Addictive Behaviours

Lesson Overview
“Grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.”
(Alcoholics Anonymous)

Part 1
The main theme of this module is that addiction is not a moral failing, it is a mental health problem, with
symptoms such as dependence. Addicts do not have a choice in the conventional sense of the word.
Although an individual may at first choose to try an illegal substance, biological changes occur so that
they will slowly lack the ability to stop.

Part 2
First looks at why an individual might start using illegal substances, and how addiction will inevitably
impact on all areas of an individual’s life. The idea of addiction as a mental health problem is then
highlighted to students.

Part 3
Level 3 focuses on Alcoholism, its links to society, and the use of cannabis. The fact that cannabis comes
from a plant does not mean it is safe. High doses of cannabis for prolonged periods of time are
associated with an increased risk in psychosis.

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Addictive Behaviours

Part 1
Learning Outcomes:
 To understand what an addiction is.
 To think about the idea of choice in addiction.
 To understand the biological mechanisms related to addiction.

1. Can you define addiction? __________________________________________________

Common aspects to addiction:

 Dependence: a strong desire to take the substance.

 Tolerance: repeated drug use or activity produces a decreased effect. This means increased
doses are required to produce the same effects.
 Withdrawal: a group of symptoms that occur once the drug use stops. This can include severe
bodily discomfort (anxiety, agitation insomnia, tremor of limbs, nausea, vomiting, seizures) and
a pleasureless psychological state.

2. Using the information above, in pairs, read through the personal accounts below and highlight
dependence (D), tolerance (T) and withdrawal (W).

Account 1 I was able to gamble normally for years. When I began to use it for an escape from my
problems I quickly became obsessed with it. If I wasn’t at the casino I was thinking about when I’d get to
go back. All I cared about was numbing my pain from the real world. I felt alive with the highs and lows
of gambling. However, the more I played, the more it took for me to feel the rush. There was never
enough. I hated being so out of control. I was miserable. Eventually I tired of beating myself up and being
a slave to my addiction. I didn’t want to ask for help though. I had always been so “responsible”. I finally
surrendered. I couldn’t quit on my own. I allowed supportive people to offer the hand I needed. I wanted
my life back. It’s good to feel again.

3. A.) In pairs discuss which activities on the list below are done out of choice and which are done
without choice:
 Eating.
 Nail biting.
 Homework.
 Going to the cinema.
 Rolling back on your chair.
 Doing exercise.
 Breathing.
 Thinking.
 Tapping.
 Getting dressed in the morning.
 Going to school.
 Getting your hair cut.
 Taking antibiotics.
 Tapping your fingers.

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Addictive Behaviours

B.) Think of some of your habits – do you choose to do them?

4. Read the personal account below and then have a class discussion:

Did I choose to do it? I don't know. At the start I definitely did. I felt bad, it made me feel better. Then it
just became something I did naturally and routinely, which still helped. Then it became something I had
to do. In theory I guess I could have "just stopped", but it didn't feel like that. I felt compelled to continue.
It was something I did, but which I didn't want to do. Sometimes I'd tell myself I was going to stop, but
then after a little while I'd feel so bad I'd just do it again. I couldn't bear not doing it. Then I'd feel guilty
for having done it. Eventually I hit rock bottom, and something clicked. I could die or I could change my
situation. With that for motivation I finally managed to "choose" to stop. But it was hard, and definitely
not like "choosing" to go for a walk or reading a book.
- Does an addict choose to be addicted?
- How would it feel to have to do something without having the choice?

5. Addicts do not have complete self-control

Two brain regions are interconnected by a pathway between them.

1. The Ventral Tegmental Area signals reward in the brain. When reward is signalled, it
makes us more likely to repeat the rewarding behaviour.
2. The prefrontal cortex is involved in self-control or stopping behaviour.
When someone is addicted to something, activity in the VTA increases and activity
in the PFC decreases.

6. Teacher led discussion: Knowing what the two brain regions are involved in, can you work out
what happens when someone takes an addictive drug?

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Addictive Behaviours

Part 2
Learning Outcomes:
 To think about why someone might start taking a drug that could lead to addiction.
 To think about the cycle that addicts get caught up in.
 To think about whether someone with an addiction is a ‘bad person’ or has a mental health
problem.

1. Individually read through the list below and decide how reasonable they sound as reasons to
why an individual might decide to take a drug.
 A group of individuals offered them to the individual.
 At a party to have fun.
 To give them that little bit more confidence, and make it easier to meet new people.
 To try everything once.
 Because it’s risky – where is the fun without a bit of risk.
 To expand the mind and discover a higher level of reality.
 To block out unwanted feelings or thoughts.
 As temporary lift to make them feel better.
 To feel something, anything.
 To punish them self.
 To hurt them self.
 To slow down their mind because their thoughts are going at 1000mph and they just can’t cope with them anymore.
 There was nothing else to do.
 They were bored.
 Peer pressure.

2. Class discussion: Read through the personal accounts below and discuss the reasons why they
began to take drugs.

Account 1: Primarily I started to drink & take drugs to improve the way I was feeling & to ease mental &
emotional pain. I felt compelled to change the way that I felt, & to change the way I viewed my reality. I
had an overwhelming compulsion to get as 'out of my head' as possible. I had the idea that certain drugs
were expanding my mind & consciousness.
Initially getting stoned was good fun. I felt more confident when I was drinking, & felt that I could be
myself more. When I wasn't taking a drink or a drug; I found that I was getting more & more depressed. It
got to the stage that I didn't feel right unless I was taking a drink or a drug. This progressed to not feeling
right either when I was off or on something.

Account 2: The first time I got really drunk, I liked the way it made me feel invincible. It dulled all my
pain. Whenever my life gets difficult, I drink, and I don’t stop. I am not a good drunk. I can be angry, and
start fights with friends and strangers. I can be depressed, and then I tend to lock myself away and
sometimes I hurt myself. Or I go wild, usually in a club, and I steal drinks, hook up with strangers, and
generally irritate people. Often, I am all three of these in one night. I have massive gaps in my memory,
and frequently have to ask what I did the night before. I have ruined friendships because of alcohol, and it
has definitely had an effect on my relationships. I was also assaulted and have no memory of it. I am
trying so hard to stop drinking. But it’s difficult. If I’m sad, I want to drink, to make everything go away.
But it never does.

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Addictive Behaviours

3. Class discussion: The diagram below illustrates the cycle an individual might get into if they felt
like they needed a drug. Discuss the cycle and then answer the following questions.
The individual would need money to get the drug

The individual would have to get the drug

The individual would have to find the

time and place to take the drug.

A. How would this impact your daily life?

B. What sort of adjectives might describe the person you become?
C. How would you feel about this?

4. Class discussion: Is someone with an addiction a ‘bad person’ or do they have a mental health
problem?

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Addictive Behaviours

Part 3
Learning Outcomes:
 To think about drug addiction and the law.
 To discuss statistics about alcohol and alcoholism.
 To understand what cannabis is.
 To think about the impact of drug addiction on friends and family members.

1. In pairs come up with arguments for and against this statement:

When individuals are caught possessing drugs they should be treated rather than put in prison.

Arguments For: Arguments Against:

2. In small groups read through the statistics below.

 In the UK, the annual consumption of alcohol per adult has doubled between 1950 and 2000,
rising to between 4 and 8 litres.

 In 2001 it was estimated that 27% of men and 15% of women in England drank more than the
recommended limits.

 More than one in 25 adults are dependent on alcohol.

Discuss how the following factors might have influenced the statistics:
 The price of alcohol
 Advertising
 Easier to purchase (e.g. it can be purchased at any time in 24 hour shops and pubs)
 Society’s attitudes

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3. Facts about cannabis: Read through the statements below and in pairs work out which ones are
true (T) and which ones are false (F).
 27% of the population have used cannabis at least once in their life time and 6% are current
users.
 It is derived from a plant.
 Cannabis is not addictive.
 The effects of cannabis vary with the dose, the person’s expectations, mood, and the social
setting. Some individuals describe themselves as high, but it can also exaggerate any pre-
existing mood.
 Cannabis is better for you than smoking cigarettes.
 It is legal for doctors to prescribe cannabis to their patients.
 Inhaled cannabis smoke irritates the respiratory tract and is potentially carcinogenic.
 Cannabis makes everyone see white rabbits.
 The most common adverse psychological effect of cannabis consumption is anxiety – mild
paranoia is not uncommon.
 Cannabis is not a type of hallucinogen.
 Cannabis use in young adolescence increases the risk of developing schizophrenia twofold.

3. Read through the personal account and then discuss the following questions.

I don’t really know what he was like before and after because I was so young when he started. The
cannabis probably caused more arguments with my mum – they would fight about it. He had a short
temper. Then they got divorced, and he smoked more.

He gets angry easily. And is paranoid. It affects our relationship – he doesn’t get things, doesn’t see
them in normal ways. Sometimes I feel like I’m the adult in the relationship and he’s the child.
He’s got a distorted view about things. And there is definite memory loss – you’ll tell him something and
a week later he won’t remember. He’s just not all there.

 What are the impacts of drug addiction on friends and family?

 How would you react if a friend or family member had an addiction?

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Addictive Behaviours

Sources of support
Adfam National
tel. 020 7553 7640, web: www.adfam.org.uk
Support and information for relatives, families and friends of those with drug problems

Alcoholics Anonymous
PO Box 1, 10 Toft Green, York YO1 7ND
tel. 0845 769 7555
web: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
Support group

Lifeline
web: www.lifeline.org.uk
Advice for drug users and their families and friends, visit their website for local telephone
numbers.

Talk to Frank
freephone: 0800 77 66 00 web: www.talktofrank.com
For young people and their parents

Phoenix Futures
tel. 020 7234 9740, web: www.phoenix-futures.org.uk
Services for drug and alcohol users across the UK, including residential treatment centres

Release
helpline: 0845 4500 215, web: www.release.org.uk
Specialist services for drug users, families, friends and professionals, including the law and
human rights

Turning Point
tel. 020 7481 7600, web: www.turning-point.co.uk
Social care in the areas of drug and alcohol misuse

Mind
Information line: 0300 123 3393 or [email protected]
Web: http://www.mind.org.uk/

Rethink
advice line: 020 7840 3188 or 0845 456 0455
w: www.rethink.org

YoungMinds
web: www.youngminds.org.uk

Samaritans
Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA

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Addictive Behaviours

Helpline: 08457 90 90 90
e: [email protected]
w: www.samaritans.org.uk

Childline
helpline: 0800 1111 web: www.childline.org.uk

More support information is available from your teacher

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