Psychological Significance Of Addiction Critical Thinking Sample

Introduction

For years, there have been several programs created for the sole purpose of helping people fight addictions to things that could very well destroy them and it is for their own good as most people well know. It can be argued that drug dependency leads to addiction then ultimately death, it is a known fact that people who count on dangerous substances in order to survive, do not have a life let alone a life to live. However there are other things that people can get addicted to such as social media i.e. Facebook where they are on the site 24/7 and do not rest until they add everyone they know as well as anyone they can. When a person is told that they cannot do something or is asked to take a break from that particular thing that they have gotten addicted to, they get really irritable and their entire attitude change; it is like they need that particular addiction to feel alive or get that burst of energy. Ironically, people getting addicted to something like video games usually have to burn out i.e. get tired of doing it before they start spending less time wanting to feed that addiction. When a person has withdrawals after spending a little bit of time away from their “drug”, it gets harder and harder to deal with their psychological dependence on that particular object because now it is hard for that person to turn their back to the thing they are addicted to. It can be argued that people behave in a way that suggest that their addiction is the only thing that matters. Video games are just as addictive as Facebook or Blackjack, these things are addictions plain and simple. This paper will illustrate my viewpoint on the matter.

My viewpoint

I definitely do agree that problem behaviors do lead to addiction to video games, one of the problem behaviors that is a sign of addiction to video games is when people start playing from the early morning to the next morning. Their physical dependence on video games can solely come from them holding the controller for too long which would send a feeling of emptiness to that person’s body but ultimately their hands because they are going to cup their hands like the controller that is supposed to be there, is not. It is not so much that people get addicted to video games by playing for a very long period of time, it is more that people physically become dependent on that video game to keep them entertained for the sole purpose of getting through it. Vitelli explained that “addiction to video games is absolute, people become psychologically drawn to that game just based on personal tastes alone” (Vitelli). The physical dependence that the person illustrates when playing that video game is that cannot go one whole hour without playing it because they would feel like they are missing out on getting that next weapon or magic power, dependence on a video game is a very intoxicating thing. I remember when I got into playing Final Fantasy IX for my seventh time and I had so many support and innate abilities to teach the party, I decided to stop for a while after learning abilities for 4 of the characters in the game. It was not even 30 seconds later that I quickly went right back to the game, the game was not the reason why I chose to go to it; it was the reinforced behavior of playing video games for 22 hours straight just like I have been doing for a long time which in turn led to my addiction to video games. It has been proven that a person’s behavioral response to give into their addiction can definitely lead to addiction and in this case, an addiction to video games. It can be argued that as long as the person is not asked or told to stop playing video games then they will have more than enough time to develop behavioral response to their addiction to video games.

My viewpoint-Second

The nature of drug dependency and addiction go hand in hand, a person’s dependency on a drug or a specific drug can make as well as break them. A person’s overdependence on that drug leads to addiction, it is not an uncommon scenario for a person to become addicted to a drug overnight because of their dependence on it. A person’s tolerance to a drug comes from their taking it on the constant which can begin to lose its effect, an example of this is when a person takes heroine to “feel good” but because their body’s has grown tolerant of the drug then more of it will be required in order to reach that natural high feeling. A person’s psychological response to that drug becomes their everything so to speak, that drug becomes who they are. Miller states “people can get addicted to anything very quickly but drug dependency has a grip that binds the biological and psychological senses” (Miller, 2013). The drug’s effect on a person’s social influence might lead others to believe that they are just fine, they are just really tired. A person’s body goes through withdrawals when they stop taking that drug which means that since their body is no longer getting the drug then they will likely be going through withdrawals symptoms such as irritability, loss of appetite and constant sweats. Physical dependence speaks of a person’s sense of resistance when they have or do not have that drug in their body, an example of this is when a person smokes marijuana, their body becomes so used to smoking it every day. When they do not have any money to buy it, that feeling of euphoria disappears and the fog caused by that euphoria is lifted; they will feel like a part of themselves is missing. The drug’s biological influence on a person often leaves them feeling drained, tired and drugged out. The person will not want to do anything but feel like they want to sleep all day and die, the body’s biological response to the body’s adaptation of the drug or without the drug will likely leave the person feeling like they cannot operate without that drug in their system.

Work Cited

Dename, Kristi. "Video Games: Are They Really a Source of Addiction?" World of Psychology. 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2015. <http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/07/21/video-games-are-they-really-a-source-of-addiction/>.
Miller, Tracy. "Video Game Addiction and Other Internet Compulsive Disorders Mask Depression, Anxiety, Learning Disabilities." Daily News. 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/kids-addicted-video-games-violent-experts-article-1.1298338>.
Vitelli, Romeo. "Are Video Games Addictive?" Psychology Today. 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2015. <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201308/are-video-games-addictive>.