SELF-MEDICATION: SELF ESTEEM AND DRUG ABUSE

Self-Medication: Self Esteem and Drug Abuse

Self-Medication: Self Esteem and Drug Abuse

Abstract

There has been an extensive research which proves that there is certainly a relationship between self esteem and depression. All those people who have a low self esteem for themselves develop some form of depression. This is the reason why chances also increase for these individuals to indulge themselves in the drug or alcohol abuse. Therefore, the main topic in this research is depression. There is a huge need to analyze the relationship between self-esteem and depression.

Introduction

Drug Abuse

Usually face the problem of drug abuse as something that is outside, away from the daily reality of people, something that only happens to the poor misguided. But addictive behaviors occur at any age, culture and socioeconomic status. The teenager conflicts with their own age, housewife facing frustrations using sedatives and tranquilizers, the athlete trying to improve their performance with stimulants, or cocaine lord who seeks work are typical examples. It is often wrongly associated with poverty, drug addiction, probably because it is more visible, but affects all social strata. We know for example that in our universities about 19% of students have smoked marijuana, 7% used tranquilizers without a prescription, and over 45% smoke snuff. The drugs damage the physical and mental health of those who use, deteriorating family relationships and community and break their life projects. Dependence or addiction to drugs is presented as a likely consequence and frequent abuse of those.

But how should one position a problem so complex? A big mistake is all the blame on drugs, regardless of the individual's subjective reality, his intellectual and emotional tools, as well as family and social environment. Because the problem is not only drugs: The imagination works as if set off back to a state of peace and social balance, which suddenly is altered by the appearance of drugs, who have awarded to themselves. From this perspective, we conclude that the problem is drugs and, therefore, concludes with a simplistic solution

It is essential to consider the circumstances that act by stimulating or facilitating the use of drugs (risk factors) and those other factors, such as information, education, personal or social skills or certain values ??that work by stopping or decreasing them (Protection Factors ) making individuals less vulnerable to drug use. The more risk factors a person possesses, the greater the likelihood of Drug Abuse, and the more complex treatment. In contrast, higher protection factors, the risk decreases. (Bishop, 1994)

Self-Esteem

A very important aspect of personality, the achievement of identity and adaptation to society, is self-esteem, i.e. the degree to which individuals have positive or negative feelings about themselves and their own value. Self-esteem is related to many forms of behavior. People with high self-esteem tend to report less aggressive emotions, negative and less depression than people with low self-esteem. Similarly, people with high self-esteem can handle stress better and, when exposed to it, experience less negative effects on ...