Step One: Choose Your Topic

Drug Addictions
Step Two: Proposal (Drug Addictions)
1. With my subject, I know that having a drug addiction is life threatening. Not only will it
kill you physically, it kills you mentally. You become so accustomed to the cravings for
that drug to where it consumes your every thought.
2. I chose this subject because I have seen so many of my friends and family have
overcome drug addictions. Some have overcome their addictions, and some have died
because of them. Also, it interests me because I want to know more about the way
these hard drugs work in your body and in your brain.
3. (1) What part of the drug causes you to be addicted to them?
(2) How many people die from drug addictions?
(3) How many people are addicted to drugs in the United States?
(4) Why is it so hard for people to overcome drug addictions?
(5) Why do people do drugs?
(6) What is the most addictive drug?
(7) What state has the highest rate of drug addictions?
(8) What help is there for people with drug addictions?
(9) What is the chance of relapse?
(10) How do people overcome drug addictions?
4. I highlighted them.
5. I think that the best place for me to look to find answers to these questions will be in
someones research or studies. I think that the most difficult question to answer will be

the Why do people do drugs? question because there isnt just one reason that people
start doing drugs.
6. Heroin addictions
7. Drug addictions and alcohol abuse.
Step Three Research
While searching through the library database, it was actually hard to find a good
article about what I was looking for even though there were 700,000 results. So, I
decided to it expand it to alcoholism and drug addictions. While searching for these two
concepts, I was able to find many articles that included both of these. As of right now,
these were the only ones I was able to find, and after reading through them I think that
these will be very helpful in the category of treating drug and alcohol addictions. With
that being said, I think I might need to narrow my research to just the treatment of
alcohol and drug addictions.

Step Three: Resarch

Sharma, Manoj. "Treating Alcohol and Drug Addictions." Journal of Alcohol and Drug
Education 56.2 (2012): 85-7. ProQuest.Web. 2 Mar. 2015.
Ross, Martha. "CAN YOU STOP AT JUST ONE DRINK?" Contra Costa TimesOct 05
2014. ProQuest. Web. 2 Mar. 2015 .
Kleber, Herbert D., M.D. "Our Current Approach to Drug Abuse--Progress, Problems,
Proposals." The New England journal of medicine 330.5 (1994): 361-5. ProQuest. Web.
2 Mar. 2015.

Step Four: Annotated Bibliography

Sharma, Manoj. "Treating Alcohol and Drug Addictions." Journal of Alcohol and Drug
Education 56.2 (2012): 85-7. ProQuest.Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
1.

Manoj Sharma, the author of this article, is a professor at the University of

Cincinnati. Along with his five degrees, he writes for the Journal of Alcohol and Drug
Education, and he has also been a physical trainer and a yoga instructor.
2.

This article is a review of a book that goes into depth about what substance

abuse recovery facilities are all about. In each chapter in the book it shows the different
steps to recovery and how they are reached through the program. We always hear
about these facilities and have our own idea about what they would be like, but through
this article you get to see what the patients have to go to, to reach recovery.
3.

I know that this is a credible source because I found it on ProQuest Central,

which I branched from the CPCC website. Also, I found the authors LinkedIn page and it
discusses the author and all of his accomplishments. And finally, at the bottom of the
article, there is a list of the publisher, the date it was published, etc.
Hawks, David. "Treating Substance Abuse: Theory and Technique." Addiction 93.10
(1998): 1598. ProQuest. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
1.

I wasnt really able to find anything on the author, considering that he lives in

Australia. Though, through the article, I did learn that he writes for the National Centre
for Research into the Prevention of Drug Abuse.
2.

This article, I also a review of a book, but I wouldnt necessarily say that he is

reviewing anything. He is mostly speaking on the changes that are going on in the
substance abuse treatment world. He says that nowadays not as many people are in

need of treatment due to the fact that some people would rather help themselves than
have to stay at a long-term, in-patient facility. I can completely understand that because
after me being in the hospital for depression, I wouldnt want to go back; so, I help
myself at my own house on my own time.
3.

Once again, I found this article on ProQuest Central, and it was under the

scholarly journals section. Also, at the bottom of the article it lists publishers, editors,
the date that it was published, and the journal that he writes for.
Petersen, Carolyn. "Ideal Substance-Abuse Treatment Still Open to Debate." Managed
Healthcare 9.6 (1999): 40-2.ProQuest. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
1.

For Carolyn Peterson, I was also able to find her on LinkedIn. Even though she

didnt have as much personal information, I do know that her work title is hospital and
health-care and she resides in Minnesota. Looking through her experience, she has
very many medical titles, but the one that that was mentioned the most was that she is a
medical writer. Also, she went to NC State to get her masters.
2.

This article is most definitely my favorite and the most informative. It explains the

conflict in the recovery industry over how to handle the healthcare pricing and whether
to focus more on the physical side of dealing with addictions or the psychological side of
it; also, it has a great deal of statistics about the amount of deaths due to alcohol, drugs,
etc.
3.

Well, all of the #3s are going to be the same due to the fact that I found all of

these through ProQuest on the CPCC website; so, I am hoping that these would be
credible because they are scholarly articles posted on a college webpage.

Uziel-Miller, Nina, et al. "A Safe Haven: An Innovative Approach to Residential

Treatment of Substance Abuse." American Journal of Public Health 89.9 (1999): 14301. ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.
1.

Doctor Nina Uziel-Miller is a psychotherapist in the Chicago Psychotherapy

Group. She deceived he bachelors and doctoral degrees at Northwestern University,

and has been a licensed clinical psychologist for about 10 years.
2.

This article, while informative, really frustrated me. The article went over the

treatments and housing of a recovery center called Safe Haven. Safe Haven is a longterm residency that provides a safe, drug free living area to where they can almost have
a normal life. The part that shocked me was the prices. Per day you must pay $130
dollars which amounts to about $4000 a month; though, the yearly budget for Save
Haven is $1,800,000.
Brady, Stephen, et al. "Dual Diagnosis: A Treatment Model for Substance Abuse and
Major Mental Illness." Community mental health journal 32.6 (1996): 573-8. ProQuest.
Web. 27 Mar. 2015.
1.

Stephen Brady, the writer of this article, is the University of Boston School of

Medicine program director. He received his B.A. in Sociology from the University of
Florida and his Master doctoral degree from University of California. He has been on
Boston Universitys Board of Medicine for over 20 years now, and mainly councils gay
men on the subject of HIV.
2.

This paper really hit home to me. The basics of it are that it is harder to work

with mentally ill patients with substance abuse problems than just someone only with a
substance abuse problem. This is due to the fact that patients with mental illnesses are

more likely to not take their medicine, not listen during therapy, and are more likely to
relapse. In my own opinion, this makes perfect sense. When depressed, suicidal, or
dealing with an eating disorder you are constantly looking for things to make you happy,
and a lot of people with mental illnesses rely on drugs to do so.
** For the last two number threes, I felt no need to even put anything because
they were all the same answers. I found all of these articles through ProQuest
Central (which is on the CPCC website); so, I am guessing that theyre credible**

Step Five: Essay

Substance Abuse Recovery
The definition of substance abuse is the overindulgence in or dependence on an
addictive substance (Google definition), but its much more than that. Its something that
consumes your life and if dealing with a substance abuse disorder isnt hard enough by
itself, then try to come off of it. Throughout life's trials, some people seek a way out
through the use of drugs and/or alcohol. For example, people dealing with anxiety,
depression, bipolar disorders, etc. may use drugs or alcohol to get that sense of
happiness that they dont feel in their everyday life. There are many reasons that people
start using drugs or indulging in alcohol such as: to be cool, because of seeing people
use different types of substances, to calm down, to let go of traumatic memories, and
the list goes on; it all just depends on your personality type and your lifestyle. What
starts out as just an experiment turns into a crutch that controls your life. Drugs and
alcohol become something that you rely on, and thats when it is time to get help
voluntary or not.
To begin, there are many types of drug/alcohol addictions, but two of them are
ones that are mental and ones that are physical. I have seen both of these affect people
in my life, and I would say that I have fit into one of these categories before. What
started out as just a bit of fun experimenting with cocaine and cough medicine turned
into something that we couldnt help but do all of the time. In middle school, we were all
the kids that signed the DARE petitions to never do drugs, but then we got messed up.
We thought it would make us look cool. We thought that people would like us more, but
in reality we all began to lose each other. Personally, I dont even remember if I liked

those people when they were sober - I didnt even like myself when I was sober. My
body didnt crave it, but my mind did, and it consumed my every thought. We couldnt do
anything without being high, and we didnt really want to. I have seen my friends leave
for long term treatment centers, to go to jail, court, and even get felonies.
I looked up the top reasons of why people start doing drugs in the first place, and
the first one that came up was: mental illnesses. Just like a substance abuse problem,
you cant just get over a mental illness. Both of these issues take time and dedication
to work through, but they both feel nearly impossible to overcome. When people with
mental illnesses and a substance abuse problem are in a treatment facility, it is difficult
to deal with both of their sicknesses at the same time. This is so tricky because they
seemingly have no desire to get better or get help. Knowing from personal experience,
when you are in the darkness of depression (or any mental illness), you never feel that
things are going to improve you just give up on trying to get better. Also, these patients
are less likely to take their medicine, to listen during focus groups, and are more likely to
relapse.
When it comes to treating substance abuse problems, not one treatment works
for every single person, and along with their drug or alcohol problem there may be other
problems that need to be addressed. This is why treatment centers must be ready to
face any possible scenario and the person's changing needs. The main types of therapy
in treatment centers are cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), family therapy, and
motivational interviewing/incentives. Treatment centers such as Safe Haven are built to
provide a long term, livable area that will make you feel at home while going through

treatment. Safe Haven has a total of 5 buildings in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, and
to make it more lifelike, each resident has to pay the rent to stay in their apartments.
Just recently, many people that are trying to recover from substance abuse
disorders are trying to use a cheaper route to getting over their addictions due to the
fact that medical costs are rising. In 2002 the average treatment cost for treatment was
over $7,000 to begin the treatment; not leaving out the $1,400 you have to pay for each
treatment. You see, that is a lot of money, but that doesnt include the jail time and other
side effects that sometimes come with drug or alcohol addictions. So, is doing drugs
really worth all of the cost that comes with it?
No one starts doing drugs because they want an addiction to ruin their life. Just
like a lot of things in life, this is just a side effect. No one wants to spend their money on
something that could have been prevented by not doing drugs in the first place. That is
not anyones plan. For whatever reason that you start relying on an addictive substance,
it usually ends in the same thing: an addiction. Though, you will find that there are ways
to get over these; even though it seems impossible. There is always going to be
treatment out there that can be designed to fit your every need, and all you need to
bring with you is dedication and a wanting to get better.

Works Cited Page

"DrugFacts: Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction." DrugFacts: Treatment
Approaches for Drug Addiction. 1 Sept. 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/treatment-approaches-drugaddiction>.
Release, SAMSHA. "The Costs of Alcohol and Drug Treatment." About Health. 31 Dec.
2007. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pro/a/blsam040527.htm>.
Sharma, Manoj. "Treating Alcohol and Drug Addictions." Journal of Alcohol and Drug
Education 56.2 (2012): 85-7. ProQuest.Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
Hawks, David. "Treating Substance Abuse: Theory and Technique." Addiction 93.10
(1998): 1598. ProQuest. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
Petersen, Carolyn. "Ideal Substance-Abuse Treatment Still Open to Debate." Managed
Healthcare 9.6 (1999): 40-2.ProQuest. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
Uziel-Miller, Nina, et al. "A Safe Haven: An Innovative Approach to Residential
Treatment of Substance Abuse." American Journal of Public Health 89.9 (1999): 14301. ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.
Brady, Stephen, et al. "Dual Diagnosis: A Treatment Model for Substance Abuse and
Major Mental Illness." Community mental health journal 32.6 (1996): 573-8. ProQuest.
Web. 27 Mar. 2015.