Question

5. How is that different from a non-addictive personality?

6. What are your personal observations or feelings about those who over-indulge in Marijuana, Alcohol or pills?

7. What Do you know anyone that you suspect of substance abuse?

a. What do you think got them started?

b. Can you think of things that may have happened in their lives to get them started (i.e. School stress, home life, relationship, family, etc,)

c. Why do you think they continued?

8. How would you characterize their personality?

9. How can you tell when someone you know is abusing drugs or alcohol?

Answer 1

5. Question not clear. What is the other factor different from non-addictive personality? Not mentioned in order to make the distinction

6. All of these are highly addictive and once people are hooked onto it, they find it extremely difficult to be sober. Consuming recreational drugs should be done moderately and individuals should set a limit in consumption. Over use will also lead to negative consequences such as bad health, personality changes, engaging in bad activities. Having control and knowing when to stop should be practiced by individuals. From my personal observations of seeing alcoholics in my family, I have seen the damage alcohol abuse does not only to one’s health but how it impacts the family. Over using drugs only leads to addiction.

7. I noticed a male friend of mine losing weight suddenly. I was shocked to see him but I suspected that he was indulging in drugs. I later found out that he was using LSD which is a hallucinogenic drug. His mood kept changing which I found very intriguing

a. Most of the time people indulge in alcohol/drugs or related stuff to forget about their personal problems. They use it as a tool to deal with the emotions and problems that they face. It provides that a temporary escape, however, they fail to realize that continues consumption will lead to addiction, and once addicted it is hard to stop.

b. there are a lot of reasons why one engages in this behavior. One reason could be peer pressure. This is especially common for teenagers and young adults who want to fit in with their peers. Most of them do not realize the repercussions of substance abuse and the severity of addiction. Also loneliness and depression turn people to drugs often because it is painful to endure and they resort to drugs as self-medication

c. Lack of self-regulation, lack of social support, unhappiness in life, lack of parental monitoring in case of teenagers, genetic vulnerability and depression. A lot of young adults do not realize the damage they are causing to one-self.

8. Impulsivity is a personality trait that has been identified as a major risk factor for alcohol and substance abuse. Addicted individuals assign lower values to delayed rewards than to immediate ones. The excessive preference for the immediate rewards despite longer-term consequences leads to problems with addiction.

9. There are a lot of signs that reveal if one is using drugs such as physical symptoms like change in appearance, weight changes, dilated or constricted pupils and the easiest one to identify is bloodshot or glazed eyes. There are numerous behavioral symptoms like increase in aggression, more irritable, changes in socialization, financial problems, engaging in bad activities.

Learning to recognize the physical or behavioral signs of drug abuse can help prevent the problem from progressing further