Reflection Paper On Drug Abuse

Over the course of this semester, I have learned more about drug use and its branching effect than I have in any of my other classes. We have covered this topic with a holistic approach, centered not only on physical health, but the whole individual and their community. This has changed and evolved my perception of the uses of drugs and drug abuse. Although this is often a heavy subject, I have truly enjoyed this class and thankful for this opportunity. Growing up I never really understood drug abuse or even why people would do illicit drugs in the first place. I was a Safety Kid in Elementary school. I was a D.A.R.E. award recipient in Middle school. I was heavily involved in T.A.D.D. and planning Red Ribbon Week at my High school. So, I was very much aware of the dangers of drugs and how to say "no." These education and awareness programs worked for me. Thus, it was kind of difficult to see why they did not for others and to sympathize. Now in retrospect, I understand that these programs were not effective because of multiple reasons. They were short lasting, underfunded and pretty narrow minded. However, I think the most important reason is that they never really showed or talked about the personal and mental effects and those behind it from the beginning. I now understand that substance abuse and drug addiction are often symptoms of other underlying issues. That the reasoning behind it is quite complex and different for everyone. Some can stem from personal choices, pain and curiosity. Others come from the need to escape a situation or illness completely out of their control. Also in our society, we have a culture of wanting a quick fix and instant gratification. That in this case is often reinforced by drug companies. However, all of these reasoning have one thing in common: stress. In our previous class, AHS 410, we talked about how damaging stress is and the importants of having stress management and coping strategies. Unfortunately, mental health in our society is quite taboo. Thus, we are not taught how to take care of ourselves. People tend to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms then, like self–medicating, heavy alcohol use or hard drug use as a way to deal with the stress. It alters the