Month: January 2019

How Opioids Hijack the Brain

I read the article Heroin Addiction Explained: How Opioids Hijack the Brain from the New York Times, written by Shreea Sinha and Jennifer Harlan – link provided below. They interviewed people who had used and been addicted to opioids at some point in their lives, but were now in recovery, as well as their family members. They also interviewed doctors and the family members of deceased opioid users. Throughout the article, they detailed the process of becoming sober from the perspective of the users, and included comments from doctors.

I can see that in this article, they focused more on the emotional aspects of being addicted to something as strong as opioids to appeal more to people’s sympathetic sides, but they didn’t include many stats or facts about the addiction, how it’s affecting our economy and society today and who is contributing to the growing epidemic. I believe this is very important for people to read anyway though because not many people, especially people who grew up privileged like I did, know the real life effects of these drugs and why people will keep going back to them if they don’t have help. Addictions like these can affect any person in the world if they happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and are offered it. It only takes a moment of weakness or peer pressure to start an addiction that can either last a life time or end a life.

Addiction is a disease and I believe more people should try to see it as this. While taking whatever drug for the first time is an unfortunate choice that can be avoided, once you start its incredibly hard to stop. One person in the article described their first time using opioids as receiving  a hug from Jesus, and I can imaging why one would chase that sort of high up to their death. However, it can’t be achieved again since the brain begins to regulate itself after the first use until after a long time of using, the user isn’t even chasing the high anymore. The user is just trying to avoid withdrawal. While our medical system is improving and we are finding more ways to treat these patients, not enough is being done yet. Too many people are not getting the help they need, too many families are being destroyed and too many are dying. Throughout the future I hope we can do more to help these people and I want to be a part of that help.

 

Article Link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/us/addiction-heroin-opioids.html?module=inline

Artifact 3

During my time here at OSU, I have had the opportunity to participate in many new things, but one experience that has had a significant impact on me is joining the Latin Student Association Dance Team.

Joining this team has been so impactful for me because I’ve had the chance to express myself in a new way and meet all sorts of diverse people in the process. This group meets a few times a week, more often when we are close to a performance, and we learn and practice salsa, bachata and occasionally some merengue dancing, lead by a choreographer. The people in the group are from all over Latin America, from Mexico to Peru, to Cuba. They all have incredibly unique experiences and when we’re not all dancing, we take the time to chat and get to know one another. These people have opened me up to all sorts of new experiences around campus, and they have taught me a lot about what is going on around the world and in their countries. I have also become more exposed to the Latino culture by joining this group. As immigrants, every one of us has a new story to tell  and it’s so interesting to hear from others.

I also learned that dancing and spending time in this group is an incredible and productive way to relieve some stress. When exams come around and all of us are panicking and scared, it’s nice to have a support group to go to and lean on. All the movement we do during practices helps relieve some of the physical tension while talking relieves a lot of the emotional aspects.

I’m really glad I found a group on campus that has had such a positive impact on me and I’m excited to see all the new places being a part of this group will take me.