Biopsychosocial Model of Addiction Essay

The Biopsychosocial Model of Addiction is easily the model that appeals to me most. This model states that addiction is the result of multiple, interacting variables, the strength of which vary between individuals. When I was observing each of the models, I found myself agreeing with two or three of the different standpoints from which they were presented. Then I stumbled upon this model, clearly stating that there is not merely one certain model that explains addiction properly, but yet several different ones. As the Biopsychosocial model simply incorporates the other models into a single model, I am quite easily able to explain my point of view. See, I agree with each the Moral, Sociocultural and Biopsychosocial models of addiction. I do believe that addiction is the consequence of personal choice, but that external conditions such as culture, ethnicity, religion and environment also play a big role. Simply put, I believe that everyone is capable of making his or her own choices. From a personal experience of mine, I have been around drugs since the sixth grade. I’ve always been the person that kind of stuck with those who needed help, so that’s the crowd that I just happened to be a part of. And even though my own life at the time was very much in the pits, I never found a reason to join the crowd. It was always a matter of telling myself that it was not something that I wanted to be a part of. Even as I tried to share my knowledge with that group of people who were only doing it because, â€Å"they had a lot going on and just didn’t know how to handle it†, they were still making the conscious choice to choose wrongly. It doesn’t matter what background a person has or what addictions run in their family; if a person wants to avoid addiction then it’s up to them to never put themselves in the situation to get addicted, it’s simple. On the other hand, it’s easy to get caught up in what society finds a trend, especially in this generation; and unfortunately the bigger issue is that people use their own downfalls in life as an excuse to pick something up. Too often people let what their culture says or what the  world says decide who they are. Personally, I could care less what the world says. If I don’t want to bandwagon what’s â€Å"cool† or â€Å"socially acceptable† then I’m not going to do it, regardless of whatever backlash I’ll get. What bothers me most about people today is that everyone has an excuse for their wrongdoing. It’s, â€Å"well my dad was an alcoholic so that ‘s why I am† or well I grew up in Detroit where drugs were bad, so it’s just what I’m used to doing†. No, that’s crap. If a person doesn’t want to give in to addiction then don’t do it! So yes, it’s obvious to say that I definitely lean more towards the Moral Model of Addiction, but I am also partial to understanding the Sociocultural side of it as well. You may not be able to choose where you come from, but you can decide where you go from here. Addiction all starts as a choice, and the level of addiction may be influenced by a number of factors, but the pressing issue is what people allow to define them. It’s unfortunate today that more times then not, people are allowing any bump in the road be their reason to give in to such addictions.