A9PP162 Psychoanalysis & Addiction: Critical Analysis of Drug Effects

This essay provides a critical analysis of the statement that addicts are not addicted to drugs but to the effect they get from drugs, using a psychoanalytic perspective. It discusses addiction as a chronic disease, the reasons people use drugs, and the psychodynamic approach to understanding addiction, including the concepts of consciousness, repressed unconsciousness, and the role of drugs in compensating for inner emptiness. The essay also explores Freud's theories on mourning and melancholia, the structural model of personality (id, ego, and superego), and how these concepts relate to drug addiction and the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain. The paper emphasizes that while psychoanalysis isn't the obvious choice for addiction treatment, it offers a unique approach to understanding the problem. Desklib provides this essay and other resources for students.

Running head: PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE OF ADDICTION
PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE OF ADDICTION
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Topic: Write a critical analysis of this statement from a psychoanalytic perspective.
Although the rise in the usage of drugs has become a concern in many places, it has often
been difficult to understand the reasons for people getting addicted to drugs. They are mistaken
as people who lack morale principles or the willpower that is necessary to stop using drugs. In
reality, drug addiction is certainly a complicated disease, it requires much more than good
intensions or a strong will ( Cloward & Ohlin, 2013). Drugs have the potential to change the way
brain works, it makes it hard to quit drugs including people who are willing to quit drug
addiction. Drug addiction is considered in terms of addiction syndrome, a theory that is required
for the fact that its motivation is proposed based on the treatment of several drug addicts in
psychoanalysis as well as psychotherapy. It is considered that the prime cause of the addiction
syndrome is the unconscious need to entertain and to enact various forms of perverse and
homosexual fantasies. It is mainly the effect that one gets after they are in their semi-conscious
state. According to Loose ( 2002), the effect of drugs play an important role for which people
become addicted to drugs. The concept cannot be denied that the causes of the addiction have
something to do with the effect that is gained from drugs on the subject. In any case if there
were no effect of consuming drugs, one would not have tried drugs or continued consuming it.
However there are some researchers who hold strong contention on this discussion. In the same
discourse, the paper will critically analyse that addicts are not addicted to drugs but they are
addicted to an effect they get from an effect that they get out of drugs.
Drug addiction:
According to Lewis ( 2017), Addiction is a chronic disease that can be characterised by
drugs seeking and use that is not only compulsive but also difficult to control, despite harmful
consequences. In most cases the initial decision taking drugs is voluntary and it is merely to

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experience the feeling. However on repeated drug use, one can be led to brain changes that
challenge the controlling ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. There are chances that these
brain changes can be persistent and it is therefore considered a ‘relapsing’ disease. Any person
who has recovered from drug use is still at risk of returning to drug use even though the person
does not take drugs for years.
According to Zimbardo and Boyd ( 2015), there are several reasons people use drugs
however the most common and general perspective of people taking drugs is to escape or mask
pain. While some individual are the onset of drug use for anxiety and depression, some are on
drugs to have extra pleasure. The rush of pleasure from using drugs can provide temporary
solace from sufferings that can stem from several metal health or other issues including mental
illness, trauma or abuse, low self-esteem, poverty, relationship problems, stress, loss of a loved
one and chronic pain such as medical conditions.
Perspective: people are addicted to the effect of drugs
Psychodynamic is considered as a treatment, theory and a way of thinking in regard to
human motivation. The perspective of psychoanalysis includes consciousness and repressed
unconsciousness motives and desires. Traditionally psychoanalysis is conceived as an
opportunity for a motivated person through reflection in depth about everything the person is
feeling and thinking without censoring or editing. Psychoanalysis certainly possesses a
significant part when addiction in human being is understood. Therefore, in order to understand
the reasons for addiction, the psychoanalysis approach will be understood ( Mathers et al., 2013).
Addiction is described as a defensive strategy in order to avoid feeling of helplessness or
powerlessness. People tend to use drug in order to compensate inner emptiness without any
success. It is a futile attempt to eliminate or overcome the feeling of emptiness. The addict tries

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to compensate via addictive behaviour for painful subjective states of low self-esteem, anxiety
and doubts. Through the usage of drugs, addicts receive a feeling of acceptance and feeling of
temporary self-confident. It is to gain that temporary self-confident that a drug addict go back to
drugs. An imaginary world is constructed by the addict who is in control of the addicts. In the
real world where one feels useless and out of control tend to feel the opposite where it is he
addicts who is completely in control of the world. Repeated use of drugs to gain is feeling
transforms into addiction and a way of life. However the relief is momentary and usage of drug
becomes an end in itself in the long drug. The problem of addiction becomes an obstacle for
various situations, for the use of the drug is prevented from understanding about the distress as
well as the development of emotional capacity that helps in self-soothing.
Psycho analysis perspective:
Although psychoanalysis is not the obvious choice of the addiction treatment, it is
certainly an approach to understand the problem in one of the unique yet in deeper way.
Psychoanalysis is in an excellent position when it comes to the contribution that is made towards
the problem of addiction. It offers people the chance to speak about themselves, their lives,
deaths, pains, pleasures, relationships, sex, work and family. Through the information,
psychoanalysis established a unique way of collecting the clinical materials. The materials
collected are certainly found to have relation to the problem and the reasons an addicts gets
addicted or take drugs ( Barrocas, Vieira-Santos & Paixão, 2016).
According to psychoanalysis perspective suggests addiction is basically a disorder
associated with self-regulation. For example, any individual who has a history of exposure to
adverse childhood environment are likely to have diminished capacity to regulate negative
emotions. The adverse childhood experience may include physical, emotional or sexual abuses

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which are likely to have severe impact. People with such exposure find it difficult to cope
effectively along with stress and other intense situation. They have the possibility of self-
medicating mood disorders and anxiety. The intrusive factor to notice is that there are many
people who take drugs as experiment however only few gets addicted to it. There is no
substantial theory of addiction however Freud have had worked with the few addicts through
which he have presented his perception.
On the specific discussion of human feelings and emotions Freud has significant
contribution that helps understanding the core reasons of people using drugs and become an
addict. It is certainly focused on the socialization of a children and the exposure it gets in its
environment that determines its behaviour. In his famous work, Mourning and Melancholia
(1917), Freud compares two phenomenon, mourning and melancholy. While mourning is after
the loss and death of a close loved one, melancholy is the feeling of melancholy or depression.
According to Freud, the two phenomenons share a similar outward affect on the subject and both
are due to similar environmental influences. The inhibition which can be called as the
‘absorbedness’ of ego, and the disinterest in the external world is evident in both the
phenomenon of melancholy and mourning equally.
When the observation was done more closely, the phenomenon of melancholy has some
additional features which are generally absent from the phenomenon of mourning. In
melancholia, the concrete reason for the feeling is absent. It can be stated that the ‘object-loss’ in
melancholy is absent not only to the subject but also to the observer. Also, even when the subject
can identify the object-loss, it becomes hard to identify what ‘about it’ is so bothersome of
disturbing. It is certainly a situation, where the individual is totally complex and hence makes
him or her in state of internal conflict that makes the person seek ways to get out of it. In

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melancholia there is a loss of self regard. A person in melancholy is certainly possessing the
image of self as worthless and despicable. In regard to the same perception, it appears that the
loss is in regard to the individual’s actual ego itself. A person who is being addicted to the drugs
feels different when he or she is on drugs. They do not feel low in terms of their self-worth and
self-esteem. In order to have the good feeling when one feels satisfied with self, people take
drugs. Also, in addition the loss in melancholia is an unconsciousness one however in mourning
that is a consciousness and apparent process. It is this specific feeling that as human becomes
difficult to endure in conscious mind. Therefore, people who possess the characteristics of
melancholy, they are prone to becoming addicted to drugs.
The structural model of personality:
According to Sigmund Freud, there are more than single component in human personality
and it is one of the most complicated aspects. Freud presents the theory of personality which
consisting three elements. The three elements of personality by Freud are called id, ego and the
superego. These three elements in combination create complex human behaviour. Each
component has its own unique way of contributing to personality as well as interacts in ways
through which it influences every individual. At different points in life the three personality
elements of personality emerges (Aras, 2015). As per Freud’s theory of personality, there are
certain aspects of human personality that are more influential or primal than another. The
dominating element may create pressure to act upon your most basic urges. In accordance, the
other parts of the personality work to counter these urges. Also, to make the human conform to
the demands of reality the other parts of the personality work to counteract these urges. The only
component that is present from birth is id. This aspect f personality is entirely unconscious and it
includes instinctive and primitive behaviours ( McLeod, 2014). Also, as per Freud, the id is the

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prime source of all psychic energy. It makes the prime component of personality. It is the
pleasure principle that drives the id and strives for immediate gratification of all desires, needs
and wants. When these needs are not satisfied immediately, it results as feeling of anxiety or
tension. In case of addiction as well, it is the demand of the id which is not fulfilled of the
addicts. When they do not get what their id wants, they become anxious which again gives them
the feeling of anxiety and stress. In order to overcome it, a person takes drugs. The id is a very
significant component of life, specifically in the early life as it ensures that an infant’s needs are
met. Often there are times, when the when all desires of an individual cannot be met since they
are unrealistic or not possible. Also, being dominated only by id is dangerous for human as it
may lead to conflicts with other which is a socially unacceptable behaviour ( Simpson &
Gangestad, 2014). According to Freud, the tension created by the principle of pleasure is always
worked on by the id and tries to resolve. It is done through primary process that includes creating
a mental image of an object that is most desired, a way through which one satisfies the need.
Ego as the component of personality is mainly accountable for dealing with reality.
Freud states that the ego is developed from the id and it ensures that the impulse of the id is
expressed through the way that is more suitable in society or real world. The function of ego is in
association with unconscious, preconscious, conscious and mind. The operation of ego is based
on the principle of reality that struggle to fulfil the id’s desires in a socially and realistic way.
The reality principle compares and weighs the costs and benefits of an action before making
decision of performing the task or act upon it. In several cases, through a process of delayed
gratification the id’s impulses can be fulfilled. The egos in the end allow the behaviour only in
the appropriate time and place. According to Freud, id can be identified as the horse and the ego
as the horse’s rider. It is the horse that provides motion and power to the horse however it is the

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rider that gives direction. Due to unmet impulses the ego also discharges tension through the
secondary process where the ego tries to find an object in the real world. the id’s primary process
can be identified with this specific match ( Westenberg, Blasi & Cohn, 2013).
Superego is the last component of personality. The aspect of personality that holds all the
internalized ideals and moral standards is the superego. It is acquired from both parents and
society or the environment that develops the sense of right or wrong. The superego is the one that
provides guidelines for making judgements. Freud suggests, the superego begins to emerge at
around age five. It is the superego that acts to perfect and civilize human behaviour. All the
unacceptable urges of id are suppressed by the superego that struggles to make the ego act upon
idealistic standards and not upon realistic principles. The presence of superego is in the
conscious, unconscious and preconscious state ( Cherry, 2016).
Recommendation:
According to Freud, the goal of psychoanalysis was to make the ego stronger and help it
gain control over the id more. Also, it requires giving id more freedom from the superego. Freud
believed that most mental disorders such as depression and anxiety occur as an impact of
unrestrained feelings. Through the help of increased awareness, psychoanalysis has the ability to
help individual to become less self-punitive. It helps people to become more endurable in terms
of their emotional experiences. Self-acceptance is important for psychological growth.
Psychological growth is a state of mind that shows the end of the life-consuming battle that one
goes through to change oneself into a person that one desires to be or they were. When they
become aware of their unconscious motives, it helps the individual to increase their ability to
integrate and manage their unconscious wishes and lastly to self-acceptance.

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Freud presented in his argument that every time desires or wishes from id threaten to
emerge in action or thought, anxiety is generated. It is the anxiety that acts as a sign which cause
the ego mobilize repression along with a broad range of other defences such as denial,
withdrawal and projection in order to disguise or block the anxiety.
The strength of anxiety can vary as per the gap between external demands which is
commonly the dangerous situation and the individual’s self-protective resources to tackle them.
In any case when the person is unable to handle the situation, it leads to the feeling of
powerlessness and helplessness. Often the lack of the capability to cope with negative states, the
person may either erect as powerful or intransigent. It is an act of defence that one tries to make
in situations as such. Defences are commonly an act of trying for accomplishing the management
of anxiety and trying to maintain the self-esteem. In this way alcoholics keep insisting that they
do not have drinking problem. They keep the intolerable feelings out of consciousness that
results as the growth of a ‘false self’. It is the development of resilience that pays the price of this
protection.
Conclusion:
As discussed above, although the rise in the usage of drugs has become a concern in
many places, it has often been difficult to understand the reasons for people getting addicted to
drugs. They are mistaken as people who lack morale principles or the willpower that is necessary
to stop using drugs. In reality, drug addiction is certainly a complicated disease, it requires much
more than good intensions or a strong will. The intrusive factor to note is that many individuals
experiment with drugs however only few gets addicted to it. There is no substantial theory of
addiction however Freud have had worked with the few addicts through which he have presented
his perception.

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References:
Aras, G. ( 2015). Personality and Individual Differences: Literature in Psychology-Psychology in
Literature. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 185, 250-257.
Barrocas, J., Vieira-Santos, S., & Paixão, R. ( 2016). Parenting and drug addiction: A
psychodynamic proposal based on a multifactorial perspective. Psychoanalytic
psychology, 33( 1), 161.
Cherry, K. ( 2016). The Id, Ego and Superego: The Structural Model of Personality. About. com.
Cloward, R. A., & Ohlin, L. E. ( 2013). Delinquency and opportunity: A study of delinquent
gangs. Routledge.
Lewis, M. ( 2017). Addiction and the brain: development, not disease. Neuroethics, 10( 1), 7-18.
Loose, R. ( 2002). The subject of addiction: Psychoanalysis and the administration of enjoyment.
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Mathers, B. M., Degenhardt, L., Bucello, C., Lemon, J., Wiessing, L., & Hickman, M. ( 2013).
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Psychology Press.

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Zimbardo, P. G., & Boyd, J. N. ( 2015). Putting time in perspective: A valid, reliable individual-
differences metric. In Time perspective theory; review, research and application ( pp. 17-
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