~dIaNa’s BLOG~

Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance

Recently, I wrote a short story about a girl that had to live with her alcoholic dad. Well, I was thinking about addictions, because the dad was addicted to alcohol. I came up with a question I still find hard to answer: Is any form of addiction bad for you?

Well, the obvious addictions that are definitely bad are: alcohol, smoking and drugs. When I hear the word “addiction”, I automatically think of drugs and alcohol. Moreover, and addiction of nicotine prohibits someone to stop smoking. These are the three main things that are addictions, which are obviously bad.

Then comes the phrase: “I’m addicted to candy.” or “I’m addicted to (a particular TV show).” Why yes, these can also be classified as addictions, but they aren’t as bad as the ones I mentioned previously. Of course it’s bad to get addicted to candy or chocolate because then, you become fat. And when you’re addicted to a TV show, you can’t stop watching it and then you’re distracted from doing homework.

I came to a conclusion that too much of something is always bad, even if it’s not as bad as something else. But then I think to myself: Wait… addiction and too much of something… they’re different. After I looked up the definition of addiction, I analyzed it and I realized that they’re different. If you think deeply, they ARE different. When I started typing this blog, I thought that they were the same thing, but then I got confused and I didn’t know if I was talking about addiction or too much of something.

“Too much is just an excess in number. Addiction is not being able to live without the damn thing,” a friend explained.

Anyways, I also realized that both are bad, even if they mean something different. Moreover, an addiction is not good for you because when you don’t have it, you suffer and you can’t live without it. If you ask me, I would say that having a lot of something is better than being addicted to something. Addiction is something terrible, and I’m grateful that I’m not addicted to anything. I can’t imagine how life would be. Wanting something so badly and when you don’t get it, you’re depressed. For example if you are addicted to alcohol, you can’t stop drinking; you drink every single day. Then, when you don’t have anymore, you long for more. Maybe alcohol is not the only thing an alcoholic’s life depends on, but it is very important for him/her (although it’s very bad).

Now about excess amounts of something. I’m gonna give as many examples I can possibly think of. Too much:

• alcohol = kills your brain cells and causes trouble (violence, poverty, bad grades)
• drugs = screws up your body, poverty
• products that contain high oxalic acid = kidney stones
• coke/diet coke = weakens teeth, increases possibilities of digestion problems and stomach ulcers
• intelligence = cockiness
• money = power, manipulation, spoiled
• proteins = kidney diseases
• water = water intoxication
• food = obesity
• TV/video games = electricity

Anyways, you get the idea. While I was typing, I also thought of “too little of something”; the complete opposite of excess amounts. There are some situations where too little of something doesn’t make a difference. For example too little alcohol and drugs doesn’t matter, it’s better than too much, don’t you think? But then if you say too little intelligence, money, proteins, water, and food, that creates problems. So there are many perspectives about this; it goes in all directions.

I’m pretty sure everybody is aware about all the global issues surrounding us. Driving through the San Jose Centro, Costa Rica, everywhere I look, there is poverty. Dirty and messy hobos sleep on the sidewalk, whether from a hangover or just because they’re tired. I look at them and a bunch of thoughts invade my brain. Poverty is a vast problem in the world, as a result, every year nearly eleven million children die before age five. I want anyone reading this post to be aware of the horrible life victims in poverty have to live through. Poverty: when people lack to get health services, food, housing, clothing, and education (basic needs).

In Costa Rica, the victims of poverty usually live in rural areas. Triangulo de Solaridad (middle of the city in San Jose) is a location where you will witness a lot of poverty. About 159,000 household in Costa Rica are in poverty. They often live in substandard housing in socially insulated areas. Low-income families love in crowded, run-down buildings. Their shelters are usually made of scraps of wood and tin that are patched together. As I have stated, poverty is not only lack of shelter, but also lack of food. These people mostly eat cereal in form of millet, wheat, or rice. The average calories you are supposed to get a day is about 3,500. Nearly one half of the people today get less than 2,250 calories per day. Because of malnutrition and starvation, tens of thousands people die every year.

About twenty percent of children ranging from ages seven to ten do not go to school. There are education and training programs that are being held. The government provides special education, training, and employment assistance.

There are many causes of poverty. Some of them are overpopulation, crime, diseases, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, lack of education and skills, and age, gender, or racial discrimination. Moreover, women tend to earn less money for many reasons. First of all, women who are mothers have to spend more time caring for their children. Because of that, they are not able to work extra hours to earn promotions and overtime pay. Many times, women become poor after they have become widowed, divorced, or separated from their husbands. Most of the people do not encourage teen pregnancy because it may lead to poverty too. When teens have children, they usually do not complete their education, causing them to limit their job opportunities. Also it is said that women encounter discrimination in jobs. They receive lower pay than men when they are doing the same type of work. “Most of the poor are not criminals, and many criminals are not poor, but people from environments dominated by poverty are more likely to commit crime and to be punished” (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia). Very important issues that cause poverty are drug and alcohol abuse. When people are drug-addicts or alcoholics, they spend most of their money on alcohol or drugs, causing them to become poor. Because of poverty, the poor receive less medical care, causing them to easily get illnesses. Also, they do not have enough money to buy food, which causes malnutrition and hunger. These problems cause them to die at a younger age than people do. Moreover, poverty is associated with crime.

Important facts to be aware about:

• Half the world - nearly three billion people - live on less than two dollars a day (Causes of Poverty)
• About 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day die due to poverty
• Eight-hundred million people go to bed starving every day
• “The three richest people in the world control more wealth than all 600 million people living in the world’s poorest countries.” (Poverty Wikipedia)
• Less than 1% of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed t put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen” (Causes of Poverty 1)
• One billion children live in poverty
• 640 million live without adequate shelter
• 400 million have no access to safe water
• 270 million have no access to health service
• 10.6 million died in 2003 before they were 5 years old
• According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day

As you can see, this a terrible situation. It is great to know how fortunate we are. I am able to eat every day. I have a nice house. I go to school. I have plenty of clothes. I am very thankful for everything I have and I wouldn’t ask for more. I have all of my basic needs and that is just fine with me. If I switch lives with someone in poverty, I’m pretty sure that I will see the world very differently. Right now, I have no idea how it is to live without a home, without food, without education, without proper medical care, without…anything. Just thinking about it makes me feel horrible, but imagine how the people living through it are feeling. There are many organizations trying to fight poverty and maybe it’s impossible to completely eliminate poverty, but I hope that someday, the numbers of poor and homeless people will decrease extremely.

• Please visit www.freepoverty.com, www.freerice.com, and www.freeflour.com

Information was found on:

• http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty.asp
• http://www.wikipedia.org
• Microsoft Online Encyclopedia

Do drug-addicts and alcoholics deserve to be in poverty?