MANSLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEED

A substantial section to my theory surrounding the field of addictions is dependent upon what drives people to do what they do. There are many theories out there today which provide explanations as to why people to an eclectic assortment; this is also true in terms of addictions. I will be discussing my thoughts and belief concerning existing theories in my next entry, however, I think it’s important to touch upon what I believe motivates individuals and communities to function in the way that they do.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need is based on a pyramid shaped (see picture below) which begins with the foundations of human need and works its way up to the ideals of human need. This begins with the bare essentials which are categorized as our psychological needs; this includes food, water, clothes, air etc. Once these needs are fulfilled, the next stage in based on our safety needs which is identified by security of body, employment, resources, morality, family, health and property. Then it moves up to our loving and belonging needs (relationships), to esteem (confidence, respect), and finally reaching the top, actualization which involves acceptance, morality, creativity, problem solving, spontaneity and a variety of other highly developed skills. It  is assumed that individuals strive to attain the lowest source of need (psychological) and are unable to move on to achieve the next level until they have fulfilled they initial stages.

A way in which this theory relates to my idea of substance use and abuse is in terms of how individuals rate their drug desire on their scale of need. For people who are harmfully involved or substance depend, I think that their drug of choice becomes integrated into their psychological needs. Like predicted, I think that all individuals strive to achieve the initial levels of needs before moving on to the additional levels. For drug users, I think they lose sight of the other possible levels of need and become stuck continuously fulfilling their psychological needs to stay alive. We see every day, individuals who sacrifice their homes, employment, relationships and their developed personal skill to maintain their substance use; they begin to focus on only obtaining their drug, food, water and the other bare essentials.

 Obviously, not all substances have this effect; coffee will not have an extensive an effect as cocaine. However, I think the basis of how Manslow’s hierarchy integrates with substance dependence lies within drugs or substances becoming a psychological need. This entails the preferred substance to become a main priority within an individual’s life; furthermore, this means that higher levels of achievement are likely not to be attained unless the drug is present. I think this factor is more related to psychological rather than biology as we know that recovery is possible, meaning it is possible for substance dependent individuals to eventually reach self-actualization.

INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY IMPACTS

Substance abuse or the abuse of a behavior creates a wide variety of negative impacts which can affect each of the seven dimensions of health; the seven dimensions of health include emotional, environmental, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual. It has always been the assumption that substance/behavior abuse impacts solely the individual involved; however, this is not the case. Substance abuse not only results in individual impacts but it also significantly impacts the community, or society on a wider level. Possible community impacts can include effects to social relationships, effects on social welfare and effects on the health care system.

Personal relationships are important to everyone and they are an important dimension or our overall wellness. Unfortunately, relationships can be strained in the presence of substance abuse which can effect both the individual struggling with substances and they relationships they carry. Not only can personal relationships be strained as a result of substance use but other relationships within the community, at work, neighbors and so on can be affected but a variety of substance use factors such as: negative health effects, presence of illegal drugs, changing behaviors, unsafe lifestyles etc. Relationships can be damaged to irreparable means as a result of chronic substance use and this can be felt on both an individual and community bases.

Canada has many social welfare systems in place to ensure many Canadians can survive when living with limited means. These services can be frequented by individual experiencing substance related issues in unfortunately devastating ways. In some cases, substance abuse creates a need for child and protective services to be called, welfare due to job loss to be collected, or involvement from the courts and legal system to be necessary. All of these resources have a financial price to the greater community and Canadians as a whole. The use of these services and other services like them, again, impact not only the individual but the community as well.

In terms of our health care system, in Canada, we all pay taxes to help subsidize healthcare meaning every Canadian citizen will receive medical treatment free of cost (to an extent). We know that  there are a great deal of negative health risks associated with continued or chronic substance use/abuse which vary depending upon the type of substance as well as the frequency, duration, and amount of use. However, it is unlikely that prolonged, heavy use of a substance will result in little to no health consequences meaning that many substance dependent individuals will rely on the health care system for some negative effect of their use. We pay taxes to fix the disease, injury, and illness which are results of substance dependence. This is yet another way in which substance causes impacts on the community level.

There are many ways substance use/abuse can cause impacts both individually but it is important to remember that it is not only the individual who feels these impacts and are actually experienced by the entire community, however that may be defined. Both individual and community impacts give reason for treatment and support for individual suffering from substance related illnesses.

HISTORY

My personal theory of addiction was not created solely in the duration of this assignment; rather, it has been developing and evolving since I was a child. Essentially, it breaks down into three prominent categories in which I can attribute certain influencing factors as to how my perceptions were changing; simply put these categories can be distinguished by grade school, university, and my time in this current program.

 

My personal theory of what drug addicts were was shaped in my childhood by a variety of differing media sources including television, the news, magazines advertisements as well as what I was taught in the public school system. What was this theory exactly? I have no idea. I was taught and influenced that addiction was specific to illegal drug use; users were dirty, dangerous, and a burden on the rest of society. It was not uncommon to hear on the 6 o’clock news (which my mother watched every night) about the arrests of drug deals, addicts, or another incident with the Hells Angels. In school we were strictly warned to stay away from drugs as they would ruin your life and likely end it as well. My first substantial memory with drugs as a child was in school (around grade 3) where a local police officer came into talk to use about types of drugs and drug use. He brought with him a variety of samples so we could learn to identify different types of drugs. I remember him pointing at a small amount of white powder (which looked like icing sugar to me) and saying that it would kill us if we used it. Scared straight? Not likely, but this incident play a role in how I perceived addiction at this time.

As I grew up and move into my teenaged years I began to have some personal experience with drug use and addiction. I had always heard of kids my age experimenting with drugs but it was not until I personally knew someone with an addiction problem (a friend’s relative). I experienced a few incidences first had that scared the shit out of me, so I added scary to the list of addict’s traits.

At this point in my life (let’s say around ages 5-17) questioning authority was not something I was brave enough to engage in. This means that I accepted all of the information I was given without any hesitation. If the media, my family, my teachers, and the police were all telling me that using drugs will make you homeless and eventually lead to death, I was going to believe them and I did.  

In the next stage of my addiction theory evolution, I am at university, St. Francis Xavier University to be specific. I did my undergraduate degree in psychology with a special interest in forensic psychology. Here I was bombarded with information and information about everything. I took a variety of courses but I was drawn to psychology courses which focused on mental illness, addiction, and crime. I began to learn the science behind addiction, how it was a disease and the biological factor which come into play. Most importantly, here I learned that an addiction did not only mean addict. One interesting experience I encounter here was with a forensic psychology course I enrolled in where we took field trips to all the federal prisons in the Maritimes (I later went on to do service learning at the maximum security men’s prison). On these trips were talked to inmates who recounted their pasts filled with drug use and crime. My theory, in this stage, became very focused on the role drugs and addiction played in crime and incarceration.

 

Finally, we come to today. I am enrolled in the Addictions Community Outreach Program where I have changed my entire outlook on addiction in only the past few months. Learning from someone who works first hand with addiction gives an insight that no one else can quite provide; humanity. ‘Addiction’ or now as I like to call them INDIVIDUALS with substance dependence are people just liked the rest of us. Learning best practices in the field made me realize all of my previous misconceptions. Over my life span my theory and changed and evolved. It will continue to do so through-out my life.

GLOSSARY

For the purpose of this assignment and to the readers of this blog I have created a glossary of terms I will use throughout the development of my personal theory. These terms are my own interpretation of the language used in the field of addictions and how they are defined here is how they will be intended in my future work on this blog.

It’s important to remember that many of these terms interrelate; however, they should not be interchangeable.

Knowing acceptable and appropriate terminology is necessary for professions in this area of work. That being said, we know that it is essential for us to use the language our clients present for us; when interacting with clients we use the terms that they feel comfortable with and can relate to.

SUBSTANCE: alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs or medication.

SUBSTANCE MISUSE: using a substance in any other way than it was originally intended. This includes: taking medication prescribed to someone else, using an improper amount or at an improper frequency, or by a different method (route of administration) than intended.  

TOLERANCE: when an amount of a substance no longer gives the desired effect and needs to be taken in a larger quantity and/or more often.

HARMFUL INVOLVEMENT: when the use of a substance negatively impacts on of the dimensions of wellness (see definition below).

SUBSTANCE DEPENDENCE: a physiological need to consume a substance regularly (tolerance is likely to occur); without regular doses withdrawal will occur (see withdrawal definition).

SUBSTANCE ABUSE: Substance abuse is when a person continues to use, over-use, or misuse a substance even after experiencing negative consequences such as failure to fulfill life obligations, legal problems, or other significant problems.

*ADDICTION:  the consistent need to engage in illegal or dangerous behaviors to obtain and/or partake in a substance or behaviour.

WITHDRAWAL: the feelings of discomfort, distress, and intense craving for a substance that occur when use of the substance is stopped. These physical symptoms occur because the body had become metabolically adapted to the substance. The withdrawal symptoms can range from mild discomfort resembling the flu to severe withdrawal that can actually be life threatening (Kendra Cherry). Symptoms depend upon the type, duration, frequency and amount of the substance ingested.

CONCURRENT DISORDER: the manifestation of an addictions related problem as well as a mental health issue. 

MANSLOW’S HEIRARCHY OF NEED: a psychological theory of personal motivation set up in a pyramid formation with the most basic needs on the bottom which need to be fulfilled to reach the top of the pyramid which includes: psychological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization.

DEMENSIONS OF WELLNESS: the integration of the states of physical, mental and spiritual well-being which contributes to an individual’s quality of life which include: physical, social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, occupational, and intellectual.

DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH:  the factors that shape individual and community health in the context of experiences living conditions including: education, employment and working conditions, physical environments, biology and genetics, personal health practices and coping skills, healthy child development, health services and social services, social environments, gender, culture, income and social status, and social support networks.

*Personally, I use addiction interchangeable with substance dependence; however this is a bad habit I need to break. I do not think that addiction is an appropriate term for individuals struggling with substance dependence issues however, for the purpose of this assignment I have provided a definition. 

This is my glossary of terms I have collected as of this point in my personal theory development. It is likely that throughout this process additional terms will need to be defined and added to the final glossary list. 

INTRODUCTION

Hello!

My name is Kaitlin Kelly and I am a student of the Addictions Community Outreach program at NSCC, Kentville. As a component of this program we are asked to create a personal theory of what ‘addiction’ means to us. This assignment is intended to make us reflect upon how a personal philosophy will relate to our future work in the field of addictions, whatever that may mean. This will involve research into where our definition came from or how it was shaped, what the nature of this field is, the appropriate terminology we use, the impacts addictions has as well as who may be impacted and how our beliefs may shape our work in the future. As a creative means of presenting my personal theory I will be continuously blogging my progress towards creating and integrating new information, ideas and concepts which I identify with, until I have molded my unique outlook on to what addictions means. Bear with me as I organize and conceptualize a wide range of information and stayed turned for the final product where I bring all of my ideas together.

Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope to see you again soon.

Until next time,

Kaitlin