Addiction - Larroder - Addiction Backgrounder

ANATOMY OF AN ADDICTION

Pedro is running for his life, blood is dripping from the wounds of his body. He has to reach the nearest town center to get healed. A night elf archer hit him with an arrow. Pedro is scared of dying. His hands are sweaty from the constant maneuvering of the mouse. His heart is like a drum being banged by a rock star. Suddenly, his enemies get to him. His Necrolit character is killed by the enemy, Venomancer.

“First blood!” shouts the computer.

Pedro Bulalakaw’s life revolves around computer games. He forgets all about food when he sits in front of a computer. He only goes to the bathroom when he has accumulated so much urine he is compelled to do so. When he goes to school, he considers himself rich because of all the violet currency folded in his wallet. At the end of the day, he has dropped to the poverty line with not enough coins for a jeepney fare.

Gaga Loka, 16, is a smoker. Her favorite cigarette is Marlboro Black. She burns through one pack of cigarettes each day. To go with her smoking, Gaga has a collection of lighters ranging from those with playboy stickers to those with flashlights. Every time she smokes, her lips dry out like a cactus plant. Fragments of dead skin from her lips become visible for people to see. By the age of 19, she could be dead because of lung cancer.

Both these characters are real people. There is no exaggeration made in the stories. All information stated is true except for their names. Both Pedro and Gaga have one thing in common: they cannot rid of an addiction.

Addiction starts from a habit. When a person has a habit turned into a necessity, it takes the shape of an addiction. Making the body accustomed to something good such as studying or bad such as smoking is an addiction. If Gaga Loka is addicted to studying, she would leave her health for granted and her outward appearance unchecked.

Addiction causes a person to act in a pattern of unhealthy behavior which they carry out uncontrollably. Addicts have psychological and physical dependency on their addiction. Addiction is not limited to substance abuse such as alcohol or cigarettes. It can also be an uncontrolled behavior such as sex addiction or gambling. Any individual can become addicted even if addiction does not run into the family. Once people start to take drugs or repeat certain behaviors because it makes them feel good or has a certain effect on their body, then they become addicts. If there was no effect on them, then people will not repeat the experience. What can start as an experiment or a casual behavior can lead to addiction. With time, the brain’s chemistry starts to adapt, demanding more and more from the addiction.
Pedro and Gaga suffer a persistent need to use or do something to feel normal. They use their addiction to cope up with everyday life. They continue to use or do something despite negative experiences and dangerous situations that it creates.

Addiction is a coping mechanism for them. They channel all their problems, depressions and anxieties to addiction, whether they know it or not. Pedro Bulalakaw just broke up with his girlfriend. He becomes depressed. He would play computer games to temporarily relieve his depression. But Pedro does not know that the world of computer games also has its harmful effects on him and his health. People become addicts because of their environment. Gaga Loka lives in an environment where smoking is common. Her family and friends smoke. So she tries to copy them and becomes addicted to smoking.

“Usually addiction can steam from a mannerism. Mannerisms are usually little behaviors that may not yet interfere with the day-to-day functioning. When it becomes dysfunctional, it then becomes an addiction” said Estesa Xaris C. Que-Legaspi, Director of the College Guidance Office. Mannerisms are routines of behavior that are repeated regularly, it tends to occur subconsciously without directly thinking consciously. Habits sometimes goes unnoticed in persons exhibiting them, because the person no longer analyzes what he is doing. When a habit becomes a necessity and not just a repeated action then it becomes an addiction
Addiction can have a lot of effects not just to the addict but also to his surroundings. If left unchecked, a person’s health is on the line. If Gaga Loka continues to smoke one pack of cigarette each day, she will harm her lungs and develop lung cancer. If Gaga Loka does not perform well in her studies because of constant coughing, she may be dropped from school. Her family will have to pay a large amount to admit her in the hospital.

Aside from losing his girlfriend and becoming poor, Pedro Bulalakaw will make his parents worry and ruin his future. He might end up living in Tondo with several kids and unemployed.
“The first step these people need to do is to admit that they are addicts” said Que-Legaspi. Before Pedro and Gaga can start addressing their problems, they first need to fully admit that they have a problem. Until this happens, change cannot take place. Once they have owned up their addiction and grasped the seriousness of the situation, then comes the willingness to change things for the better. Que-Legaspi also said if addicts cannot admit their problem, then intervention may take place.