Table of Contents
What is the topic of drug addiction?
Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person’s brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medicine. Substances such as alcohol, marijuana and nicotine also are considered drugs. Addiction can be either physical or behavioral, and often they go hand in hand. Though alcohol and tobacco are commonly recognized types of addiction, there are actually hundreds of types of medically and scientifically recognized addictions. Griffiths (2005) has operationally defined addictive behavior as any behavior that features what he believes are the six core components of addiction (i.e., salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict, and relapse). Glasser describes them, “positive addictions.” Positive addictions are more than just things you enjoy doing. Having a hobby that makes you happy and allows you to spend your time in healthy, productive ways is good for the human body and psyche.
What is called addiction?
Addiction is defined as not having control over doing, taking or using something to the point where it could be harmful to you. Authors Sussman and Sussman (2011) conduct a literature search to determine the definition of addiction, landing on and further defining five common elements: (1) feeling different; (2) preoccupation with the behavior; (3) temporary satiation; (4) loss of control; and, (5) negative consequences. a concept that some activities in which a person feels a need or urge to participate, such as meditation or exercising, are positive even though they may possibly become a form of addiction. However, in terms of substance addictions, some of the more common types of addiction include: Alcohol addiction. Prescription drug addiction. Drug addiction. Instead of a simple, pleasurable surge of dopamine, many drugs of abuse—such as opioids, cocaine, or nicotine—cause dopamine to flood the reward pathway, 10 times more than a natural reward. The brain remembers this surge and associates it with the addictive substance.
What is the solution of drug abuse?
Structured treatment programs, substance abuse counseling, and 12-Step programs do help. While they are not the only sources of help, they are the most consistently effective, especially when combined in some systematic fashion. Treatment and counseling provide structure, support, and intervention. The main aims of substance abuse treatment are to: Provide you with ongoing support. Give you a safe environment to talk about your trauma. Redirect you from situations that may encourage substance use. Continue treatment for co-occurring mental health issues that encourage substance use.
What are the roots of addiction?
The root causes of addiction include trauma, mental health struggles, and genetic predisposition. However, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no one cause of addiction. No one can completely predict who will become addicted after substance abuse and who will not. The genetic connection to addiction comes through inherited levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter made in your brain. Think of dopamine as your brain’s reward center. Basically, it acts as a “feel-good” hormone. High levels of dopamine can fuel poor impulse control and tilt someone toward addictive behaviors. Psychoanalytic theories explain addiction as an imbalance between the id, superego, and ego. When the id overpowers the ego and superego, a person may take substances without thinking of the consequences. Well-supported scientific evidence shows that disruptions in three areas of the brain are particularly important in the onset, development, and maintenance of substance use disorders: the basal ganglia, the extended amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex.
What is addictive Behaviour?
Behavioral addictions such as gambling, overeating, television compulsion, and internet addiction are similar to drug addiction except that the individual is not addicted to a substance, but he/she is addicted to the behavior or the feeling experienced by acting out the behavior. Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences. Because changes in brain structure and function are fundamental to the development and expression of addiction, it qualifies as a brain disease–a brain disease expressed as compulsive behavior. It’s the quintessential biobehavioral disorder. The truth is that every addiction causes negative consequences in the user’s life. By definition, an addiction harms the user, yet the user continues to engage the same behaviour. Simply put, an addiction is never a good thing. Epidemiological studies have identified stress as one of the main risk factors for the development of drug addiction, and as a strong predictor of high craving and relapse to drug use (Sinha, 2008; Mantsch et al., 2016).
What is addiction model?
Models of addiction delivers the message that understanding the biological basis of addiction, along with the broader social and psychological aspects of addictive behaviour, can lead to successful prevention and treatment responses. The Minnesota Model, also known as the abstinence model, of addiction treatment was created in a state mental hospital in the 1950s by two young men, one who was to become a psychologist, the other who was to become a psychiatrist, neither of whom had prior experience treating addicts or alcoholics. Based on a public health model, three types of strategies to prevent drug abuse can be discerned: primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Loss of control in its broader sense encompasses both the relative inability of an addict to terminate consumption once initiated and the inability to refrain from substance use following a period of abstinence (Lyvers, 2000). The causes of love addiction are rooted in childhood trauma. Individuals lacking self-esteem or who had less-than-nurturing childhoods may grow up looking for constant reassurance from others. Relationship addicts also tend to enjoy the feeling of excitement that being “in love” brings.