Drugs and Crime - Internal and External Cues - Essay Example

Self-acknowledgment acts as a cause of motivation for the individual trying to overcome the problem. In addition, motivation helps the patient to suppress the cravings for engaging in criminal behavior and drug use. Sharing the problem with other people also weakens the craving. Over a period, the individual will be able to deal with the urge systematically until they overcome the craving completely (Marlatt et al. 65). External cues are events and activities that exist within the environment of the affected individual.

Certain stimuli in the surrounding of the patient can be associated with alternative stimuli (Marlatt et al. 276). The sights, sounds, and smells formally associated with a craving to commit a crime or abuse drugs may imply danger. Locations previously associated with fulfillment as bars, houses where the crimes were committed or friends who took part may be subject to interpretation by the brain as a sign of danger. The individual may voluntarily desist from visiting such locations during recovery.