Trainspotting Research Paper

In the United States, 22 million people suffer from a substance abuse disorder (Comer 294-295). This disorder is categorized by two primary factors in the DSM5: distress caused by changing lifestyle due to drug and symptoms such as, but not limited to, having a craving for the drug, unsuccessful quoting of drug, needing to take more of the drug to get high, withdrawal symptoms, and spending less time with friends or less time participating in activities they were once involved in. Two factors are key in substance abuse disorder- withdrawal and tolerance. Tolerance is when the user does not get high from the amount of drugs they have been using, so they must take more and more to reach their high. In addition, withdrawal is when a person stops

This disorder can develop very quickly, users could be addicted in a short time, even just a matter of weeks. Since opioid use disorder is a type of substance abuse disorder, users are, as stated above, experiencing tolerance and withdrawal effects if they stop using. The withdrawal effects are even more extreme, such as aches, vomiting and diarrhea, twitching, and weight loss. Many of these can be seen throughout Trainspotting. Heroin, an opioid and the drug of choice in Trainspotting, has a major effect on the user’s personal life; the user’s quality of work and social skills decrease, as their interests center around the drug. (Comer 302) Substance abuse disorder begins with the individual making the choice to use the drug, from there there are changes in the brain that turn this use into an addiction. People who have addiction in their genes may get addicted faster. It has been argued that there are two steps that happen to begin the addiction. First, there must be the “activation of the pleasure pathway”. This is a path that travels through parts of the brain that deal with rewards, motivation, emotion, and making