avatarDr. Gabriella Korosi

Summary

The article discusses the alarming increase in addiction cases, particularly during the pandemic, highlighting the rise in alcohol use, drug use, overdoses, and the complex interplay of factors contributing to the addiction crisis.

Abstract

The article "Addiction Cases Are Increasing" by Dr. Gabriella Kőrösi sheds light on the escalating rates of substance abuse, including alcohol and illegal drugs, and the consequent rise in overdose deaths. It cites statistics from Worldometer and references briefs from the American Medical Association and reports from the Harvard School of Public Health News, indicating that over 100,000 drug overdose deaths occurred between May 2020 and April 2021. The piece explores various methods of substance abuse, the psychological and physiological aspects of addiction, and the impact on individuals from all socioeconomic backgrounds. It underscores the role of prescription drug misuse, mental health issues, and the lack of community support as contributing factors to the cycle of addiction. The article also touches on the neurobiology of addiction, the importance of positive reinforcement in recovery, and the availability of resources for those affected, such as through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Opinions

  • The author emphasizes that addiction is a complex disease affecting decision-making and rational thought, not merely a lack of willpower.
  • Dr. Kőrösi suggests that the pursuit of happiness through material wealth is misguided and that the absence of community and support contributes to substance abuse.
  • The article conveys the opinion that addiction can affect anyone, regardless of social status, and that even those with seemingly stable lives can fall into the cycle of addiction.
  • It is noted that many individuals with addiction issues self-medicate to cope with mental health problems, often due to the intolerability of medication side effects or lack of access to mental health care.
  • The author expresses that the fight against addiction is a continuous struggle, minute by minute, and that only those affected truly understand the horror of their condition.
  • The piece advocates for a compassionate approach to addiction, recognizing it as a disease that requires support, time, and positive reinforcement to overcome.

Addiction Cases Are Increasing

Pandemic side effects

by Dr. Gabriella Kőrösi

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

Alcohol use, drug use, and overdoses are increasing to higher rates in the United States and worldwide. As of this moment, 2,409,703 people had died because of alcohol this year. The spending on illegal drugs this year has been $385,350,000,000 (Worldometer statistics)

The American Medical Association put out a brief in November of 2021 about the increase of drug-related overdoses during the Pandemic (AMA, 2021). The brief cites over 100 articles addressing this issue. The Harvard School of Public Health News reported that drug overdose deaths hit a record high between May 2020-April 2021 to over 100,000 deaths. (Harvard News, 2021)

Substances can be abused in different ways, depending on the type of drug. Substances can be smoked, inhaled, snorted, injected, taped to the skin like Fentanyl, taken orally and rectally. Pills including prescribed opiates and benzodiazepines can be taken orally, or crushed up, and hard to keep count of how many someone had taken when they are suffering from the disease of addiction. A pill might feel like to someone who is addicted that all the pain in the world will go away. Then addiction kicks in and people want one more and one more and one more.

Addiction is even harder when the medication is prescribed and the person thinks it is ok just to take one more, soon it will be more than just one extra pill. It will become two, three, even more, then the prescriptions start to run out. The next time the person needs more the doctor might or might not prescribe more. This will create a conflict.

The brain already learned that they would feel better when they take the medicine creating problems with rational decision-making as is outlined by the article published by the NIH last year Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. The brain is affected in the areas of the basal ganglia, the extended amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex (NIH, 2020).

People in the addiction cycle will do whatever means necessary to numb their pain. They will ask friends, buy off the streets. I was told by many people, the pills become too expensive and heroin or other substances are cheaper and the cycle begins. If this is all someone knows to numb the pain so of course the brain would say just take one more the pain will be better. They think that they will be happier. They will fall asleep and do not feel what is going on in their life. The pain of living and anxiety, previous trauma, difficulty fitting in, mental health problems, stress can feel real to the people experiencing the suffering.

Every day we can see the young and the old throwing their lives away deep into addiction. The shadows on the street that people do not want to see. People in all of the classes are affected; even the middle class and higher who have food on the table can become anxious and depressed over things; life is too much to handle for them at a specific time, or they just want to have fun. Prescription drugs don’t help. According to the NIH Misuse of prescription drugs research report, prescription misuse can have serious consequences. (NIH, 2020,a).

Many people become addicted after acute or chronic illness. It can be anyone at any time. People see medications around them for example in advertisements, movies, shows, the neighbor’s house. Some people want bigger and better even if they do not need bigger and better. There have been research studies that concluded more money, and more things will not make people be happier people. Lack of community and support, seeking acceptance creates a major missing component in people’s lives creating the anxiety and depression that moves them toward substance abuse.

Addiction can also be coupled with mental health problems where people self-medicate because they cannot or are not willing to get mental health care, or the side effects of the medications are intolerable to them. (SAMHSA, 2021)

According to the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration:

“Millions of young adults are living with a mental or substance use disorder and many either do not realize they have one or are not paying attention to the signs and not seeking help.”

It does not help when the doctors start to prescribe benzodiazepines for anxious patients in the long term. Addiction touches many lives and as many of my patients told me opiates are making them feel good. Everyone wants to feel good. There is no harm in the beginning. Many people just feel good, still have jobs, have their family, house it is all good. But then of course those things will be lost if addiction continues. It is a lifelong journey, many had been down that road it is hard to come back, hard to resist and it is an everyday struggle.

It is a true catastrophe; when someone’s mind is being taken over by a substance so that they don’t have a free will of self anymore. Imagine: Fighting continuously between conscious life and unconsciousness. A struggle between the one place that should fight for someone; their brain turning against them and telling them that all they need is some more drugs to feel better. Sounds like so much fun and happiness. Addiction is a constant fight to survive and say no or yes, every day, from hour to hour, minute by minute for the rest of someone’s life. Only the person affected by addiction knows their horror and what they are going through in their disease process. It is not a choice, it happens, then people get stuck in a terrible cycle and cannot get out.

Addiction is a deadly disease. Addiction is a disease that kills and claims lives. In the beginning of 2021, it was reported by the CDC and in the NIH article “Overdose death rates” that in 2019 70,000 lives were lost to overdose.

Drugs can change the way a person thinks acts and lives their life (NIH, 2020). There is so much more to learn about the neurobiology of addiction and any other type of disease. Positive reinforcement can go a long way.

Change to stop addiction takes time and it would come slowly. One action, one support class, one person can make a difference and change something that gives a spark of hope in recovery. It will take time. Dealing with addiction is a difficult journey. Our minds are a wonder with a lot of unknown properties; every little action or seed can make a difference because every action is stored in our unconscious mind even if we are aware of it or not. This would be the glutamate system in our brain that is keeping our memories (NIH, 2020). Addiction to anything in this world is not a choice that an individual makes for themselves; it is a disease.

There are multiple resources available for people who are suffering from addiction on the SAMHSA website.

Thank you for reading,

Gabriella

If you like my writings, please follow me here

Subscribe to the Medium platform here

If you like to support, my work you can buy me a coffee here

My Books are available on my website here , Amazon here, and on Barnes and Nobles here

A version of this article was originally published in NewsBreak.

References

Alcohol Statistics (2021) Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/alcohol/

Drug Statistics (2021) Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/drugs/

AMA (2021) Issue brief. The nation’s drug-related overdose and death epidemic continue to worsen. Retrieved from https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/issue-brief-increases-in-opioid-related-overdose.pdf

CDC (2021) Drug overdose deaths. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/index.html

Harvard News (2021) Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/drug-overdose-deaths-hit-record-high/

NIH (2020,a) Misuse of prescription drugs. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/misuse-prescription-drugs/overview

NIH (2020) Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain

NIH (2021) Overdose death rates retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates

SAMSHA (2021) Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/young-adults

Korosi G (2020)Our Society: Addiction and More Uncovered- hear the voices from everyday people — a collection of stories and experiences

Korosi G (2021) https://original.newsbreak.com/@gabriella-korosi-1590413/2458787945125-addiction-increases-explored?s=influencer

Illumination
Dancingelephantspress
Addiction
Pandemic
Death
Recommended from ReadMedium
avatarKarolina Kozmana
Common side effects of not drinking

By rejecting alcohol, you reject something very human, an extra limb that we have collectively grown to deal with reality and with each…

10 min read
avatarMimosa Days
The Christian God May Not Be What You Think

Moving away from church cake stall Christianity

5 min read
avatarsmoul
Trying to be better will only make you feel worse

The inescapable circle of self-improvement

7 min read
avatarKris Gage
How to *really* know you’re in love

Because most of “the signs” they tell you are garbage

4 min read
avatar✨ Bridget Webber
Spiritual Experiences Aren’t Always Obvious

But they could be if we discuss them more often

5 min read
avatarOsi I.
Her Boss Became Her Bully — Then She Died by Suicide

Know the signs of harmful workplaces and how to empower yourself

11 min read