away but her husband called me the next night that I was a work just to talk. He continued to call me every week or two just to talk about how he was managing without her. This went on for a few months then I never heard from him again. My job was finally done. I had done all I could and was satisfied with the results. Pink nail polish still makes me think fondly of Mr.and Mrs.May.
By Margaret pickens5 years ago in Psyche
I’m Not Addicted, Are You?
As Americans, we’ve all likely seen the ad that says, “This is your brain, this is your brain on drugs.” The war on drugs has shaped our impressions of what taking drugs and medications mean, and a stereotypical image of what an addict is. It doesn’t help that the words “dependent” and “addiction” have been so often used interchangeably, making many people think dependent people are addicts. That isn’t true. The two words have different meanings.
By Julie L Hodges5 years ago in Psyche
The complexities of addiction and recovery
Addiction is a concept that is variable, ambiguous and difficult to characterize. Webster defines addiction as "the process of giving oneself habitually or compulsively to something, such as alcohol or narcotics" (Soukhanov & Ellis, 1984, p. 77). While this description somewhat captures the desperate and sinister nature of this process, it remains an incomplete explanation. The Social Work Dictionary (Barker, 1987) refers instead to substance abuse or substance dependence and further describes the phenomena as " a disorder related to an unhealthy use of alcohol or drugs which includes related negative social, legal or vocational ramifications, a pattern of pathological use (episodic binges), psychological dependence including a desire for continued use and an inability to inhibit that desire, and symptoms of tolerance or withdrawal" (p. 160).
By Donna L. Roberts, PhD (Psych Pstuff)5 years ago in Psyche
Breaking free from the cycle
Is trauma the root cause of emotional dysregulation and as a result developing addictive personality traits to cope? So today id like to share the progress I've made overcoming addictions and the behavior patterns that hindered my growth and strained the relationships I've had with people.
By Marcus Eli5 years ago in Psyche
Dying to Be a Prospect
They called him Bubsy, but his cutesy name didn’t do much to reduce his wild and fearsome reputation. His linebacker like frame juiced to the tits with steroids didn’t fit it either. I only saw him one summer when I worked as a laborer, but the stories about him made their way back to me via a co-worker and many of them were terrifying.
By Steve B Howard5 years ago in Psyche
Understanding Addiction
When most people think about addiction they usually think about issues such as alcohol or drugs which are probably the two most common forms of addictive behavior in society today, an addict is basically anybody who turns to something which they feel gives them instant gratification or some other kind of reward or helps them escape from their actual reality. Usually, this will go hand in hand with a sense of them feeling low self esteem even though in many cases, they can often seem confident on the outside.
By T. S. Michaels5 years ago in Psyche
