Jaycee Larsen

05/01/2018
Psychology 1010

Signature Assignment/ Reflective Writing

When posed with the question of “what the importance of psychology is in today’s
society?” the answer is simple, psychology is used in almost every aspect of our lives. From our
day to day interactions, to our work lives, and personal relationships. I can’t think of a career
path that doesn’t use psychology in some form, I know for me being in the medical field
psychology is a vital form of patient care and treatment. To put it in more simple terms
psychology is the study of human behavior and emotions, it is practiced through research and
patient care. The major areas of study include social psychology, clinical psychology, and
biological psychology. In which I learned about throughout the chapters of our text book
Experience Psychology 3rd Edition by Laura King
As I was reading through the chapters of our text book Experience Psychology 3rd
Edition I kept thinking to myself how each chapter applied to my life or better yet my career.
The most influential chapter I stumbled upon was chapter 4 on States of Consciousness, which
goes into detail about the human brain and thought processes in correlation with drug use and
why it’s popular among society today.
The reason why I found this chapter so intriguing was because in my line of work at the
hospital, more specifically in the mother and baby unit I often find myself in the presence of
mothers who are heavily addicted to drugs at the time of their baby’s birth. The initial response
being to pass judgment, I feel like as a society we are so quick to judge people for their
addictions rather than search for the reason behind the use. Not that I am condoning drug use
outside of its prescribed purpose, expectably when pregnant. But I do think that there is an
underlying problem with drug use here in Utah. According to the text “there more than 240
million people worldwide use drugs each year, among those, approximately 27 million
individuals are characterized as problem drug users”. (King, 2015, p. 146) These numbers are
outstanding and while use of illicit drugs is declining the effects, that these drugs have on the
brain and body is substancial enough to require a change.
The chapter discusses the use of psychoactive drugs such as stimulants, hallucinogens,
narcotics, and depressants. While some of these drugs can be prescribed by a doctor and can
be used to treat things such as depression or pain, but on the other end of the spectrum there
are the drugs that are illegal. And can cause reality altering effects such as hallucination, this is
caused by chemical compounds affecting neurotransmitter functions of the brain. According to
the text the main reason that people seek the use of psychoactive drugs is to escape from the
harsh reality that is life, reduce tension, and are an avenue to decrease boredom. (King, 2015,
p. 147) These are things that each and every one of us can relate to at some point in our lives,
that being said most of us find other ways to cope with the pain in our life. But for millions of
people this isn’t the case
Like with most things, once your body builds up a tolerance you have to take more to
get the same feeling as before. This is the main contributing factor why people build up drug
Jaycee Larsen
05/01/2018
Psychology 1010

tolerances. At this point it’s very difficult for the body and mind to stop taking the drugs
creating a dependence. When the body stops getting the drugs it causes withdrawal symptoms
such as physical pain consisting of fever, high pulse, and fatigue (King, 2015, p. 147).
With the access of drugs becoming easier, combined with all of the things listed above I
can say that I better understand that the effects that drugs can have on the body when taken,
as well as more behind why they so additive and people start taking them. I don’t know if this
chapter is going to rid the world of drugs, but it did make me stop and think twice about all that
drugs in tale before I judge people for taking them, it also sparked a part of me to want to help
be the change for someone if given the opportunity.
Jaycee Larsen
05/01/2018
Psychology 1010

Works Cited
King, L. (2015). Expereience Psychology (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.