Now that this class is over I am so glad that I took this class. I have a psychology background and I am currently back in school majoring in International Studies with a minor in Criminology. So my reasoning for taking this class was mainly personal. The main reason that I took this class was because I wanted a deeper understand of addiction. Back in Cleveland I have multiple friends who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, and bad relationships. I wanted to learn how addiction affects an individual in a non medical source. I feel that it is my duty to be more educated than the common person about issues that are taboo. I also feel that it is also my duty to understand why people make the choices they do. Thanks to this course I can understand the pains that my cousins went through while battling with their eating disorders. From watching the movies about eating disorders I know how hard it is to not relapse down that dangerous road. I also feel a sense of pride that I can talk to my friends who have drug addictions and it will NEVER come from a judgmental place. The other thing that I could take away from this class was to look at non conventional forms of addiction. If it was not for the digital scrapbook I would never have thought about shopping as an addiction or playing video games unstop and an addiction.

Now that the quarter is over I would not change anything about the course. I loved that everyone could openly talk freely about the articles and you know that it was a safe place to share your feelings. It was nice that there were women and men there from all walks of life. Each women had a different experience that we could learn from and grow spiritually, physically, and emotionally as strong independent women. Even when we were in our individual groups you could freely talk about the topics tell stories that related and there would be no judgment. Even before we watched “Thin” I talked to one of the girls, who were always in my group, about all the emotions I was feeling. She even told me that I should talk to the professor about what I was going through because she of all people would understand. She was right the professor did understand. While we watched “Thin” I even ran out of the room because it was too much for me to handle and while I was waiting for the bus with other members of the class I was not treated any differently. We were even talking about the movie about how difficult it was to watch. I made the comment, “yeah, well at least you did not run out of the room crying” and they were concerned with how I was doing. For that I appreciate. Even though that was a very hard week for me, thanks to this class I could take that experience that learn and become a better person.

The other thing that I liked about the course was the professor. I loved that you were not a “fema-nazi” blaming all the problems that women experience on men. If everyday focused on the point that everything was the man’s fault then I would have dropped the course. I appreciate that you picked articles that were not written by individuals with that opinion. It was also fun that you called me Twiggy. I hope that I will be the only Twiggy that you will ever teach. Thanks for a great quarter.

I remember seeing hundreds of anti-drug commercials when I was younger. I remember seeing a person with an egg and a frying pan. I do not think that there is anyone who does not remember this famous phrase, “This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?” The commercial that I selected is one of the most remember able and most entertaining. The commercial features Rachel Leigh Cook in a small kitchen. She is holding an egg and a frying pan. The egg is supposed to represent your brain, while the frying pan is heroin. She puts the egg on the counter and smashes it with the frying pan. The residue that was still on the pan represents what your body does through. While in a crazy motion Rachel takes the pan and starts to smash everything that is in the kitchen. This is done so that the public could be able to see how heroin ruins everything else in your life. When I turn on the television there are so many anti-smoking commercials than illegal drug commercials. It just seems backwards because cigarettes are legal and marijuana is illegal. There are so many problems with smoking. Everyone claims about the smoking ban, which is in effect in Ohio, is criticizes smokers because they cannot smoke in public but they have to pay taxes. It is also a personal chose that a person can do what they want because it is their body.

After I saw that commercial for the first time it made me laugh. Granite I had no idea what heroin was nor did I care but the commercial seriously made laugh. I even remember as a child running up to my mother to ask her if I could trash the kitchen just because I thought it looked cool. Even growing up I remember all the programs that were around to prevent children from doing drugs. One of the largest programs in my school was the DARE. We were taught to “Just Say No” even though I had no idea what drugs were. It was also ironic that our instructor, who was a police officer, was arrested for drug charges. There’s not a mixed message.

With all the programs, advertisements, and commercials that are still around I wonder whether they truly work. I ask this because you always hear about the individuals who “experiment” or “try it once” think about everything they learned from those programs. In my graduating class there was one student who organized a student assembly about the dangers of marijuana, even though him and his friends were high every day before class. I wonder if my school did not have the DARE program would more students would have drug problems.

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In the movie “28 Days” Sandra Bullock plays the part of a women, Gwen, who enters a treatment center for her drinking problem. There was a history of alcoholism within her family. Her mother was contently drunk. Gwen and her boyfriend were always drunk and irresponsible together. On her sister’s wedding she arrived drunk and while she was dancing she crashed into her sister’s wedding cake. In a drunken state she tells her sister that she will get her another cake so drives her car down the road and crashes it into a house. Instead of receiving any jail time she is sentenced to 28 days in rehab. While she is in rehab her bags were searched of any illegal substances. While she is in rehab she experiences bodily withdrawal from the alcohol. She started to throw up, shake, and experience black outs. When she first entered rehab she would not follow the rules. She refused to clean her room, attend sessions, and took medication that was provided to her by her boyfriend. Even when her boyfriend would come and visit her he would sneak in alcohol for her. Now I do not have to tell you that, that is not allowed. Smart move, give a woman who is trying to quit drinking alcohol. When she was taught trying to seek out of her room she voiced to the counselors that she could stop drinking anytime she wants. Gwen started to notice that her hands were constantly shaking and that there were times where she could not breath. Once the reality set in that there was a chance that she could go to prison she took the rehab more seriously. She started to attend group therapy sessions as well as individual therapy sessions. While in group therapy she made friends with people who were addicted to alcohol, heroin, and drugs. Unfortunately, tragedy would strict when Gwen’s roommate was scheduled to be discharged committed suicide. She received a package which contended a toy bear. Inside the bear was heroin. It was never clear why she committed suicide but according to the movie 1 out of every 3 patients will return to rehab. Maybe, she did not want to be that one person. Gwen still made strives to fix all mistakes she had made while she was intoxicated. She was able to confront her sister and apologize for all the hurt and pain that she caused over the years. At the end of the movie she knew that she would have to leave her old life behind so she could live a happy and sober life. Gwen realized that she could not hang out in the same places where she would drink. She went out with her boyfriend and she could smell all the wine that was in the restaurant. She decided to break up with her boyfriend since he could not understand what clean and sober meant to her.

Seeing this movie reminds me of Smashed. Throughout the book Koren constantly convinced herself that she was not an alcoholic. Even though it was clear that she was. Both Koren and Gwen would wake up in the morning not knowing what they did last night. Earlier I talked about how Gwen was convinced that she could quit at anytime. Koren stated that she needed the alcohol so that she could socialize with others. At least at the end of each story they were able to walk away with the proper tools to make sure that can hopefully remain clean and sober.

Thanks to television shows like “Sex in the City” and “Friends” that have characters who glamorize the shopping industry. All of the women on “Sex in the City” always wear the most extravagant clothes and have a shoe closet that is largest than my apartment. On the show “Friends” when Rachel first moved to New York she went shopping because she was depressed. She even maxed out her credit cards because she saw something in the store that she had to have. Shopaholics feel that they must purchase every new design and clothing line that comes out without any worries in the world. After watching these shows several of my friends want to look and act like these characters. They will spend thousands of dollars at Victoria Secret so that they can have the newest bra and panty set. Today she is a gold member for Victoria Secret which means that she has spent over ten thousand dollars a year. Personally I think that, that is ridiculous. Manufactures look the other way because their products are being sold. However in this society we do not view shopping as something that an individual could be addicted to. It is not classified as a “normal” addiction because there are no treatment centers and there are no visible signs. When an individual has a problem with alcohol they show visual signs: blackouts and constant drinking. The other problem with shopaholics is what kind of treatment society could be able to offer them. There are shopping centers everywhere you look what do they expect these people to do never buy clothes ever again.

To glamorous the idea of a shopping addiction there is movie called “Confessions of a Shopaholic” is a movie that is based on a book, by Sophie Kinsella. The main character Rebecca Bloomwood is a twenty-five year old woman who has a shopping addiction. The movie follows her life living with a shopping addiction. Thanks to her shopping addiction is now in thousands of dollars in debt. When her bills start to pill up she decides to work harder to urn more money. Unfortunately, no matter what she did she was still in debt because of her addiction. I wish I could tell you more about the movie but it is not scheduled to play until 2009. So you will have to tell me how it is when it comes out.

Here is some shocking information shopping addiction is a mental disorder. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM) when an individual has a shopping addiction it is called Oniomania. Oniomania is the compulsive desire to shop to eliminate any emotions of their sorrows. Psychologist believe that an individual develops Oniomania because the reason that the compulsive behavior occurs because there is a change in the brain’s chemistry. Individuals who have this disorder will suffer and often experience rapid highs and lows when they are going to make a purchase. Once the purchase has been made the shopaholic has a feeling of a personal reward has already gone to continue that sense of reward they will go shopping multiple more times. According to the DSM Oniomania normally develops at an early age by individuals who have low self esteem with parental neglect. As adults these individuals have learned to depend on materials for emotional support. Just like in the movie the main character individuals who have Oniomania accumulate an extreme amount of debt. Individuals can also experience theft, defalcation of money, defaulting on loans, and have financial trouble for the rest of their lives.
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This is one of the most entertaining beer commercials that I have seen in a long time. The commercial is for a Dutch beer. The commercial was so controversial that it is banned in the United States. It takes the idea of “beer goggles” to a new extent. The idea behind the commercial is that the woman will look one hundred times better once you have a couple of beers in you. The commercial takes place in a bar and there are two individual, a man and a woman, sitting across from each other. The waitress hangs the man a glass of beer. The woman is shown wearing glasses and is dressed very conservative black dress. With every sip the man takes of his beer the more attractive the woman becomes. Her clothes become smaller and more revealing. At the end of the commercial the woman changes back to her original appearance because his beer glass is empty. At the end of the commercial he orders another beer so he could keep the fantasy alive.

After watching the documentary, “Killing Us Softly” I could understand why some commercials are designed to make women out to be an object. Before I would look at commercial and not think a single thing was wrong because commercials are supposed to be funny. Now I look at commercials more closely to see hidden messages. In this commercial the woman is only there as eye candy for the man. The woman does not even have a drink anywhere around her so why is she in a bar? Is she looking for the typical drunken response? She even seems to be educated so she should know better. There are other commercials that use woman’s bodies to help sell their products. Sky Vodka has one commercial where a woman’s body is the bottle. Woman’s bodies are used in alcohol commercials to provide the chance that if you drink that product than women will always be around you. This is not always true. Most women when they see a drunken person they do not want anything to do with them. There is nothing more unattractive than a guy how is falling down drunk.

Another problem with alcohol commercials is that they do not show any consequences of drinking. There are no clips of the next day. No clips of the vicious hangover or the chance of alcohol poisoning. Even a flash forward a couple of hours later so that we can see him preying to the porcelain gods because he drank too much. Even much later that night being rushed to the hospital to get his stomach pumped because he developed alcohol poisoning. There is even the extreme chance that he could take full advantage of the situation and rapes her. If the wrong type of man sees that commercial he could get the impression that raping a woman is acceptable. All alcohol commercials show on the bottom of the screen “Please Drink Responsibly” when how could you tell who is being responsible. Every body type is different a person who weights 108 cannot drink as much as someone who is 220 pounds. While who is the person who should be the responsible party? Should the establishment be responsible if one of their customers caused an accident? A commercial like this could possibly send the wrong messages that notice you are drunk; women will start to flirt with you.

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On the TV show Family Guy, episode 29 from season 3, one of the characters Brian is talking to his therapist about how empty his life is. The therapist advises Brian to get a job that makes sure that he uses his whole potential. He takes the advice and becomes a police dog. While he is on the job he searches a gentleman at an airport and finds a brief case full of cocaine. Brain was so happy that his life now that it had meaning. After the arrest was made he breathed in a little bit of cocaine that was on his nose. Brian became addicted to cocaine. His addiction grew and he started to steal cocaine from the evidence room. Even while he was speaking to a group of students about not doing drugs he would sneak into the bathroom and begin snort cocaine. Brian was even willing to search innocent people so that he could get his next “fix”.

Brian’s family noticed a change in his behavior and attitude. He started to lose weight very quickly and was very tense around his family. Peter and Lois’s daughter Meg noticed that Brian was losing weight and she asks him what his secret was. He responded by stating “you want to know my secret PUT DOWN THE FORK”. If you have ever seen the show it is a funny moment because Meg is a little overweight and everyone makes fun of her. If this was not a cartoon the family would be able to tell that Brian was spiraling down a dangerous path. Eventually, his behavior got so bad that the family called Brain’s old therapist so that he could receive treatment. The family spent all the money that they saved for a vacation on Brian so that he could become clean and sober. When Brian enters rehab Peter sees how beautiful the center is and decides to vacation there.

Brian along with the other members who are entering the rehab center wanted to get clean, while Peter took it as a joke. When Brian walks into his room and sees Peter sitting on a bed drinking a six pack of beer. If Peter truly had checked himself in it rehab he would have been searched. Peter would not have been allowed to bring in anything that would prevent him from recovering. Even in the movie “Thin” all the girls who were admitted had their bags searched. They removed any medication, cigarettes, and tools that could be used to harm themselves or others. Once they are in treatment there are surprise room searches to make sure that they are not hiding anything. These girls can smuggle salt, sugar, and mustered packets out of the dining hall. There is another scene where Peter is having lunch in the dining hall and he trades a bag of “carpet fresh” for a cupcake. Peter could not understand how serious Brian was at beating his addiction. Eventually the counselors concluded that Peter was not preventing Brian from getting healthy. After reseeding that news he checked himself out of rehab. Since it was a cartoon there was no way of knowing who long Brian spent in rehab. Celebrities check themselves into rehab for only a couple of days even though treatment can take months. That was the last time they ever spoke about his addiction.

With in Pro-Ana sites there are videos called “Thinspirations” which encourages young women to look a certain way. I understand the first amendment gives all Americans have the right to speech, religion, and press but there needs to be limitations. I can understand that everyone needs a safe place where they can say anything they want and feel save but could they talk about how they could recover from this disorder. There are even treatment centers where individuals at attend so that they can recover. Unfortunately, once a patient leaves treatment many will return to their old dangerous habits which can result in death.

Several of the Thinspiration videos show hundreds of young girls drastically underweight happy and content with themselves without showing the consequences of their actions. Within the Thinspiration video there are images of young girls who have their hips and ribs poking out of their skin. The Thinspiration video that I choose was one of the milder video. These video girls are laughing and playing around proving that they were in control and not their eating disorder. There one of the Thinspiration videos that you can see flash words on the screen to promote the behavior. The words that show are: “So Skinny”, “Bones are Sexy”, “Natural Beautify”, “Twiggy”, “Give Her Wings so That She Could Fly”, “Perfect Body”, “She is So Skinny”, “Girls You Are So Beautiful!!” There are other videos where there are individuals who are inches away from death. In one of the articles we had to read the author talks about how she was dying from this disorder. She lost so much in her life. Counting calories and watching everything she ate was her life. Physically individuals will lose teeth, hair, organ function, and the ability to look older. I do not understand who these videos are supposed to inspire these individuals that looking like a Holocaust survivor is pretty or even sexy.

If anyone claims that these videos are not dangerous I would like to object. I was watching these videos for not even a half an hour and I started feel insecure about my own weight. I started to look at myself differently in the mirror. I constantly was thinking about the Thinspiration video were they flashed the name Twiggy. To anyone who knows me, this included professors; they all know that my nickname is Twiggy. I started to spin into a depression because I was not the same weight that I was when I got the name. While was still living in Cleveland I weighted 118 and I could not be happier. It was not until I was diagnosed with acid reflex, asthma, and vertigo. My doctor prescribed me steroids to control the asthma along with other medication to make sure I would never go back into the hospital. After seeing all the images I was will stop taking all the medications so that I would lose weight again. After a couple of weeks of seeing those images and talking to my doctor she told me that I should never weigh 118 ever again. She explained that I was heading down a dangerous road and that for once in my life I was actually healthy. She gave me a rice crispy treat and gave me the option of taking the medications and be healthy or not take the medications and go back into the hospital with a tube down my nose. I chose my health and not my weight.

If you want to check it out click HERE. Oh, I am just warning you the images are not suitable for minors

On the TV show Family Guy, episode 59 from season 4, Lois becomes a kleptomaniac. Her kleptomania starts by taking a ham from the grocery store so that she could feed her family. Since she was successful in stealing the ham, from the store, the obsession grew. She was in a clothing store looking at clothes and notices how expensive everything is. Lois started putting the clothes in her purse and proceeded to steal hundreds of dollars in merchandise. While Lois was sitting in the car reminiscing about what a thrill it was to shoplift. She felt alive. After that she could not stop, she stole paintings, car mufflers, fine china, and jewelry. After each time she would steal she would experience a rush and she felt alive. Their pet dog Brian noticed that she had a problem and convinced her to return everything that she stole. Before she could return anything she was arrested and was sentenced to prison for two years.

Since Lois was in prison Peter was left in charge of the house. Two weeks later the house was a mess. The whole family was wearing dirty clothes and there was garbage all over the floor Peter and the children are wearing dirty clothes and they had not eaten anything. Since the family could not survive without Lois they decide to break her out of prison. There the absence of Lois and the household falling apart is an example patriarchal switch. Within a patriarchal switch instead of the woman taking care of the house and children it is the roles are changed.

Ever since Winona Ryder was caught and convicted for shoplifting there has been more information about this addiction. The capitalists approach is when makes individuals feel unloved unless they purchase all kinds of items. It used to be that a person would steal item that they could not afford. Now this is not an issue for Winona Ryder because she is a famous movie star. Movie stars make millions of dollars staring in movies so there should be no reason that they would need to steal. During her trial it was brought to the judge’s attention that Winona had a serious problem.

Kleptomania is the inability or great difficulty in resisting impulses of stealing. Now kleptomania is different from shoplifting. Shoplifters will steal for monetary value, or associated gains and usually display intent or premeditation. People who diagnosed as kleptomaniacs are compelled to steal items that generally have little to no value, such as small toys, pens, and packets of sugar. When a person is diagnosed as a kleptomaniac there is treatment available. The main treatment that is used is the Cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a psychotherapy which is based on cognitions, assumptions, beliefs, and behaviors with the aim of influencing negative emotions that are related to the appraisal of the events. Along with therapy kleptomaniacs are recommended to take medication. The medication that is available has shown a significant impact of reducing the intensity of urges to steal.

Advertisements are broadcasted everyday through television, magazines, and billboards to pursued people to buy products. It is estimated that American will see over three thousand advertisements a year. Alcohol advertisements will tend to use women’s bodies to sell their products. They will tend to paint their logo on their body and will only show certain parts of the body. They will show only beautiful sex women. The women are normally slim and in shape. Even the advertisement that I have linked to this post shows a woman who is tan, perfect body, and presents sex appeal. Even showing a little bit of skin is used to advertise a product. The Barcardi ad shows a little bit of the woman’s breast as well as her butt. The logo is strategically placed the logo on the small of her back were women normally put tattoos. Except tattoos that are placed on the small of the back are referred to as “tramp stamps”.

In class we watched a documentary called, “Killing Us Softly” which touched on the issue of advertisements using women. Before I would look at commercial and not think a single thing was wrong because commercials are supposed to be funny. Now I look at commercials more closely to see hidden messages. In this commercial the woman is only there as eye candy for the man. Sky Vodka has one commercial where a woman’s body is the bottle.

If you want to check it out click HERE

During the early 90’s there was a popular television show called “Full House” sparked the interest of a generation. Even once the show was taken off the air everyone who grew up in the 90’s could be able to name all the characters by heart. On June 5, 2008 People Magazine published an article about one of the characters struggle with addiction. Jodie Sweetin, who played the middle daughter Stephanie, started using crystal meth. At the age of 22 she was a college student and was married to a police officer. While she was in school she decided that she would take a break from the acting it was at this time when she started to experiment with crystal meth. Only six months later she was addicted. In 2005 Jodie was hospitalized after a long night of partying. She entered rehab multiple times before she became sober. While she was in rehab her marriage began to crumble. Jodie was finally to reach sobriety six months after she was discharged. For six months she lived with individuals at a treatment center so that she could have that constant support. She also received support from her television family, Full House, as well she immediate friends and family. Now she is still battling with her addiction but at least she has a beautiful healthy baby girl and a new loving husband who can support her recovery. I wish her all the luck in her sobriety and I hope that she could stay clean. At least for her daughter’s sack

Jodie was lucky that she was able stay clean and sober while she was pregnant or else there could have been a possibility that she could have had her baby taken away from her. Or even worse her baby could have been born addicted to crystal meth. It is heartbreaking to see a newborn baby go through withdrawal symptoms. When a baby is born who is addicted to crack who is constantly shaking because their body still craves the drug. That baby did not choose to be born addicted to any substance. For that reason I cannot blame the baby however, there should be more done to help the parents. If the parents fight their addictions they will be better parents. It is only in extreme cases where the children should be removed from parents if they are in danger.

There were a couple of readings which were on the subject of pregnant women who are drug addicts. One of the readings talked about how women who tested positive for substance abuse them would be arrested. This is a good idea in theory because by arresting the woman they would not have access to the substance. While these mothers are sitting in prison her body will experience a chemical withdrawal which is more traumatic to the mother as well as the baby. However, what happens after the baby is born. The mother will have a criminal record that she will have to carry that around for the rest of her life. Personally, I do not believe that employers take kindly to hire individuals who have a criminal record. With a criminal record the mother could never be able to get a proper job so they will remain the poverty. When a parent is living in poverty they will tend to use illegal substances to numb to pain that they cannot provide for their family. What is best for the fetus? I cannot answer that. It is up to each individual situation.

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