In modern society many people live off of prescription drugs and many more take them for no other reason but to have a good time. In Brave New World the most popular form of pleasure is a drug called soma, which is the only for anyone to believe they are experiencing real feelings. Taking soma is the most common recreational activity for the citizens of the world state. However they don’t just take it for recreation but they also take it because their society depends on it to provide stability. As with soma, prescription drugs (where prescribed or otherwise) provide a quick fix for physical or mental problems and/or a way to get high.
However, mescaline produces greater tolerance in some users who take the drug repeatedly. These people that take mescaline must take a higher doses to achieve the same results as they have had in the past. This could be an extremely dangerous practice because they don’t know how the person will react to the drug. It also has a low potential for psychological addiction. The treatments are available for people who are addicted to Mescaline.
Most people will conform to the group activities as they have a desire to be accepted and avoid rejection. Wagner & Anthony found that Cannabis smokers were more likely to progress on to harder drugs if they were within a peer group that smoked cannabis. They also found that the group offers increased accessibility to harder drugs, therefore increases likelihood. This risk factor does support the Social Learning Theory as it links to operant conditioning; the group reinforces participation through positive attitudes, i.e. praise or increased status within group.
If another person has positive experiences because of smoking, an individual is more likely to do it also. This is especially effective at explaining why teenagers smoke because if they see their peers smoking and they are seen to be ‘cool’ they are more likely to smoke also. The smoking is maintained because users constantly fluctuate between positive and negative experiences and therefore will not quit if they are feeling positive. In terms of relapse, the model states that a user will relapse because they are faced through classical conditioning with cues associated with their
GABA, the hormone responsible for anxiety relief naturally in the human body is enhanced by the BZs. The BZs will also help to reduce the serotonin activity in the brain, which is the neurotransmitter which causes arousal, and reduces anxiety as a result. Benzodiazepines have a number of effects that all lead to the reduction of stress in people without much effort. The other type of drug that could be used to treat stress and anxiety issues are Beta Blockers (BBs). When the body detects stress, the SNS is activated which leads to raised heart rate, which leads to higher blood pressure which can lead to Chronic Heart Disease, heart attack, stroke etc.
This is why people become addicted. They enjoy the feeling the dopamine brings to them and once it is over they crave more. Some short term effects of taking Meth include a decrease in fatigue and an increase in attention, activity, and respiration. It also can cause hyperthermia and euphoria.
Methamphetamine, like other drugs, is able to short-circuit the survival system by artificially stimulating pleasure areas in your brain. As this happens, it leads to increase confidence in meth, and less confidence in normal life routines. Usually when this occurs the addict will be more interested in meth related activities, meth related people, and meth related environments. Withdrawals of Meth Use: Fact or Fiction? Much to contrary belief meth users do suffer from withdraws as well as any other drug addict would.
The more advanced are respected and intimidating to the main character grou, but the less advanced are just as respected since the world needs them and what they do. They are perfectly content with where they stand. This is caused by the use of drugs and conditioning. Causing happiness over their life span as it also limits their thought process to what they are made to do. They also believe sex is a natural thing and should be done amongst each other as a sort of no strings attached type of thing to induce pleasure.
A person's motor of functions is impaired; yet, because of alcohol's depressant effect that person will feel less inhibited and more self confident about themselves. As a result a person, after having consumed alcohol, is more likely to engage into high-risk situations which would normally be avoided or treated cautiously. Sara was assumed to be over the legal intoxication limit and proven here, her ability to understand or treat the incident normally was effected. Keegan stated that Sara and Karen engaged in a binge drinking contest. Binge drinking can cause blackouts, memory loss and anxiety.
Soma is used as a comfort mechanism when dealing with stress. A user is able to self-medicate themselves whenever confronted with something unpleasant or uncomfortable. Through soma, the need for religion and other personal allegiances outside of the World State are no longer needed. It is describes as the `perfect drug with all the benefits such as calming, surrealistic, ten-hour long high without the drawback. The citizens of the "World State" have been conditioned to love the drug, and they use it to escape any momentary bouts of dissatisfaction.