The Realm Of Hungry Ghosts Essay

n the essay “Embraced by the needle” by Gabor Mate, he highlights how an individualès childhood experiences would make them more susceptible to addiction in their future. He highlights if an individual experienced a traumatic, neglectful, or stressful environment in their childhood they are more vulnerable to addiction as adults. If children grew up in relatively stable and loving homes, but still grow up to become addicts, then there are other underlying factors, like stressed parents, that cause them to turn to vices like drugs or alcohol that lead them to addiction. Maté focuses on events that happened in an individual’s childhood and how they developed from it, and discusses the biology of addiction and how without some key experiences in an individual’s childhood it will lead to addiction because “the fewer endorphin exchanging experiences in infancy and early childhood, the greater the need for external sources” (289). Drugs like cocaine or benzodiazepine imitate or inhibit the reabsorption of endorphins, reaffirming that in Maté’s perspective addictions are caused by pain and unhappiness. Bruce K Alexander’s perspective on addiction and drug abuse in Reframing Canada’s “Drug Problem” is that of dislocation. He describes dislocation as being “the absence of that essential integration and identification with family, community, society and spiritual values that makes a “straight” life bearable most of them time and joyful at its peaks.” (226). When individuals are

Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, industrialized nations have seen the medicalization of a plethora of diseases including the ongoing trend of acknowledging addiction as a ‘brain disease.’ The claimsmaking made primarily by Nora Volkow in the documentary Addiction encompasses the constructionist ideologies of socially constructing a problem, or in the case of deviant drinking and drug use, a disease. The functionality of medicalization in America is seen with many different conditions and diseases. For example, the recent spike in the prescription of medications for ADD and ADHD is a prime model for how a deviant set of traits can be spun into a more socially acceptable and treatable “disease.” Whether or not drug and alcohol addiction

Gabor Maté’s essay, “Embraced by the Needle” uses client experiences and research to make a valid argument about how drug addictions are not the results of the drug alone, but from suppressed feelings of unhappiness and a lack of nurturing during childhood. Based out of Vancouver, Maté, a physician at a non-profit harm reduction facility, works with individuals who suffer from drug addiction and mental illness. He explores the underlying reasons behind addiction. Maté supports his argument with various patient stories and direct quotations from addicts to give a real life perspective on their inner feelings. Maté also uses statistics and scientific research to describe early brain development in humans and animals. He explains how neglect can cause vulnerability. He also supports his argument with insight behind addicts that come from loving families. These scientific and personal reflections support Matés argument and encourage the reader to agree with his essay.

He assumes that drug addiction originated by younger years adversity in major cases; like many women who are addicted are victims of sexual assault in childhood years. Similar, he tells that males suffered “series of abandonment or severe physical and psychological abuse” (Maté 274) in childhood memory would easily be involved in addiction. According to Mate, drug addicts are usually in a state of unawareness; they can self-harm without feeling pain (274). Maté’s patient, Carl, thirty-six year-old native, angrily hurt himself with a knife as punishment for using cocaine (274). However, people misunderstand that addiction will not happen in families that raise children with a “secure nurturing home” (Maté 275). He argues that it still exists in those secure homes, even though they do not recognize it. In brief, Maté describes the mental factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression which are saddled “from family problem, or from outside circumstance” (274); this pressures can emotionally affect to the process of “endorphin-liberating interaction with their children” (Maté 275). He thinks children would rely on opiates to comfort their deepest emotions; it would be a best solution to escape their lonely world. For that reason, Maté confirms addicts usually blame themselves for “stupid decision” (Maté 275) after being suffered of drug starvation. In the last paragraph, Maté concludes his essay by stating “that is the great wound of all” (275),

In his essay “Embraced by the Needle”, Gabor Maté argues that addiction is the consequence of lack of care of parents on their children at an early age, where those children were deprived of ‘soft warm hug’. Maté reinforces his argument by providing some of his own experiences with his patients, while working as a physician in Downtown Eastside, Vancouver, who helps mental people and addicts. Generally, this place is the “drug capital” as Maté writes in his essay.

There is no question about it – addiction is a problem. It’s talked about constantly on the news, social media, and even in our own homes. Considering the statistics, that’s not surprising; as of 2012, an estimated 22 million people over the age of 12 are addicted to drugs or alcohol (Friedman 387). The criminalization of the disease of addiction overloads our legal system, disrupts the lives of many families, and limits the success of those who could otherwise be productive members of society. The good news is that there are many different forms of treatment available, so recovery is possible for everyone. We need to

In Gabor Maté’s book In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction, a passage from chapter 28 stood out for me. I was intrigued with this passage because harm reduction is a topic of interest for me. I will analyze this passage using reasoning and evidence.This passage explores the definition of harm reduction by using clinical tone, images, examples, and specific dictation. This passage presents the definition of harm reduction Maté‘s reader will use to draw upon the rest of the book.

Substance use addiction is a multifaceted occurrence that challenges the unpretentious and tradition clarification or explanation (Frances, Miller, & Mack, 2011). According to Frances, et al., there is an interwoven collaboration of influences that contributes to an individual 's experimentation with, consumption, and perhaps succeeding abuse of drugs (2011). Regardless of the combination of causative dynamics, the actions and effects employed by drugs of abuse cause all substance abuse and compulsion.

Addiction is complex and is often misunderstood; However, many individuals and medical professionals are now referring to addiction as a disease, not just a poor decision that is made by an individual. Addiction is a problem that spirals out of control and has the potential to absorb every thought and action while wreaking havoc on the body. According to Narcotics Anonymous, “...it is our fellowship's collective experience and understanding that addiction is, in fact, a disease. (What is Addiction?, NA, 2015)”

My journey to understanding addiction did not start with walking into Epworth United Methodist Church, but started in a classroom in the basement of Toledo Promedica. Sixteen students and two clinical instructors gathered to hear a young man give his testimony on his road to recovery. He speaks of his own experience and knowledge of opioid addiction, and how to properly use Narcan Nasal Spray. He spoke on his own overdoses and the first time he felt the feeling of being “HIGH” sitting in front of a TV playing video games. The path of addiction started for him at the age of 13, when his father who is a doctor gave him cough syrup for a cough; consequently, he would chase the feeling of being high for years.

“The Addict: One patient, One doctor, One year” is a book written by Dr. Michael Stein that follows the narrative told by a doctor treating a patient with drug addiction. Though it primarily follows the story of this one patient, Lucy Field, other stories with a similar experience to Lucy are mentioned throughout the book. Within it, several concepts and ideas about addiction and its treatments are presented. Dr. Stein states that despite the fact that many individuals have experimented with drugs, only a fraction of this population has developed a massive addiction. Various contributing factors lead to addiction, these

Substance abuse in the United States has become an immense complication that affects much of the population. In an article for Psychology Today, “Is Addiction Really a Disease?”, the author, Lance Dodes M.D., argues that addiction should not be seen as a disease, rather as a compulsive behavior. The author, substantially justifies the term “disease” as being explicitly used to label addictions, but rather complicates the reality of addiction for the ones affected and bystanders on looking this current event.

In Gabor Maté’s “Embraced by the Needle” and Bruce K. Alexander’s “Reframing Canada’s ‘Drug Problem’,” they both discuss addiction. Maté views addiction as an outward manifestation of inward pain (288). People that have had childhood trauma, some without even being aware of it, are more susceptible to addiction if they do not find a healthier way to deal with their pain. Alexander views addicts as people whose lives were dislocated before they even started abusing drugs (226). These people did not connect with their family or community and became isolated and alone. Both Maté and Alexander conclude that emotional pain and childhood trauma is the root cause for addiction, but in Alexander’s case he also believes that addiction is a political problem. They both believe that in order to get over an addiction, one must first address the emotional pain and dislocation that is preventing them from desiring greater health.

Addiction is something that has been an issue since the dawn of time. It is something that does not discriminate against gender, age, race, or economical standing. It is blind to all those factors and grabs hold tightly no matter the circumstance. History is dotted with drug abuse- the elephant constantly standing in the room- as it continues to be a predominant issue. It doesn’t matter the time period as trends may change the issue remains. Each generation deals with a different type of main addiction whether it was opium, whole poppy seeds, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and now prescription drugs. “In 2013, an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older—9.4 percent of

It is common knowledge that America has the world’s largest population of prisoners, and in 2008, a study was completed by the Pew Charitable Trusts which indicated that half of the inmates in jail and prison are serving time for nonviolent drug charges (http://www.pewstates.org/news-room/press-releases/new-pew-study-finds-36-percent-increase-in-prison-time-served-85899394970). Since the “War on Drugs” approach about forty years ago, the criminalization of the addict has done very little to address the problem of substance abuse in society. While there is no one clear cause of substance abuse, there have been patterns identified in substance abusers, that may be the underlying factors that lead to the addiction. Some of these factors include mental health and biology.