Minds On

Warning signs

Addiction is a brain disease that causes an individual to continue to misuse substances that are harmful even when they are aware of the consequences to themselves and others.

The following is scale of addiction, provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which identifies the five stages involved in addictive behaviours.

Complete the following activity. For each level of addiction, select the corresponding characteristics.

Action

Personal and societal consequences

There are many ways addictive behaviours associated with substance abuse can impact our society.

Some of these ways include:

  • increased emergency room visits for those involved with substance abuse
  • increased criminal behaviour within the community
  • the funding of assistive programs

These examples do not take into consideration the personal and mental health struggles that people experience when interacting with loved ones affected by addiction.

Dealing with the challenging behaviours of addicts (someone who exhibits a compulsive physiological or psychological need for a substance) can be extremely stressful and can often have severe consequences on valued relationships.

Identify possible consequences that substance abuse, addictions, and related behaviours may have on oneself (personal) and on those around them (societal). If needed, you can return to the chart in the Minds On section for support.

Complete the Possible Consequences of Substance Addiction in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document. You can also use another method of your choice to record your ideas.

Possible Consequences of Substance Addiction
Possible Consequences
Personal Societal
Family e.g., family members may experience emotional damage when dealing with a family member who is an addict e.g., family members may experience damage to their reputation, or be viewed negatively by others
Relationship with friends
School (or neighbourhood)
Health (physical and emotional) e.g., physical damage to body and organs (lungs, teeth, heart) e.g., potential loss of respect from others in the community)
Financial
Legal

Press the ‘Activity’ button to access the Possible Consequences of Substance Addiction.

Activity (Open PDF in a new window)

Underage drinking

One example of potential addictive behaviour that impacts young people is underage drinking.

Personal harm

Underage drinking can be harmful to the person doing it because it can lead to legal charges and physical, mental, and emotional harm. Intoxication can also lead to taking more risks, which can result in injury or death. It is also associated with violence in relationships, which causes harm to others. Underage drinkers also risk losing the trust of their peers, parents, and other adults.

Societal harm

Alcohol poisoning can be fatal. Underage drinking can be harmful to the community because of the personal injuries or property damage that can result from actions or behaviour associated with impaired judgement, including car crashes.

Check your learning!

Consolidation

Next steps

Effectively addressing and identifying the causes of addictive behaviours within society is an ongoing concern.

Society is impacted by substance abuse and addiction. It may affect productivity, crime, violence, and homelessness. Some of the causes of addiction in society include early exposure of substances to youth, mental illness, trauma, increased stress, and genetics.

If you were the mayor of a city or town, what might you do to attempt to limit or reduce addiction and its impacts in your communities?

Using the information from this learning activity, create an action plan that addresses some of the causes and impacts of addiction.

Record your plan using a method of your choice.

Use the following checklist as a guide to ensure you include all the information needed in your action plan.

Checklist

Press ‘Example’ to access a sample action plan.

Sample Action Plan
Sample Action Plan
  1. A clearly defined end goal regarding how you would like to limit or reduce addiction and its impacts on your city or town
  • As mayor of Grahamville, I would like to create a mindfulness centre in our local community centre that will include workshops on youth and adult addiction that is free to participate in.
  1. Tasks/steps to be carried out to meet your goal
  • I would need a local doctor who could lead these workshops for the communities and a supporting health care worker who could provide other mindfulness options in this area of the community centre
  • I would need to determine how often these workshops would be held and the best time to offer the workshops
  1. A realistic timeline for success (Will this take one year? Five years?)
  • I should be able to begin offering this program within the next six months
  1. Resources needed for success (e.g., money for programs, counsellors, etc.)
  • money for the creation of the program, including materials needed, the health care professional, the doctor, and the furniture needed for this new area
  1. Criteria to measure success of your end goal (How will you know you have achieved your goal?)
  • I will know I am successful if there are less admissions to local hospitals due to addiction issues and less crime in the communities
  1. Overall benefits for your town and members of society when successful
  • the community members in my municipality will be happier, will have more tools to use to care for their mental health, and people will feel safe

Reflection

As you read the following descriptions, select the one that best describes your current understanding of the learning in this activity. Press the corresponding button once you have made your choice.

I feel...

Now, expand on your ideas by recording your thoughts using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.

When you review your notes on this learning activity later, reflect on whether you would select a different description based on your further review of the material in this learning activity.