This website is here to shed some light on drug addiction and the complications that arise from such an illness. In the next few pages of this website, I will be using different approaches of medical anthropology to analyze this illness.
I have decided to do my research on drug addiction because I believe that it is very important that people understand that this is indeed an illness that needs to be dealt with using appropriate measures. This subject is very important to me because I have personally encountered someone with this illness. My uncle struggled with drug dependence since he was in high school. Relapse after relapse, he struggled to recover, and unfortunately to this day has yet to recover. This is obviously a difficult subject for my family, however, what surprises me the most is how some of my uneducated relatives view this problem. They do not consider his addiction as an illness, but rather as a choice that he is making. This is why I believe it is important to educate others and help people understand more about this illness.
So what exactly constitutes illness? Illness is a period of sickness affecting the body or mind. This is something that can significantly impair the way a person lives their day-to-day life. His or her body is not in complete homeostasis and this is harmful to that person. It can be explained as the feelings that come with a certain disease and how a person interprets or experiences that disease. Addiction itself changes the brain in essential ways and this disrupts the way a person can normally function. Drug addiction is defined as “a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences" (NIDA).
It is so important to consider non-medical factors when it comes to studying illness, especially when it involves an illness like drug addiction. It is essential that we understand a patient’s own health beliefs and cultural values as well as economical or environmental factors. A medical doctor and a medical anthropologist have different methods when it comes to health and selecting appropriate treatment for patients. Anthropologists use different approaches to understand health across cultures. These different approaches include biological, ecological, ethno-medical, experiential, critical, and applied.
These differences are seen when a medical doctor treats a patient versus when a medical anthropologist treats a patient. A medical doctor might want to treat a patient with drug addiction using a prescription to kick the drug habit, whereas a medical anthropologist will examine the patient and understand where exactly this illness roots from, and taking into consideration the different non-medical factors including cultural factors in order to treat this illness.
"Comorbidity: Addiction and Other Mental Illnesses." National Institute on Drug Abuse. Accessed May 21, 2015. http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/comorbidity-addiction-other-mental-illnesses/drug-addiction-mental-illness
Matt Ferner. "Here's One Simple Way We Can Change The Conversation About Drug Abuse". Huffington Post. Accessed May 21, 2015.
"How bad is the drug addiction problem in Punjab?". The Health Site. Accessed May 21, 2015.