The medical consequences of addiction, such as lung and cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer are also discussed. Although addiction is a brain disease, it can be treated and relapsing to drug abuse does not mean the treatment failure. This article is worth reading because it is a comprehensive article that concentrates on important information on…
Lydia Chakalos Professor J. Hughes English 120 16 October 2016 Rough Draft of Pro/ Con Essay The topic, addiction, is very stigmatized. In the article, “Addiction Is Not A Disease” By Gene M. Heyman, he takes the opposing side of Michael Craig Miller’s, “Addiction Is A Brain Disease”.…
Addiction is caused by a substance that our brains receives pleasure…
The traditional model of addiction treatment is rooted in the concept of an addiction as a disease, proposed in the late XVIII century by Benjamin Rush. The theory was later strengthen by professor Elvin Jellinek, popularized by the philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous, applied to The Minnesota Model, the dominant form of addiction treatment in the USA, and finally used by the American Society of Addiction Medicine to create a formal definition of an addiction (Meyer, 1996). According to ASAM, addiction is primary, diagnosable, progressive, chronic and treatable disease that involves brain reward, motivation, memory and learning. It is important to recognize that addiction, as a brain disease, is also characterized by impairment in the ability…
All addictive drugs including methamphetamine activate the dopamine cells in ventral tegmental area (Peter and Charles, 2007). Addiction can be described as uncontrollable and persistent reward seeking behaviour regardless of the adverse consequences that may ensue (Shippenberg et al., 2007). It is a pathological change in the neurological functions caused by repeated abuse to the brain which regulate person’s behaviour (Peter and Charles, 2007). Methamphetamine excites dopamine producing neurons causing more action potential generation in the absence of experience of…
“Addiction a Brain Disease or Excuse” The article “Addiction Is a Brain Disease” by Ernest Drucker attempts to inform readers on the addictive property of “brain disease”. Drucker’s essay begins by describing the origin of the word ‘addiction’. He also includes the cycles of addiction and the relapse and withdrawal that drug users endure. A solid focus is directed towards the phases that drug user’s experience, but he provides modest details on how it is believed to be a brain disease. In the article, Drucker lacks the necessary information about the effects on the brain that causes these addictions, and he is lacking in that part of the subject.…
One definition says that addiction involves changes in the brain. In turn, people view brain change as a bad thing, Lewis shows that brain change is not negative. Learning and development involves brain change. Humans require brain change, without change the brain would not mature and thinking would not become efficient. Thus, brain change seen is addiction is not considered brain disease, unless it is very different from that seen in normal development.…
Abstract Drug addiction is often characterized as being a complex brain disease that causes compulsive, uncontrollable, drug craving, seeking and use without any regards to the consequences they may bring upon themselves, or society. If the brain is exposed to these large amounts of dopamine on the reward system, it will inevitably develop a tolerance to the current dopamine levels, which it is receiving, lessening the pleasure the user will experience Addiction: Society’s Epidemic Drugs are everywhere and everybody knows somebody who has used or uses drugs, whether the user is a friend, family member or a celebrity. Due to drugs being everywhere, that means so are the effects of drugs. The fastest growing problem in America today is the…
Some health problems include weakening the immune system, the cause of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, and can be the cause of seizures, strokes and widespread brain damage that can impact all aspects of daily life by causing problems with memory, attention and decision-making, including sustained mental confusion and permanent brain damage. Substance abuse can affect the brain by hijacking the brain’s “reward” circuit (which is part of the limbic system) causing unusually large amounts of dopamine to flood the system. The behavioral problems associated with substance abuse include, paranoia,…
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.…
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.…
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.…
The topic of my essay is drug addiction in the United States and how it is a disease. I will provide information from my research to support my argument of why it is a disease and not a choice. There were studies that had shown that the brain of an addict is affected when they use their drug of choice by way of brain scans. Addiction is a disease which if not treated properly can spiral into something far worse. Many people begin with a mental illness such as depression.…
Advances in neuroscience today prove the physiological changes that happen when a brain is addicted to drugs. -This is why addicts can not make the right choice and usually can not quit even when the threat of incarceration, loosing a job, or even loosing family is apparent. VII. Conclusion – In conclusion the choice to start taking drugs is left up to the person at hand.…
Brain changes in addicts are not abnormal, and do not prove the brain disease theory which is the first argument that drug addiction is a choice and not a disease. The overall argument in this essay is whether…