Addictions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Addictions - Essay Example Addiction does not just solely affect the user; it has a cascade effect and touches every other person in their lives, parents, siblings, spouses, and, most disturbingly, their children. Children and the families of addicts suffer greatly; addiction, in fact, is a common cause the crumbling of any family unit, with side effects and consequences that are long lasting. Addiction is defined, in simplest terms, as the need, desire, or physical imperative to attain and ingest a particular substance; this substance becomes the primary concern, focus, and necessity, obsessively, above and beyond all other important elements within their lives (American Society of Addiction Medicine). It is fair to include that in today’s modern society, addiction has been extended not only to substances but also to activities, for example, compulsive shoppers and gamblers. Alcohol and drugs affect many people in many ways; it can lead to child maltreatment, neglect, and abuse. First and foremost, children who are born to parents who are addicted to drugs are more likely to suffer from physical issues, internal malformations, and developmental and learning disabilities that can impact the quality of the life they will live (Office on Child Abuse and Neglect 1). However, even those children whose parents and guardians are not addicts until later in the childâ€⠄¢s life still face a huge number behavioral, psychological, social, and emotional issues that could plague them as child and well into their adult lives. Addiction can take a functional, loving, committed, and stable family into a completely dysfunctional, disorganized, neglectful, abusive, and corrupted family unit. Addiction changes the priorities of the addict. The drug becomes the paramount and primary goal of every endeavor (Office on Child Abuse and Neglect 1). The finding, possessing, and engaging in the substance or act become the beginning, middle, and end of the story. In most