Is Addiction A Disease Or Mental Disease?

Improved Essays
The word addiction is used in many different ways. According to Psychology Today, addiction can be used to describe “a biological state in which the body adapts to the presence of a drug”, or an overreaction by the brain to the drugs being taken (“Psychology Today,” n.d). Addiction is known as a something that hijacks the brain’s reward center. Addiction occurs from an overuse of a drug. It affects a person’s brain, body, lifestyle, and their connections with their families. Experts have been trying you decide if addiction is a “disease” or a mental disease. It has been said that this ongoing debate is not likely to be resolved anytime soon. There are many drugs that people get addicted to but the most addictive drugs are heroin, alcohol, and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Addiction is something that the person suffering must handle themselves to get out of the rut they’ve put themselves into. In Robert Louis Stevenson's’ book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it shows that someone can make their own choices, but they sometimes need to be cautious of the choices they made to start the process. It shows that it only needs some thought, wants and urges to become an evil version of yourself, that you have little control over. You are brought back to basic instincts to do what your urges tell you. Not all urges are good…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Model Of Addiction

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages

    They are defined as medical conditions that persist for a long time and impact a person’s quality of life (WHO definition). Prolonged courses are often characterized by periods of remission and relapse. Similarly, the addiction is perceived as a chronic and relapsing disorder that develops over time as a results of long-term use of psychoactive substances. The studies of McLellan and colleagues (2000) confirmed that drug dependence and other chronic conditions share common characteristics, such as heritability, complex etiology (genetics, environment), and increased risks of disability and premature death. Like hypertension or asthma, the addiction can be diagnosed, is treatable but not curable, and requires long-term changes in lifestyle.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addiction to pain killers: Opioids The word addiction, according to the Merriam – Webster dictionary means, a strong and harmful need to regularly have or do something. For example, taking drugs, gambling, alcohol, sex and more. This specific essay gives information about being addicted to pain killers (opioids).…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addiction to pain killers: Opioids The word addiction, according to the Merriam – Webster dictionary means, a strong and harmful need to regularly have or do something. For example, taking drugs, gambling, alcohol, sex and more. This specific essay gives information about being addicted to pain killers (opioids).…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Blue Lens

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages

    These activities or consumptions may be pleasurable, but the continuous use or action eventually interferes with the activities of daily living, and with the responsibilities of the individual, such as relationships, academic or professional life, or health. The individual who suffers from an addiction may not be aware of the compulsive and addictive behavior, and how it is causing problems to him and others. While the term addiction usually refers to physical addiction, that is, the biological state in which the body becomes accustomed to the presence of a substance, there are also addictions which can be psychological in nature. An individual is said to have developed tolerance to a substance in those cases of physical additions where the body adapts to the substance to a point it no longer has the same effect it originally had. Nonetheless, most of the time addictive behavior has no relation to a physical tolerance, but rather a psychological source.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Drug addiction is a substance abuse disorder, it is when an individual is dependent on a drug-recreational, or medicinal. Having a drug addiction can cause many problems. For example, for an adolescent it can cause interpersonal relationship and school problems. The addiction can become so powerful that one can replace or forget their partners for the effects of the drug. Some adolescents might miss out on their education, due to peer pressure to use drugs during school hours.…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cocaine Use Research Paper

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Addiction is the final step in the process and is characterized by strong cravings for the drug. The user is willing to do anything to obtain more of the substance, regardless of the…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For example, alcohol when consumed regularly in large amount interferes with the liver. Putting this into consideration, we agree that addiction is a disease. Continuous use of opium may lead to addiction. However, addiction cannot be treated and it cannot be transmitted from one person to another. It is someone’s choice as to whether to continue the use of drugs or not.…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addictions can lead to the worst in people. Those who have an addiction do not have control over what they are doing, taking, or using. It has the power to hurt the individual mentally, physically, and emotionally. According to Lauren Slater, “Rat Park: The Radical Addiction, scientists, Old and Milner were stating that an addiction is a “physiological inevitability”(6) which causes them to conduct experiments in finding the pleasure center. Another scientist who was very fond of finding the cause of addictions was Bruce Alexander.…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Addiction is commonly used as an equivalent for dependence which, according to John Jung, is “the state in which the user no longer seems to be able to control his or her usage… a strong physiological or psychological need to use alcohol or drugs” (2001, p. 40). According to Dr. Marco Diana, a disease or pathology is “A derailment from normal functioning of a system/organ/cell (physiology), and ultimately of the whole organism” (2013, p. 1). From my limited understanding of neurobiology, psychology, and behavior, I have come to the conclusion that addiction, whether to alcohol or other drugs does not meet the requirements of a disease. I will examine some arguments from both sides to illustrate the complexity of the issue, and why I have come to this conclusion.…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Substance Abuse And Family

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages

    An addiction is when a person cannot stop taking drugs or drinking alcohol even if they wanted to. It can happen to people from all backgrounds, rich or poor. Addiction happens at any age, but usually starting when the person is younger. The urge people with addiction feel when they use the drug can fill every moment of a person’s life. Addiction replaces everything that person once loved doing.…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addiction is the use of mood-altering addicting substances despite adverse consequences. Addiction can take over a person’s ordinary life; it can affect the health, work as well as relationships of the person without them even being aware. A person’s addiction does not determine their strength and morality but the mental illness or the “disease” that they are facing. Substance abuse or addiction is said to be highly influenced by characteristics that are transmitted from our parents via biological mechanism, which are heredity. Sharing 50% our parents genes, this plays a huge role in our behavior.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    How one interprets or react to their surrounding connection can determine the severity of addiction. The “psycho” or rather psychological part of the bio/psycho/social model take into consideration psychodynamic forces, learning, motivation, interpersonal interactions and one’s personality towards addiction abuse (Doweiko, 2015). During this process personality plays a major role in environment interaction, future interactions and the biochemical interaction of the brain. The theories of psychological addiction brings biological and social components all together. Within the psychological department of addiction morals, learning, coping, and personality defense shapes the impact of addiction.…

    • 1849 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Drug Addiction Is Wrong

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong According with the TED talker, all of us have a wrong discernment about the drug addiction, the most of people believe that as long as you are using drugs the more you will be addicted to it however that is not true. Following a lots of experiments and also the events that happened in the past such as war or in experiences at the hospitals and also countries where the use of drugs are legal, we start to realize that is not the quantity of drugs you use is the problem, the cause is the environment of the addictive people. At the hospital for example we use diamorphine for a surgery and we do not get addicted and that is the main question, because Diamorphine is heroin.…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addiction is a state characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite the consequences. This condition results when a person ingests a substance (alcohol or drugs) or engages in an activity (gambling or shopping). These substances or activities are pleasurable to the person, but the continued act can cause problems with everyday life, such as work, health, and family. Normally, users are not aware of their abnormal behavior and how it is affecting themselves and others. Many people start abusing drugs when they are under stress.…

    • 2103 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays