My Strange Addiction: Unusual Behaviors and Struggles - Essay Sample

Introduction

In "my strange addiction show, the events reveal various addictions that people undergo in their daily lives. The documentary features several characters with addiction issues that are quite striking. The extent of the problem is what the TV series seeks to capture and highlight to the viewers. However, there is something unusual about the addiction the characters in film manifest. These individuals are not battling drug or alcohol addiction; they are struggling with behaviors that are not only dangerous but even life-threatening. Each of the half-hour episodes features two adult individuals who resort to extreme compulsions as a means of soothing their emotional demons (TLC tlc'com). These decisions affect their lives and those close to them so negatively that isolation almost leads to death.

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Understanding Rare Addictions

The most defining aspect of the series is that it captures characters over-indulgencing themselves into behaviors that many would consider uncommon. From eating bricks addictions by 55-year old Linda to simple things like an air freshener in the case of the long neck woman, the show sends a message to all and sundry that anything around can be a stimulus for addiction. The audience may not hesitate to ask questions as to why one can be addicted to acquiring the body of Pamela Anderson. But all these behaviors suggest that an unstable psychological situation can result in any form of addiction, including addiction to things that people do not necessarily consider harmful to their health.

The show under review can help in developing a therapist in varied ways. One of the benefits that the events in the show can provide therapists is the new perspective about the category of clients they expect to see at counseling sessions. As noted previously, the characters in the film engage in addictive behaviors that are rarely found in patients who seek help in mainstream psychological counseling. The profession is more used to people with alcohol, drug abuse problems, and depression, among other related challenges than what is seen in the show. The strangeness of the behaviors of characters in the series provides an opportunity for a developing therapist to expand their horizon beyond the prevalent cases. For instance, what is the therapy plan befitting a client who is addicted to eating bricks?

The events in the show can also help the therapist to improve their patience with clients. Assisting some of the people in the film requires considerable patience. Although such trait is necessary for one to work as a therapist, the film suggests that psychologists need to stretch their limits and hone their patience abilities to deliver to the new and unique needs created by such forms of addiction. Such reality could challenge the status quo of the therapist and motivate them to work harder to meet the needs of the demanding pool of clients depicted in the TV series.

Marijuana Being Beneficial for Therapy

The article is a publication of the findings of a study on the benefits of cannabis in the treatment of patients with mental issues. The authors are Charles Webb and Sandra Webb, and it has been published in the Hawaii Journal of Medicine and Public Health. The researchers investigated the medicinal value of marijuana as a treatment option for patients with certain mental conditions. The findings from the study suggest that cannabis is a beneficial drug with most participants of the research indicating that it significantly helped them to relieve anxiety, pain stress, and insomnia. There were, however, few cases that generated adverse side effects, which included throat irritation.

The significance of the positive effects reported in the article offers some hope on the kind of benefits patients can get from the use of marijuana. The opioid crisis is one of the areas that cannabis can be beneficial in alleviating. The prospect that marijuana could replace these drugs is welcome in clinical practice, and research should be encouraged in this respect. However, caution must be observed regarding the use of marijuana. The availability of the plant makes it easily accessible to people who can, in turn, use it without prescription. It is vital to note that cannabis is also addictive, and this could result in a crisis similar to that of opioids. Therefore, the good results captured in the article may be far away from finding the right drug for treating mental health conditions.

In clinical practice, the use of cannabis can be helping a developing in many ways. Clinicians have the opportunity to access a variety of options in treating people with mental conditions. The availability of marijuana without the role of pharmaceuticals means that the clinicians will be at the front monitoring the progress of the patient for side effects and note them first hand, unlike the prescription drugs where they have to learn about adverse effects in published studies. As a result, the current crop of clinicians would accumulate new knowledge, which offers an excellent opportunity for career development in their fields.

Similarly, developing clinicians have a better chance of providing patient-centered, services which is an essential element for quality care. As the new drug is embraced in medicine, clinicians can learn how to reduce prescription drugs and tailor the therapy to the needs of the patients without significant side effects. The fact that the patient can easily use cannabis on their own makes it convenient for the clinicians to guide the appropriateness of the use of the drug.

Understanding Heroin Addiction

The blog offers an extensive discussion about heroin as an addictive drug and how it affects users. The drug is listed as one of the most addictive substances used by people with emotional or mental issues. One of the critical highlight areas of the blog is the assertion that it can be challenging to determine whether an individual uses the substance. From a personal perspective, the above view has a strong basis as new heroin users are astute in hiding the drugs. Unless abusers have reached a level where heroin dependency is so severe they cannot lead healthy lives, it may not be easy to single out somebody as heroin addict abuser. The blog also provides an extensive list of the symptoms to look out for people addicted to heroin use as well as the interventions available for people suffering from heroin addiction. However, there are no citations to the information; hence may not be interpreted as evidence-based.

Notwithstanding the weaknesses of the blog, it provides information that can help developing therapists. One of the areas that a therapist can benefit relates to the fact that many people using the drug are not necessarily impaired to go about their regular life duties. Due to the illegality of the drug, this reality is expected to continue hence the need for developing therapists to devise more ingenious ways of helping people with heroin addiction. For this reason, the developing therapist will need to acquire higher communication skills to get as much information from the client as possible to help in making a diagnosis and also enforcing therapy interventions. The blog information offers a developing therapist the opportunity to hone their skills early enough to attract clients (especially older patients) who may consider them inexperienced in their initial stages of practice.

Works Cited

Addiction Center. "Heroin Symptoms and Warning Signs." AddictionCenter, 19 Mar. 2014, www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/heroin/symptoms-signs/.

TLC. "My Strange Addiction." 2015, www.tlc.com/tv-shows/my-strange-addiction/about.

Webb, Charles W., and Sandra M. Webb. "Therapeutic Benefits of Cannabis: A Patient Survey." Hawaii Journal of Medicine & Public Health, vol. 734, 2014, pp. 109-111, PMC3998228.