Free Essay Sample on Substance Use

Introduction

In the film the basketball diaries, the main character becomes a heroin addict due to the poor choices in his life (Kalvert, 1995). Jim Carroll loses his education and can play basketball at the national level because of dance with drugs (Kalvert, 1995). The seven dimensions of addiction will help in painting a picture of Jim's substance use.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Use is the first dimension of addiction (R. Miller et al., 2019). It is crucial to consider the extent to which a person is abusing drugs. Thus it is essential to know things like quantity, frequency, and variability (Schaler, 2011). In the film, Jim Carroll is seen as always under the influence of substances (Kalvert, 1995). His drug pattern is steady and involves large amounts of different psychoactive substances (Kalvert, 1995). The second dimension of addiction is problems (R. Miller et al., 2019). It is significant in knowing the extent to which a person's drug habit has caused trouble in their lives'. It is often the case that when a person is abusing drugs, their social lives are affected.

Many Problems

In the film, Jim Carroll undergoes many problems. Initially, he only had a few problems, like getting into fights and being chased by an angry man (Kalvert, 1995). However, as soon as he shifted into the world of hard drugs, his problems grow exponentially. He first gets expelled from school, starts committing assaults and robbery, and is finally arrested and visiting the correctional services (Kalvert, 1995).

The third dimension of addiction is physical adaptation (R. Miller et al., 2019). It should be known that the constant abuse of drugs and substance often lead to body developing tolerance to them. Drug tolerance is the body adapting to the effects of the substances. Thus a person who needs only one drink to get drunk is now taking a full bottle. This shows that the body has adapted to one drink; thus, there is a need to increase the dosage. Another mode of physical adaptation is the coming of the withdrawal symptoms (Schaler, 2011). Withdrawal is a physical manifestation of drug and substance abuse.

In the movie basketball diaries, Jim Carroll experiences physical adaptation of addiction. This starts with Jim not eating his breakfast because he was going to play basketball (Kalvert, 1995). This physical adaptation becomes too bad as withdrawal sets. Jim becomes unable to play basketball without taking the substance. The condition becomes worse as Jim and his friends cannot function effectively without first getting high. This explains why his tolerance and dependence were both high (Kalvert, 1995).

Behavioral Dependence

Behavioral dependence is the fourth dimension of addiction (R. Miller et al., 2019). This is another dependence on drugs where a person's behavior suddenly changes due to drug and substance abuse. When a person is addicted to a substance, it becomes their world, and all their energy and attention are focused on it (Drugs, brains, and behavior, 2014).

This affects the way a person typically functions in society ("Created by Camtasia Studio 8", n.d.). In the basketball diaries, Jim Carroll's behavior changes when he gets introduced to drugs. He only feels optimistic about life when he is high. For instance, at various times in the movie, Jim writes the best when he is high (Kalvert, 1995). Ideas flow through him smoothly than when he is not under the influence. Cognitive impairment is the fifth dimension of addiction (R. Miller et al., 2019). This is whereby the drug and substances have affected the brain and functionalities of an individual. The drug has had an impact on the intelligence of a person. Usually, two things may happen to an addict, which is either short term impairment or and long term impairment (West & Brown, 2013). In the basketball diaries, Jim Carroll suffers from a temporary cognitive impairment, which is reversible after stopping the drugs' use. The sixth dimension of addiction is medical harm (R. Miller et al., 2019). This dimension denotes bodily harm, which is often orchestrated by substance abuse.

This medical harm can be due to either chronic use or just acute use of the drug ("Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)", 2020). The harm resulting from acute use includes overdose, while chronic use is things like liver cirrhosis (Drugs, brains, and behavior, 2014). Luckily in the movie, Jim did not suffer any medical harm resulting from the drug's chronic abuse (Kalvert, 1995).

However, he suffered medical harm due to the acute effects of intoxication. For instance, he would take risks that an average person cannot execute, e.g., jumping from a cliff into the river, which resulted in an injury on his head (Kalvert, 1995). The seventh dimension of addiction is the motivation for change (R. Miller et al., 2019). Most addicts are often reluctant to do away with their substance abuse (Moos, 2007). They often contended with their status, which is a symptom that is seen among people in this community (West & Brown, 2013). In the movie, Jim Carroll is satisfied with his situation, even though several attempts are made to change (Kalvert, 1995). He thinks that drugs help him cope with life.

Substance Abuse

A family dealing with substance abuse goes through a lot of emotional and mental issues. Jim Carroll's drug habits changed the way his mother and he related (Kalvert, 1995). Initially, before Jim became a drug junky, he used to have open communication with his mother. They would share experiences, which will often lighten the mood in their home (Kalvert, 1995).

However, everything changed for the worse when Jim was deep into drugs. He would often argue and fight with his mother over baseless issues. This made his mother sad, and will often cry for his dear son (Kalvert, 1995).

Mother's Experience

Jim Carroll's mother's experience would have been better if she had undergone the Community Reinforcement and Family Training program than the Al-ANON program. This statement is that the CRAFT approach would have helped both her and her son in a difficult period. Al-ANON approach only caters to family and friends who are affected by substance abuse but not the abuser themselves ("Selecting Best-fit Programs and Practices:Guidance for Substance Misuse Prevention Practitioners", 2018).

Another reason is that the CRAFT approach encourages positive communication between the abuser and other members, an objective not found in the Al-ANON approach (Glaser, 2015). Another reason is that the CRAFT program impacts the drinking habits of a person whether or not they are undergoing treatment, while Al-ANON recommends that the abuser is in treatment (Foote et al., 2014). Since Jim was reluctant to seek help, the CRAFT approach is a suitable way forward.

Conclusion

The biopsychosocial perspective is a three-dimensional outlook of an addiction ("The American Health Podcast: Treating Opioid Addiction", 2020). Thus it is evident that Jim's substance abuse had an impact on his biological processes. His brain had been affected, and as a result, his behavior had changed, for instance. Jim suffered from withdrawal symptoms; at times, he missed to get high (Kalvert, 1995).

The drugs and substance abuse by Jim Carroll also affected him psychologically. Drugs often lead a person into depressive or manic moods (Fletcher, 2013). Jim Carroll is no exception as there were at times he was happy, depressed, and even suffered from self-esteem issues. Drug and substance abuse ruined Jim's social life. He often argued with his mother over frivolous things (Kalvert, 1995). His relationship with his friend Neutron suffered because he chooses drugs before everything else. Drugs completely ruined his social life in school.

References

Drugabuse.gov. (2003). Retrieved 8 December 2020, from https://www.drugabuse.gov/sites/default/files/preventingdruguse_2.pdf.

Created by Camtasia Studio 8. Phobos.ramapo.edu. Retrieved 8 December 2020, from https://phobos.ramapo.edu/~media/Sarabia/Treatstim/.

Foote, J., Wilkens, C., Kosanke, N., & Higgs, S. (2014). Beyond addiction. Simon and Schuster.letcher, A. (2013). Inside rehab. Penguin Publishing Group.

Glaser, G. (2015). The Bad Science of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Atlantic. Retrieved 8 December 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/.

Kalvert, S. (1995). The Basketball Diaries [DVD]. Island Pictures.

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT). Samhsa.gov. (2020). Retrieved 8 December 2020, from https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment.

Moos, R. (2007). Theory-based active ingredients of effective treatments for substance use disorders. Semanticscholar.org. Retrieved 8 December 2020, from
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Theory-based-active-ingredients-of-effective-for-Moos/82a0d8d8189f4e4006fa9899f1b134887f4ed73f.

R. Miller, W., A. Forcehimes, ‎., & Zweben, A. (2019). Treating Addiction, Second Edition: A Guide for Professionals (2nd ed.). Guilford Publications.

Selecting Best-fit Programs and Practices:Guidance for Substance Misuse Prevention Practitioners. Samhsa.gov. (2018). Retrieved 8 December 2020, from https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/ebp_prevention_guidance_document_241.pdf.

Schaler, J. (2011). Addiction Is a Choice. Open Court.

The American Health Podcast: Treating Opioid Addiction. Americanhealth.libsyn.com. (2020). Retrieved 8 December 2020, from
https://americanhealth.libsyn.com/treating-opioid-addiction.

West, R., & Brown, J. (2013). Theory of addiction. John Wiley & Sons.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2014). Drugs, brains, and behavior.