The Aftermath of Substance Abuse

Drugs have been an epidemic in our everyday society. Drugs are an issue all over the world, it can turn a happy family into a sad one. The Misuse of Drugs has exponentially increased throughout the years this has caused many hardships and adversity in people’s physical and social lives. According to the NCDAS, a quarter of a million Americans have misused or have taken illegal drugs. To make matters worse 60% of Americans abuse illegal drugs and suffer from substance abuse. If we as a community don’t try and step forward and try to solve. If we don’t this would destroy our society from the inside out; families are being separated because of this.

If we want to combat the problem, we first must understand the problem. The problem is substance abuse, substance abuse is when someone uses an excessive number of drugs that cause harm to them physically and mentally. When substance abuse comes from the parents in a family it could be the destruction for the family. Flack (2019) expressed how under the Children Act of 1989, children can be legally taken from their parents if the parents are seen as incompetent parents. Some actions of an incompetent parent can generally be seen as physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect which can be damaging for the child; in their psychological and physical up bring. Things that should not be normal are normal.

Flack (2019) shows us that those who have lived through a parent who suffered from substance abuse when they grow up have suffered from substance abuse as well. They take the negative traits that they have seen from their parents growing up and unconditionally develop those negative traits as well. Children can even start to develop substance abuse problems at a young age which will eventually become worse when they are in their adulthood stages of life. Flack (2019) showed a case of a family who was separated due to substance abuse. This case showed that the mother’s parents also suffered from substance abuse. This caused a lot of mental health problems, and educational provision, and even hindered job opportunities. this caused her to be an incompetent parent to her kids, and she ended up losing custody of her kids. This shows that the mother’s parents’ actions did not only affect her. But it affected the next generation as well. Addiction is not a disease that can be passed on through a bloodline: however, it is a disease that can be absorbed and someone’s life.

On the other hand, parents who try and control their substance abuse, don’t do it for themselves. They do it for the children, either to get them back from the government or to make sure that their children don’t suffer the way that they have suffered according to Flack (2019). However, there is a difference between a man and a woman in a sense of their substance abuse. Women substance abusers try to conceal their drug or alcohol problems from society. on the outside they might look fine however on the inside they are struggling to face their substance abuse problems. They might look well on the outside however they are fighting demons on the inside. they are more likely to try and fix their substance abuse problems and enter treatment than a man would. Flack (2019) argued that a man would need someone in their life like a wife, aunt, or even grandmother to play the gatekeeping role in their life to force them to seek treatment or to make sure that they are not abusing drugs. Men substance abusers are more likely to be self-centered than women substance abusers’. The woman would see how their addiction is negatively affecting their lives and the people around them and they will feel guilt.

Some treatments for substance abuse are simply A substance abuse treatment plan. This is a plan that has the person’s goals and the way they can accomplish their goals.  They also have long-term residential treatment well known as rehab. Outpatient Treatment Programs which is a type of rehab that is more convenient for people who have responsibilities and must go to work. Lastly, they have Group and individualized counseling.

All in all, we can see how substance abuse it’s not an individual problem, substance abuse can a fact a whole family and even a whole community. Substance abuse is an issue that’s affecting the well-being of our society.