Chapter 6 was yet another tough one when it came to comparing it to my health aspect. However, I again gained some great new and increased knowledge on matters involving addiction and drug abuse. The first thing that I learned from the chapter was how wide the range is for the different causes of addiction (the types of addiction). The obvious drug addictions are the ones that instinctively come to our minds, but it is just as important and difficult for those who suffer from process addictions. “Process addictions are behaviors known to be addictive because they are mood altering” (Donatelle, 2019, p. 130). These process addictions include gambling, compulsive buying, technology, work, and even exercise addictions. Prior to reading the chapter, I would have thought of some of these as addictions, but many I would not have thought initially that they could be categorized as such. The most surprising of these to me was the work addiction. Before reading the chapter, I would have simply considered it as excessive overworking due to necessity or overload. However, I now see that it is completely different in that those with a work addiction are often power-hungry and/or feel the need to be working nonstop in order to be good at their job.
The second thing that stood out to me in this chapter was how drugs affect the brain. Of course, I previously knew that drugs did affect the brain in the first place, but I was not aware of how and to what extent. Through the chapter, I learned that “All drugs that are addicting can activate the brain’s pleasure circuit” (Donatelle, 2019, p. 132). This information allowed me to make the connection between the pleasure that the drugs cause and thus how they can become so addictive. The drugs cause “dopamine-containing neurons” to “relay messages about pleasure to nerve cells in the limbic system” (Donatelle, 2019, p. 132).
The final piece of information that was new to me was how accessible drugs are to the general public. Of course, prescriptions are for the select person, however, there is no one to stop that person from selling their pills or simply giving them away if they have any leftover. Even with this fact, “Young and older adults hooked on painkillers are finding that heroin is cheaper and easier to obtain than prescription opioids” (Donatelle, 2019, p. 141). This is definitely something that is striking to me, as the accessibility of heroin being higher than that of prescription opioids is unimaginable. Accessibility to either (prescription opioids without your own prescription) is a bad thing, but heroin becoming a more readily available and accessible option is crazy.
This week was another tough week in the progression towards my aspect. Despite being able to run a few times, I did not feel like myself and continued to struggle to keep the pace that I wanted to keep. I have a feeling that this might have to do with my class in which I am doing aerobic training as well, so this may be added fatigue to my body and making it difficult to run faster. I am doing well in my class in terms of improving and have even lost a few pounds, so I know that I am by no means out of shape anymore. I can continually run and not necessarily get tired, but I am finding it hard to get up to the pace that I want to. This is adding some unneeded stress to my life, so I continued doing yoga and meditation at night in order to relax. It has definitely been beneficial, as I find myself relieved of some stress afterward and I believe that I am sleeping better as well. I hope that spring break will give me a week of more relaxation where I can run back home where I first started in high school and potentially get some motivation from that. This is why I included a picture of myself from high school. This picture, like last week’s picture from my freshman year, serves as motivation for me. However, unlike last week where I took motivation from failure, I take motivation from the success that this picture reminds me of. This picture reminds me that I was the one who ran like I did and the times that I did in high school, so the only thing stopping me from getting closer to those marks is myself.
BSU Health 102 - Kyle Rendon 