After much consideration I have noticed that there is a relationship between addiction and capitalism. In the United States many individuals have dreams of climbing the corporate ladder until they are President of the company. Unfortunately, it is unrealistic that believe that a person will be promoted to president on their first day, they need to work hard to be the president. The pressure of working over forty hours a week can take a toll on an individual. When an individual cannot keep up with their employers demands they can turn to abusive substances. Individuals can turn to illegal substances like speed and cocaine to give them the energy to stay awake for that extra hour or day so that they could finish their work. Besides illegal substances individuals can even turn to dangerous substances that can find in your cabinet or even grocery store. Every grocery store has a whole aisle that is devoted to substances which are geared to staying awake. Thousands of people are addicted to caffeine pills and energy drinks so that they can still be able to perform normally. One of my friends started taking caffeine pills so that she could work full-time, attend school, and study for upcoming exams. Her original plan was to only take one pill for a couple of months until she did not need them anymore. She was sadly mistaken. She started taking, as many as four to five, pills a day because her body developed a tolerance to the pills. She started to wake up in the middle of the night shaking because she was suffering from caffeine withdrawal. She finally had to see her doctor because she thought that she thought that she doing to die. Her doctor told her that she could never take another caffeine pill ever again because her blood pressure was so high and if she was not careful she could truly have a heart-attack. With the help of her doctors and friends she was able to break her addiction of caffeine pills.

I do admit that I have been sucked into an addictive system through my old drinking habits. Both myself and my boyfriend and apart of Greek Life back in Cleveland and when there was nothing to do we drink whatever alcohol was available. Whenever a fraternity around campus would have a party all you would do is play beer pong or flip cup. If an individual did not drink than there was no point of attending the party because they would have no fun. I remember about a year ago myself and several of my boyfriend’s brothers finished all of our exams at 10:30 in the morning and we wanted to celebrate. We could have left campus and went to the movies, out to eat, or even done back home and go back to sleep but we didn’t. We all walked downstairs to the restaurant / bar and started drinking. By noon we were all pretty drunk and did not care. While I was in Cleveland I used to be able drink with the best and I considered it a badge of honor. About a year ago my doctor diagnosed me with Acid Reflex and that I had to change eating and drinking behavior. It was such a culture shock that I’m forced to be the sober person at parties and I wish that I could have a beer even though it will make me sick. Now that I’m a little older and I look at all the drunk little nineteen year olds walking down High Street and I’m so happy that I’m not nineteen and drunk anymore.

“What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a dancer; nobody ever says that they want to be a junky when they grow up. Don’t let drug get in the way of your dreams”. I remember watching this commercial as child and that was my first encounter with what addiction was. The person that they always showed was homeless, dirty, and lazy. Even now there is the stereotype of the “loser” living in their parent’s basement because they cannot get a job or do not want to make anything of themselves. Another stereotype is the “deadbeats” who would rather waste all their money on their addiction instead of caring for themselves or others. There is a show on TV called “Intervention” which shows people struggling with some form of addiction. Often the mothers are crying because the addict would rather get high rather than receive the help that they need.

I have had several friends experience highs and lows in the battle with their own addictions. One of my friends told me that the day that stops smoking weed would be the day that she would commit suicide because the weed was filling an empty void in her life. She told me that smoking weed was the only thing in her life that she could control. While another friend has been smoking weed ever since he was twelve years old and he has tried to quit numerous times and has relapsed several times. Right before he is going to quit he will wake up early in morning shaking and feeling uncontrolled anxiety because his body has been deprived of the weed. Why they started their addictions in the first place I have no idea, but I do not see them quitting anytime soon.

Besides drugs/alcohol there are other addictions that are not considered addictions by society like food, relationships, sex, and or abuse. These addictions are not scrutinized because they are more acceptable. I have personally experienced who individuals can be addicted to disruptive relationships. Several of my sorority sisters have return to bad abusive relationships, both emotional as well as physical, because they believed that they could not get anybody better. She believed that she would never be able to get anybody else. The other reason that she continued to date him was that she lost her virginity to him and she was raised that if you sleep with someone you had to marry him. Another one of my sisters remained with her abusive boyfriend for many years, despite talks from her sister, because she loved him. She would come to meeting with burses all down her arm and she would be so proud of them that she would show them off like a badge of courage. From my psychology background I know that the circle of abuse does not just happen overnight it has to start prior. I believe that she was abused by her father and abuse is the only way that she can interrupt love.

Addiction can link to feminism because there is a deeper reasoning on why individuals are addicted to drugs, food, caffeine, relationships, and sex. As a feminist I believe that there is a problem in our society and there needs to be change. There is still a stigma that surrounds addiction for women. Women are look at as loving maternal creatures that would put their own families above themselves and it is impossible to think that a woman could be addicting. When a woman chooses their addiction over their family they are criticized in the community as a bad mother. In order for these women to receive the help that they desperately need there needs to be more understanding and change in society. In a way we are all addicted to something it just depends on how the individual handles that addiction.

Here is a photo of Nibbler:

I’ll be adding more soon!