There are various reasons why people develop drug addiction whether its psychological or physical pain. In the article ” Veterans Face Greater Risks Amid Opioid Crisis” Childress (2016) affirms  that America’s fastest growing drug crisis continues to spike not only among citizens but veterans as well ( p. 1). Childress notes that during deployment, veterans have unlimited access to painkillers medication in order to reduce chronic pain during war which increases drug addiction within veterans. Therefore, a large amount of veterans develop drug addiction due to their dependency on opioids to reduce pain.  In fact veterans with opioid addiction do not only suffer from chronic pain but other fatal problems such as psychological pain. Drug addiction can be caused by various reasons. such as, social discomfort or sever pain.

Drug addiction is a relief method developed by most users in order to cope with their current situation. such as, life struggles and chronic pain. According to Szalavitz (2016) “heroin provided a sense of comfort, safety and love that I couldn’t get from other people” ( Para. 8). Szalavitz uses her own personal experience to explain the contributing agent for her addiction problem. Szalavitz notes that heroin provided her with “comfort” that allowed her to cope with life. However, her heroin usage allowed her to become dependent on the relief provided by the drug. Szalavitz however, does not show any effort taken to seek an alternative that could provide social comfort without the drug dependency.

The opioid overdose epidemic has been significantly increasing due to the lack of funding to treating centers. The inability to find help in order to overcome the withdrawal symptoms and the craving for drug use has lead to an increase in the overdose death rate in the united states.  Cekala (2016)believes ” if I had a place like this to come to when I was struggling with my addiction, it would have taken me much less time to put my life back together. ” (as cited in Woodruff, Paragraph 44). Cekala insists that her inability to overcome her addiction for a drug free life. Cekala noted the lack of treatment centers that provide the necessary medications that help with the withdrawal symptoms. According to Dolan (2017) ” “We don’t have any money to pay for medication-assisted treatment, and we don’t have prescribers to provide treatment.”  ( as cited in Brauer,p.9). The issue of drug overdose hasn’t caught the attention of the government leading to cut in funds leaving many drug users helpless to the control of addiction.

Can You Get Over an Addiction? by Maia Szalavitz argues that addiction is shouldn’t be viewed as a moral problem or a progressive disease. Maia (2016) argues that addiction is “a learning disorder, a difference in the wiring of the brain that affects the way we process information about motivation, reward and punishment.” Which shows that addiction is not solely based on a chemical “hijack” of the brain rather than a difference in brain wiring. Maria explain that addiction can cause the brain to confuse essential priorities. For example “addiction occurs when these brain systems are focused on the wrong objects: a drug or self-destructive behavior like excessive gambling instead of a new sexual partner or a baby.” In Maria’s case, heroin provided a sense of relief, comfort and love that seemed essential by her brain rather than focusing on engaging in a relationship. Maria notes that understanding addiction can lead to a higher recovery and lead to a more profound treatment.

Maria Szalavitz argues that empathetic treatments can lead to higher recovery from addiction. Maria (2016) argue that” If addiction is like misguided love, then compassion is a far better approach than punishment” which allows the drug user to feel accepter and becomes able to overcome addiction and cop. Maria explains that twelve step programs tend to success with “only a minority of addicted people.” for example “ most treatment available in rehab facilities involves instruction in prayer, surrender to a higher power, confession and restitution prescribed by the steps…,people with other learning disorders aren’t pushed to apologize for their past behavior, nor are those affected by schizophrenia or depression.” hence empathy can provide a sense of understanding as in dealing with a “broken heart” rather than a chemical hijack.

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1696909997/3A9CEEE08ECB413BPQ/1?accountid=27880

The link above directs to the article Addressing opioid drug misuse in America by a medical journal The Lancet. The article focused on the significant increase of drug abuse rate in america. The medical journal focused on recommending to take actions to decrease the drug abuse that has been increasing between the year 2002 to 2011.  The article is written by an independent general medical journal the covers all aspects of human health internationally. The medical journal is not funded by a specific group. therefore, The lancet provides accurate non-bias studies and statistics due its dependency. More information about the medical journal The lancet can be found in the link http://www.thelancet.com/about-us .