Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Addiction as a Disease
While drug addiction may not bring about obvious physical changes like some diseases, it still causes permanent changes to the brain. Drugs circumvent the natural system of rewards generated by the brain, whereby performing a pleasurable action will cause a release of dopamine. "The natural capacity to produce dopamine in the reward system is reduced, while the need persists and the drug seems to be the only way to fulfill it. The brain is losing its access to other, less immediate and powerful sources of reward. Addicts may require constantly higher doses and a quicker passage into the brain" ("The addicted brain," 2009). Contrary to Hojung Lee's suggestion, addiction is not really analogous to a habit, despite the fact that it is often called that (as in "he has a drug habit"). The compulsion to use is irresistible to the addict, which is why addicts will sacrifice jobs, family commitments, and even personal comfort to use their drug of choice. It is not a habit like brushing your teeth or getting up at a particular hour of the morning. A habit can be postponed or altered if circumstances dictate it or if there is a logical reward that benefits the addict to change it. That is not the case with drug addiction. If addicts are not deterred by the loss of their jobs, homes, spouses -- even their children in some instances -- the deterrent of prison is unlikely to convince them to alter their behaviors. Viewing an addiction as crime rather than a disease calls upon the legal system to punish it with jail rather than rehabilitation. "Research over the last 2 decades has consistently reported the beneficial effects of treatment for the drug abuser in the criminal justice system. These interventions include therapeutic alternatives to incarceration, treatment merged with judicial oversight in drug courts, prison- and jail-based treatments" (Chandler, Fletcher, & Volkow 2009).
Also supporting the concept of addiction as a disease is the fact that heritability seems to play a major factor in the development of addiction. "Family, adoption, and twin studies reveal that an individual's risk tends to be proportional to the degree of genetic relationship to an addicted relative. Heritabilities of addictive disorders range from 0.39 for hallucinogens to 0.72 for cocaine" (Bevilacqua & Goldman 2009). While proximity to…
References
The addicted brain. (2009). Harvard Mental Health Letter. Retrieved from:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/the_addicted_brain
Bevilacqua, L. & Goldman, D. (2009). Genes and Addictions. Clinical Pharmacology
Therapeutics, 85 (4): 359-361. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2715956/
Addict, Michael Stein uses a case study approach to exhibit, analyze, and discuss addiction in general and how addiction impacts the lives of individuals specifically. The author takes into account psychological trauma, psycho-social issues, and other situational variables but ultimately ascribes to the disease model of addiction. Stein concludes from his case study with Lucy that substance abuse is a disease just as heart disease is but does not
Addiction is not simply an extension of bad habits, or else every person who drank wine would be an alcoholic and every person who tried pain killers after surgery would grow into a heroin addict. The truth is that some people are susceptible to addiction and others are not, and the only factors that can account for the individual differences in reaction to addictive substances are those that are biological
OPIOID EPIDEMICOpioid Epidemic: Is Addiction a Choice or Disease?From the onset, it would be prudent to note that addiction starts as a choice and slowly morphs into a disease. I will explain. To begin with, addiction could be deemed a choice at the onset owing to the fact that an individual could elect to either use or not use opioids. However, constant use of opioids results in a strong compulsion
Addiction: A brain disease with a biological foundation Addiction is a brain disease with a biological foundation, which means that it couples together the mental and physical states of the individual in an action which can lead to negative or bad behavior. There are many types of addictions but two of the biggest addictions in modern times are sexual addiction and drug addiction. Many young people develop both addictions or one
Addiction to Alcohol With alcohol addiction posing major health and social problems in the United States, and the family remaining the basic social unit, the effects of alcohol addiction by a family member on the functioning of that social unit is of paramount importance in understanding the degree to which alcohol addiction is disruptive to family life; understanding this may lead to better ways to mitigate the effects of addiction on
There's an understood supposition of opposing causal agency at work. No matter what pressures and factors came to bear, the addict could have done something else, but simply decided not to (Choice and Free Will: Beyond the Disease Model of Addiction, 2010). A more behavioral approach to understanding addiction is the social learning model, which suggests that people learn how to behave by watching others in their environment and by