Transcending the Insanity and Illusions of the Ego - Research Paper Example

Transcending the insanity and illusions of the ego as a path to finding bliss. Many people believe that happiness is depends on how an individual controls his or her life. The issue of drug cases in the society today has become order of the day. This is because people have the mentality that taking drugs that interfere with the normal functioning of the brain system can be a source of happiness. When on such drugs, one is subjected to hallucinations or imaginations that may make them feel proud and happy. The paper will give an example the drug victim who shared into the perception that a drug is the source of happiness or bliss. In this case he or she did not know that a person on drug influence was considered mad. From the psychological observation and analysis of changes in condition of Maria right from the time she started using drugs, it can be concluded that she is suffering from severe drug addiction and abuse. She started with small intake of alcohol and smoking small number of cigarettes per day, but due to addiction, she ended up consuming large amount of drugs resulting to substance abuse (Twerski, 32). The development issues of drug addiction and substance abuse also became clear when her health started deteriorating spontaneously thus resulting to consequential withdraw from the society. The fall in her grade and general performance in school are also sufficient testimonies to severe addiction and drug abuse that carried away her concentration in school. With reference to the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders, Maria conditions qualify meet criterions for substance abuse and substance dependence. To start with, substance abuse is usually evident when the victim fails to perform vital and critical roles and instead spends most of the time in using drug (Wurtzel, 33). Substance abuse also occurs when individual continues to use specific drug even at the time when the use posses physical dangers. Furthermore, substance abuse becomes inherent when the user maintains its use even at the time when problems connected to use continue to compound. All the discussed signs and manifestation of substance abuse are evident in Maria. Instead of allocating most of her time in doing school work, she uses the time in smoking marijuana, cigarette and drinking beer. She also continues to use the drugs despite of the physical dangers of the drugs on her health as witnessed by tremendous fall in her body weight. Furthermore, Maria persists using the drugs even after falling victim of STI as evident by her contraction of genital herpes. Substance dependence on the other hand manifest when the addict spends most of time in obtaining and using the drugs. Substance dependence can also be realized through rise in anxiety and depression of the particular victim addict. According Harrison Wurtzel (33), substance dependence also manifests when the particular user relents from significant social, recreational activities and works so that he can use the drug. Additionally, substance dependence become prevalent on a person when the addict insists on using the drug without regard to problems aggravated because of use. In the case of Maria, substance dependence became evident when she could spend much of her time in taking drug. She also sacrificed social relation with her parents and the entire family in order to stay alone and enjoy the use of the drugs. In spite of Maria perceiving the compounding problem in her relation with the family and society in general and even contracting genital herpes due to the immense use of drugs, she goes on and maintains the worse rate of taking drugs. Maria also developed disorders like anxiety and depression that made her to keep off from her parents and family members as well as friends. She needs to stay lonely except when she nears her boy friend with whom they practice drug and substance abuse. From the behaviors and conducts of Maria as far as her use of drugs is concerned, she could be suffering from various mental disorders including anxiety, depression and phobias. Anxiety disorder in Maria can be demonstrated by way she reacts and avoid situations and people she believes will affect her mental orientation (Wurtzel, 33). She avoids contact with her parents due to fear that they will question about her health and condition. Phobia disorder in Maria is evident by occasional fear to socialize with other people including her most preferred brother, Robert. Depression disorder suffered by Maria is evident by failure to see and feel sense on the significance of the past events that made her happy and rejoicing. She widens the gap between her and the brother with whom she used to enjoy moments. I would like the mental doctor to conduct further evaluation of Maria’s continued poor performance in school and her increasingly antisocial behaviors. The prevailing conditions on Maria need quick efforts to provide counseling in order to help her restore the initial adaptable lifestyle. In order to engage Maria into talk, the counselor has to start by eliminating any stigma from within the environment where counseling has to take place and apply self-disclosure techniques. The counselor has to ensure that he/she develops supportive, warm and therapeutic relation within Marian (Wurtzel, 33). Through these techniques, the counselor will be able to win attention of Maria thus making her to open up. In order to engage the parents of Maria in the rehabilitation process, the counselor will need to apply self-disclosure and interpretation techniques. This will enable Maria’s parents and family in general understands the severity of getting addicted into drugs and strategies of handling victims of the circumstance. Motivational Interview (MI) is an aspect of counseling psychology developed in medical setting to help specifically individuals with addiction problems (Goatly, 22). With MI technique, the counselor has to recall that individuals are never in readiness to quit use of certain drugs or change their trend of consumption. MI technique also recognizes that there are motivational factors that make individuals insist on using particular drugs. The counselor using this technique has to acknowledge the addict and gently develop point to create discrepancies with the way addict handles his condition. MI has been very effective in rehabilitating addicted alcoholics and drug abusers. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is counseling technique that has to be adopted by the addict to help individual change the way he/she perceives oneself (Goatly, 22). CBT is usually effective in treating anxiety, depression and phobias as it focuses on the very immediate problem faced by the addict. CBT enables individual addict to breakdown the problems in a manner that is easier to understand and tackle. Reality therapy is also a counseling technique that seeks to solve immediate problem faced by the victim (Kjelleren, 43). This theory holds that improper behaviors of addict be acknowledged as being inappropriate in order to provide the victim an opportunity to learn the best way out of the situation and act in a beneficial manner. Chen and Burwell (2006) define solution focused therapy (SFT) is a brief counseling technique that enables counselor to go direct into issues to be discussed without wastage of time.STP believes that individuals have all that they want and needs only to be directed and guided to their expectations and se in operation. SFT creates an environment where client is not viewed as problem but viewed as being in problem and influence of a dangerous thing. The best method to use in the case of counseling Maria would be the MI method. MI method has to be coupled with self-disclosure and probing techniques of counseling. With self-disclosure, the counselor will prepare an adaptable grounding by first sharing personal tribulations or experience from the use and abuse of drugs thus eliminating any feelings of stigma and jeopardy. While in the process, MI method will help counselor acknowledge the situation of Maria and be able to probe and get the main motivational factors that attracts Maria into vehement use of drugs. MI will also be very pragmatic in the case of Maria considering the open fact she is not ready to attend or accept any counseling efforts planned for her. She also avoids her parents in order to keep off any attempts to convince her go for rehabilitation. Another supplementary method in counseling Maria would the use of SFT method alongside interpretation and confrontation techniques of counseling. Since SFT method seeks to get direct into the issue under discussion, interpretation technique will make it easy for the counselor clarify and project direct points to the client. Confrontation technique will also compel the Maria to admit and accept that counselor knows what she tries to avoid and therefore open up and share every issue that concerns her. In order for MI and SFT to work effectively, the counselor has to start rehabilitation be introducing Maria first into the MI method and its complementary counseling techniques. SFT has to follow mainly after the counselor has successfully gained trust of Maria at the initial MI stage. To solve Maria’s trend of resorting to lonely life would require application of harm and risk reduction approach alongside applying developmental techniques. Harm reduction will enable counselor convince and advise Maria on the appropriate ways to avoid lonely life and the specific strategies of achieving the goals. The counselor will then need to assist Maria in the process of developing negative taste and dislike of the drugs and management of anger as well managing stress (Hanson, 55). In implementing risk reduction approach, the counselor will need to assist Maria in developing good communication skills as well as controlling her emotions. Applying support group in the rehabilitation process will also work well with Maria and her family (Twerski, 32). The family will be able to include Maria in various debates to revitalize her feeling and perception of the family as good and accommodating. Support group can also involve fellowship groups to cheer up and involve Maria in the word of God. Maria should also be involved in support groups like the Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotic Anonymous to offer further clinical counseling. Support group can also comprise her fellow students at school who should be instructed to accommodate and treat Maria in normal without stigmatizing her. Furthermore, teachers should also form part of the support group destined to help Maria recover back to normal psychological and physical status. Teachers should ensure that Maria participates in every activity and operation taking place in school in order to bring her lost social norms and attitudes back to life. In addition, the entire society where the family of Maria lives should also be included in the list of support group to ensure that every moment of Maria’s life is surrounded by someone to communicate and socialize with her. In conclusion, drug addiction and abuse constituted the main development problems faced by Maria since the time she begun using and abusing drugs. The effects of addiction and drug abuse made Maria to a victim of both substance abuse and substance dependence. Substance abuse was evident as much of her time was spent in taking drugs and not in beneficial use like learning and performing some other duties she used to accomplish. Substance dependence is evident by Maria’s trend of avoiding important work, social and recreational activities and engages more in drug abuse. She also began to develop mental disorders such as anxieties that made her hate and avoid facing her parents, phobia that deteriorated her social life thus making her become very lonely and reserved. In carrying successful rehabilitation of Maria from her trend of drug and substance abuse, a counselor has to select and employ appropriate techniques that can effectively trigger Maria in talk. The best technique to be employed in the case of Maria is self-disclosure and warm communication techniques alongside elimination of any feelings of stigmatism. These will essentially help in accelerating and facilitating Maria to open up and begin to corporate with the counselor and share all her tremors that drives her into drug and substance abuse. MI is the best method to employ in rehabilitation process. MI acts genuinely by presupposing that the addict will never be ready to leave and stop drug abuse. MI offer good ground for counselor to acknowledge the progress of the client as well as providing room for criticizing the way the addict handles her situation. Work cited Twerski, Abraham J. Happiness and the Human Spirit: The Spirituality of Becoming the Best You Can Be. Woodstock, Vt: Jewish Lights Pub, 2009. Print. Hanson, Glen, Peter J. Venturelli, and Annette E. Fleckenstein. Drugs and Society. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2009. Print. Kjelleren, Donald L. Happiness: The Road to Well-Being. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006. Print. Goatly, Andrew. Washing the Brain - Metaphor and Hidden Ideology. Amsterdam [u.a.: Benjamins, 2007. Print. Top of Form Wurtzel, Elizabeth. Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America. New York, N.Y: Riverhead Books, 2000. Print. Bottom of Form Read More