Addiction: Course Analysis

The three models of addiction examined in this week’s readings include the medical model, the psychosocial model, and the disease of the human spirit model. The medical model “rests on the assumption that disease states are the result of a biological dysfunction, possibly one on the cellular or even molecular level” (Doweiko, 2012, p. 333). Many consider this model and “maintain that much of human behavior is based on the interaction between the individual’s biological predisposition and the environment” (Doweiko, 2012, p. 333). Individuals under this model view free will “as an illusion” (Doweiko, 2012, p. 333). There is controversy regarding this model as “to the degree to which the

Many people believe the misconception that an addiction is a moral problem and not a disease. To better understand the reasons why an additicition is in fact a disease; I will identify several types of addictions, and the problems associated with them. I will examine reasons why certain people are more susceptible for developing an addiction. Also, I will determine why many addicts deny their problems and many recovery methods addicts use to fight their illness. Researching these issues, will help aid my claim that addiction is a disease.

Addiction can be separated into three categories: mind (neurological), body (physical), and spirit (psychological). Within in this breakdown addiction can possibly be explained and properly understood.

The definition provided above is accessible and easy to understand; however, it initiates false beliefs among individuals because it fails to acknowledge that drug addiction is a mental health problem. Moreover, when words such as, “dependence”, “control” and “craving” are used to define drug addiction, it leaves an impression to the reader that addicts are indeed “people who cannot control their impulses.” Consequently, when we fail to recognize that drug addiction is a mental health problem, our focus is diverted towards the physical aspect of drug addiction. This could cause the belief among individuals that drugs alone cause the addiction. It is essential to acknowledge that there are chemical hooks in drugs; however, individuals need to understand that drugs alone do not cause the addiction. We need to identify and distinguish the “root cause” of addiction and ask ourselves: what caused the individual to take the drug in the first place?

In the book, Addiction & Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions, May explores how addiction develops and can be treated from a psychological, physiological, and spiritual standpoint. This theme is clearly shown through out the text as it shows addiction from a whole person view. The book covers the development of addiction from desire through the experience of addiction. The key focus on looking at the matter of addiction from multiple stand points in then broken down by explaining how addiction is an issue psychologically, physiologically, and spiritually. By focusing on these three areas the author is able to present the reader with a clear understanding of addiction from all sides of the problem. This is then

One mystery of health and science is the problem of addiction and how we treat or even cure it? Many call it a disease, problem, or an issue in which he or she has no will power over the power of the drug. The idea of addiction and the future of curing/treating it is debated in Laura Miller’s article “Addiction is not a disease”, Benoit Lewis’ article “An Anti-Addiction Pill”, and the Ted Talk about addiction knowledge and it’s preconceived notions. The overarching themes/ideas/issues that are addressed in each of the readings are the need for a better health system that can better treat addicts, the need to better understand addiction and the human brain, and the need to understand the people who use drugs and the reasons for why they do so.

Being an addict effects your everyday life. It effects your work place, your relationships, responsibilities and especially your health. Specialists on addiction argue whether addiction is to be considered a disease or a mental illness. It is debated

The purpose of this article was to give short simple answers to questions about addiction. Within the article, the authors have an informal and direct tone, drawing in audiences who don't want a drawn out explanation, but a simple answer. Also, the article defines many terms, explain their answers with a simplified, easier explanation. This would attract audiences who are not familiar with medical terminology or a background with biology to the article.

Addiction has long been questioned whether it is a disease or a choice. Although this is mostly an opinion, this has larger impacts on things such as rulings in court cases and how health insurance may cover an individual struggling with addiction. I personally view addiction as a consequence of a series of poor decisions. There are many factors that lead me to believe addiction is a choice. This essay will cover what addiction is, scientific proof that addiction is not a disease, and lastly my personal opinion.

This article was written by Elizabeth Gifford and Keith Humphreys of the Veterans Affairs and Stanford University Medical Centers in Palo Alto, California. Elizabeth Gifford has a PhD in psychology and specializes in Behavioral Science, Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology. Keith Humphreys is a professor of Behavior Science and Psychology at Stanford.

reasons it is so misunderstood is because there is no real consensus as to what

What is addiction? We are barraged with theories that at- tempt to answer this question. If you suffer with an addiction or care about someone with an addiction, you may already have found that a lot of people are not able to get well with the usual treatment approaches. This book describes a new way of understanding and man- aging addiction that I have been writing about in profes- sional journals for the past twenty years, and summa- rized in a previous book, The Heart of Addiction (Harper- Collins, 2002). As the director or psychiatric consultant for four major addiction treatment programs, and as a therapist in private practice for over thirty years, I devel- oped my ideas not by telling people what they should do, but by listening

I have chosen this elective both for personal and professional reasons. Learning addiction theoretically has been an eye opener. Reading the first chapter alone has been very helpful in gaining an objective view of addicts. My experience in dealing with addicts is mainly based on a personal level, which I believe has tainted my outlook about addicts and the field of addiction counselling. I am hoping that gaining more knowledge and better understanding regarding addiction would help me professionally and personally.

There are many different perspectives and opinions about how a person becomes an addict to any kind of substance. For the past two weeks I have been doing a lot of research on my topic trying to understand more about where addiction comes from. I spent most of my time surfing the internet reading and analyzing almost every argument, all solutions, views, and opinions on the web and I came to a conclusion that no matter how much you read and take in, at the end of the day everyone is going to believe what they want. For my paper 4, I decided to analyze everyone’s perspectives and angles about their understanding of addiction and interacted it in new ways. By doing this, I created a work of art so my audience can understand my creative perspective about addiction and hopefully enrich their understanding about my topic.

Though some consider drug addiction as a disease, it can completely overrun someone’s life. Drug dependence affects one out of twelve Americans and greatly affects the way they live their lives and the people around them (Hedden, Kennet, Lipari, Medley, Tice,1) . In recent years addiction has been studied extensively and the idea that addiction is a disease is based on the changing of the brain and the extensive work it takes to absolve being dependent on drugs.