Question How does a realistic representation of addiction looks like?

[Deleted member 574127]

Hi everyone!

First of all, sorry if I massed up something, first time posting - I casually visited the side during the last few years, but never felt like to have a good enough "reason" to make an actual account, until now.

I don't want to beat around the bush for too long, so here is my question: What do you think, how does a realistic representation of addiction looks like?

I have a creative writing in this semester, and the teacher told use he will submit our "finals like" short story to the online school paper - but here goes the twist: he gave us characters (or "shells") to work with, since it will be a longer story broken down to shorter chapters, and everyone is writing one with their given character as the lead. He is a great guy, I love his classes, but I was a bit "surprised" when he give the description of my character (I wrote stuff what had mentions of addiction in it prior or background characters using some kind of substance, but addiction or drug use was never quite the main topic in any of my writings) "a twenty something white guy in the 1930' America, working class, sometimes use junk to relax a bit" and it sounds really interesting (especially the fact that we are talking about the 30') but also a bit terrifying, because as someone who only consume alcohol on rare occasions, don't have any experience with different things, but has autism and knows how irritating stereotypes and myths can be, I'm in the dark a bit, regarding how should I write a character who (even if not an addict) regularly use opium - I really don't want to mess it up or continue the spreading of harmful stereotypes even if only talk about a stupid online magazine what is viewed by a handful of people maximum.

So if you have experience/opinion on the topic, can name some characters, films or books please do so!


Thank you for reading this!

 

[Jabberwocky]

Well, drug addiction doesn't really have one face or wear a single hat. The majority of addicts live among you without detection. The stereotypes are about late stage addiction, and often people in the worst period of their life.

The prompt seems to suggest occasional usage, so maybe it doesn't even have to be about addiction.

Occasional alcohol use isn't all that different from occasional opium use. Alcohol is a hard drug all the same as opium and others.

 

[nznity]

Ask an AI.

 

[Morbid Sea Cow]

The book Licit & Illicit Drugs has a pretty good chapter on early opiate use in North America. Apparently heroin and morphine used to be commonly prescribed by doctors to alcoholics because it was regarded as a better drug to be addicted to than alcohol. Even one of the founders of Johns Hopkins Medical School traded his addiction to cocaine for an addiction to morphine because he regarded it as a better substance to be addicted to if you were to be dependant on any substance. The book is pretty dense but it'll definitely change your outlook on addiction, I highly recommend it.

 

[burn out]

Well, drug addiction doesn't really have one face or wear a single hat. The majority of addicts live among you without detection. The stereotypes are about late stage addiction, and often people in the worst period of their life.

The prompt seems to suggest occasional usage, so maybe it doesn't even have to be about addiction.

Occasional alcohol use isn't all that different from occasional opium use. Alcohol is a hard drug all the same as opium and others.

Occasional use of just about anything isn't that different from occasional alcohol use, (except maybe high dose psychedelics) but I don't agree that alcohol should be regarded the same as opium and other opioids. There are just too many problems with the hard/soft drug categorization in my opinion and alcohol is a prime example.

Unlike with opium, with alcohol the risk is directly related to the dosage. If there is an argument to be made for alcohol being a soft drug, it's the fact that you can drink a couple of beers or have some wine with dinner pretty much every night of the week and suffer little dependency on alcohol or serious issues from it. Many people drink alcohol throughout significant parts of their lives and never experience alcohol withdrawal or DTs or any of that.

Opioids are completely different in this regard. You can't take a few norcos daily and not become opioid dependent. They have a very different affect on the body, to where even relatively low doses if taken regularly, result in dependency. In fact, aside from the withdrawal being a lot milder, there isn't a huge difference between being dependent on a low dose or higher dose of opioids. The opposite is true for alcohol, it becomes a completely different beast at high doses and being dependent on high doses of alcohol is much more damaging to one's health than being dependent on high dose opioids.

This is why the hard/soft categorization is rather meaningless, or at least it should not be assumed that using a soft drug is better or safer than using a hard drug. It all depends on how the drug is being used.

 

[Jabberwocky]

This is why the hard/soft categorization is rather meaningless, or at least it should not be assumed that using a soft drug is better or safer than using a hard drug. It all depends on how the drug is being used.

Agreed, but alcohol objectively is certainly a "hard drug" beyond semantical viewpoints around how it is used compared to other drugs.

Alcohol, even in modest use damages every organ in your body to a significantly greater degree. It is more toxic than other drugs. Alcohol effects 6 of the 7 major neurotransmitters, where all other drugs effect 1, 2 or maybe 3.

The effects of alcohol rival several other drugs combined (sedation, anxiolytic, amnesia, blackouts, analgesia, psychomotor stimulation*, euphoria, psychosis, etc).

*in people with alcoholic genetics

Alcohol leads to erratic, nonsensical, and dangerous behaviors just like other drugs.

Anyways, you get my point.

The hard/soft drug designation is rather meaningless... but when speaking in layman's terms it's still quite useful.

As someone who was addicted to heroin for 8 years, and an alcoholic for 10+ years, I actually see alcohol as the "harder" drug. But such things are subjective enough for any semantical argument to be made.

 

[burn out]

Exactly, it's totally subjective. As someone who has also abused both heroin and alcohol, I totally get that with alcohol being far harder on the organs than heroin. When I think about the amounts of heroin I used to do, it's amazing how little damage there was. I used to view alcohol very negatively but I eventually realized it's not that bad if the dose is kept reasonable, whereas with heroin even if the dose is reasonable eventual dependency is quite likely with any sort of regular use.

 

[Deleted member 574127]

The book Licit & Illicit Drugs has a pretty good chapter on early opiate use in North America. Apparently heroin and morphine used to be commonly prescribed by doctors to alcoholics because it was regarded as a better drug to be addicted to than alcohol. Even one of the founders of Johns Hopkins Medical School traded his addiction to cocaine for an addiction to morphine because he regarded it as a better substance to be addicted to if you were to be dependant on any substance. The book is pretty dense but it'll definitely change your outlook on addiction, I highly recommend it.

Thank you for the recommendation! I will definitely check it out.

 

[Deleted member 574127]

Well, drug addiction doesn't really have one face or wear a single hat. The majority of addicts live among you without detection. The stereotypes are about late stage addiction, and often people in the worst period of their life.

The prompt seems to suggest occasional usage, so maybe it doesn't even have to be about addiction.

Occasional alcohol use isn't all that different from occasional opium use. Alcohol is a hard drug all the same as opium and others.

Oh yes, I understand that - I know many people struggling with different types of substance abuses (not surprisingly, in a post-Soviet country alcoholism is not quite taken as serious as one would wish). I just felt it would be better to ask people, who actually know what they talk about, since I feel like there is not many representations of the "casual users" of different substances in media or books - you are either "crystal clear" or "a junkie", because we like to act as you are hooked after the first use in case of any drugs - not alcohol of course, that is reeealy unproblematic as we can see.

Thank you for your answer(s)!

 

[Deleted member 574127]

This.

I suggest you just do some research on the opium trade in 1930s America, as well as the effects of opium. Data on the latter should be easy to find here.

Thank you!

On it. I don't know why, maybe just because of my location, it was quite hard to find sources first, but I eventually found where to dig, luckily. Yes! I'm really grateful I found this forum a few years ago. It helped me a lot with understanding things regarding drugs and addiction.

 

[Pissed_and_messed]

you are either "crystal clear" or "a junkie", because we like to act as you are hooked after the first use in case of any drugs

you can describe the character having urges and what you could say addictive tendencies but you can also give them other life priorities that direct them
I feel like before turning into abuser, I was addicted with so many other priorities that it just simply was not that big issue
So if you understand concept of addiction and lust, you can make this if you put emphasis on having perspective that doesn't require you to have detailed first-hand experience
you know
"X took deep breath and little by little they got convinced that the homely feeling was coming to get them yet once again, like all the times before"
something like that

 

[Deleted member 574127]

you can describe the character having urges and what you could say addictive tendencies but you can also give them other life priorities that direct them
I feel like before turning into abuser, I was addicted with so many other priorities that it just simply was not that big issue
So if you understand concept of addiction and lust, you can make this if you put emphasis on having perspective that doesn't require you to have detailed first-hand experience
you know
"X took deep breath and little by little they got convinced that the homely feeling was coming to get them yet once again, like all the times before"
something like that

I definitely want to do something like this. I really don't want to be "too smart" and act as I really know how does an addiction feels/looks like for someone - especially how and why someone became a user/addict. And because of this, I also don't want the character to center around his addiction.

Thank you! I will probably write about the feeling something like it

 

[Pissed_and_messed]

And because of this, I also don't want the character to center around his addiction.

it is good, there are so many driving forces to people
You might want to know that if the character really consumes the opium on daily basis, they can not function if they doesn't get some every 6-24 hours and is feeling rather awkward

 

[Deleted member 574127]

it is good, there are so many driving forces to people
You might want to know that if the character really consumes the opium on daily basis, they can not function if they doesn't get some every 6-24 hours and is feeling rather awkward

So if the character is deeper in his addiction, he needs at least a daily dose to be functioning, got it. And thank you for your answer again!
Can I have two questions? (If they are something you feel comfortable answering) How much is the average dose for an average mid-twenties dude? And how would you describe that "awkward feeling"?

 

[Pissed_and_messed]

I think there are so many iterations of addiction that it makes it very easy for addict to say "I ain't addict, I don't smoke crack under the bridge, I rim peoples asses for heroin."

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

I think the definition is technically "feeling the need to use or do something so much that it affects your ability to take care of your responsibilities, be who you need to be for others around you & causes instability in your life"..... or something like that.

So you can use drugs, even "abuse" some of them (like opioids) and still be functional & loving & caring & take care of what you need to do.
But it all depends on the person too.

A lot of people mix up addiction with dependence too. But physical dependence is different than an addiction. Although you can be both psychologically addicted & physically dependent on something.

I kind of hate the word "addiction", but anybody can be addicted to anything. There are people who eat couch cushions or need to eat their own hair or pick their own skin as a self soothing behavior. I think most human beings are trying to escape pain & experience pleasure & our brains are wired for it, but we're often told it's a bad thing. Which it actually can be because if you can completely ruin your life or even die if you are stupid with drugs or use drugs that are not right for you.

I think it's a really complex issue but society has reduced it down to this weird abnormal disease or something when it's completely normal for people to use things to feel good.
You can be addicted to eating, sex, driving too fast, playing board games, shopping, there's just so much.


But if what you're doing makes your life a living hell, you're probably addicted. And possibly physically dependent depending on the drug. You can also just be addicted to the act of getting high just anything you can find. But in the case of heroin addict, let's say they have heroin every day for the rest of their lives... And they're able to function & do whatever because of it. Are they still "addicted" or? This is kind of where the definition for addiction can get a little murky, cause I use to be very stable on my opioids. They've been the best antidepressants I have ever used & other than the constipation & some drowsiness, I don't have to deal with the side effects that come along with being a stimulant user or a drunk or anything else. And that's ultimately better on the body. Opioids are also alot easier to function on since they aren't really altering your brain in the way that other drugs do. Their "high" feels more like a naturally elevated mood, rather impaired judgement like alcohol or psychosis from doing stimulants.

We need to bring apothecaries back & let people pick out whatever drugs they wanna use & the world should view everyone as humans who may or may not need help in life, like we all do.
A lot could change if the world would change it's perspective on drugs, the human body, the mind, etc..

 

[lost weekend]

Occasional use of just about anything isn't that different from occasional alcohol use, (except maybe high dose psychedelics) but I don't agree that alcohol should be regarded the same as opium and other opioids. There are just too many problems with the hard/soft drug categorization in my opinion and alcohol is a prime example.

Unlike with opium, with alcohol the risk is directly related to the dosage. If there is an argument to be made for alcohol being a soft drug, it's the fact that you can drink a couple of beers or have some wine with dinner pretty much every night of the week and suffer little dependency on alcohol or serious issues from it. Many people drink alcohol throughout significant parts of their lives and never experience alcohol withdrawal or DTs or any of that.

Opioids are completely different in this regard. You can't take a few norcos daily and not become opioid dependent. They have a very different affect on the body, to where even relatively low doses if taken regularly, result in dependency. In fact, aside from the withdrawal being a lot milder, there isn't a huge difference between being dependent on a low dose or higher dose of opioids. The opposite is true for alcohol, it becomes a completely different beast at high doses and being dependent on high doses of alcohol is much more damaging to one's health than being dependent on high dose opioids.

This is why the hard/soft categorization is rather meaningless, or at least it should not be assumed that using a soft drug is better or safer than using a hard drug. It all depends on how the drug is being used.

Your quite right ,someone deemed to be a heavy drinker say 4 pints of beer every night will never suffer physical withdrawl symptoms, they will be desperate for a beer like someone who eats to much junk food is desperate for a big mac but someone who takes prescription opoids every day for the same reason ie to relax,wind down after work is in for a terrible time.worse if they have been taking benzodiazpines x 10

 

[rentedbythehour]

I think you have so many directions you could go with this writing. The 1930's were an interesting time. What we know as the DEA was first formed. The Great Depression was going on. Prohibition was also. The laws on drug use were first being put in place. The opiate most commonly used was morphine but junk is specifically used for heroin. Gangsters like Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky were running drugs.
You could visit the DEA museum online to get more info. I also found a link that has a bunch of newspaper articles from the 1930s. There are some that are relevant to what you are asking about. I hope you share your writings with us when you finish it.

Historical Research on Drugs and Drug Policy - 1930

 

[Ex-Cracker]

You could of tried a description of myself a few months ago to ten to fifteen years, unwashed, greasy messy hair, skanky socks that have been worn for months with designer crackhead holes, crack resin and other dubious shit under finger nails, burn blisters on thumb and lips from lighter and crack pipe, odour of skank and crack seeping for every pore, walking extremely fast when going or hoping to score with a super compressed diaphragm lurch, staring at the pavement with owl and eagle eyes for a dropped shot or wrap or $ coin or notes, possibly finding some exquisite dog ends even possibly the remains of a dodgy splife if gods fortune was onside. Basically a wreck on two feet.

 

[Ex-Cracker]

You could of tried a description of myself a few months ago to ten to fifteen years, unwashed, greasy messy hair, skanky socks that have been worn for months with designer crackhead holes, crack resin and other dubious shit under finger nails, burn blisters on thumb and lips from lighter and crack pipe, odour of skank and crack seeping for every pore, walking extremely fast when going or hoping to score with a super compressed diaphragm lurch, staring at the pavement with owl and eagle eyes for a dropped shot or wrap or $ coin or notes, possibly finding some exquisite dog ends even possibly the remains of a dodgy splife if gods fortune was onside. Basically a wreck on two feet.