Prompting Progress through Psychology-Drug Addiction and Overdose

Prompting Progress through Psychology-Drug Addiction and Overdose

Drug addiction has been a significant issue in today’s society, starting at an early age and transitioning into the teenage stage and adulthood. Approximately 63,000 people succumbed to drug abuse and overdose (Carroll & Kiluk, 2017). Individuals with a substance use disorder usually find themselves at a crossroads when overcoming their addiction. Ideally, behavioral addiction is the worst form of addiction, and hence, psychological interventions are required when dealing with this vice.

Based on the American Society of Addiction Medicine, addiction may be treatable (Carroll & Kiluk, 2017). Although people tend to engage in harmful behaviors that may bring about negative consequences, there is still room to ensure that they can lead a normal life. The schools of thought in psychology that can be used to address the issue of drug addiction and overdose include the attachment theory, self-medication, and the psychodynamic perspective (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2013). These schools of thought suggest that an individual uses drugs to fill a gap in their emotional sphere. In most cases, as the patients may suggest, they abuse drugs to silence their inner voices. Through the psychodynamic theory, an individual may tend to use drugs based on the events they went through during their childhood. On the other hand, the self-medication theory suggests that individuals use substances to shut out negative thoughts that may affect them (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2013). Notably, the self-medication theory may translate into the attachment theory since individuals tend to seek some form of attachment to something, perhaps due to some form of neglect.

Some of the changes that can be made to these schools of thought revolve around ensuring that the concept of attachment is mitigated. Attachment leads to conformity, and conformity leads to addiction. Therefore, during the process of reducing the incidences of addiction and overdose, it is essential to address the basic circumstances that lead to this reliability in the long run (Carroll & Kiluk, 2017). As such, drug and substance abuse education should be offered alongside these schools of thought to enlighten individuals about the repercussions if they persist with the behavior. Our homework help will you tons of energy and time required for your homework papers.

References

Carroll, K. M., & Kiluk, B. D. (2017). Cognitive-behavioral interventions for alcohol and drug use disorders: Through the stage model and back again. Psychology of addictive behaviors, 31(8), 847. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000311

Hergenhahn, B. R., & Henley, T. (2013). An introduction to the history of psychology. Cengage Learning.

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unit 9: psych (210)
As you look at the history of psychology, you will see that events can prompt progress. Think about where you see psychology today. Society and psychology are constantly changing.

Choose a current issue in society and think about how you would use psychology to help based on your professional goals. Which schools of thought would you combine? What changes would you make to these schools as you combined them? Explain why and how it would help with your chosen issue.