Addiction Is A Chronic Brain Disease

Addiction is a disease that causes individuals to be compulsive and seek for substances in order to relieve craving. Addiction is commonly associated with drugs and is a great concern to the well beings of people around the world. The physiological and psychological effects of drug addiction can be deadly. Mood swings, hallucinations, and confusion are common physiology side effects, while psychological effects include inevitable depression, cravings, paranoia, and anxiety. By researching and gathering more data about substance addiction, it could lead to a decrease in the number of deaths associated to drug abuse and find healthier alternatives.

Addiction is when a person cannot stop abusing a drug or substance, even if they want to quit. The effects from continuing drug use take over the mind and body. Drug addiction is classified as a "relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the drug addict and those around them" (NIDA 4). Repeated drug use leads to addiction, which then leads to a disease that changes the brain (CDC).

Is addiction a disease? Yes. Is addiction a “brain disease?” No. It is my contention that addiction is not a brain disease though addiction itself can rightly be referred to as a disease. Upon hearing the word “disease,” my thoughts go immediately to images of microscopic bacteria and viruses and some of the visible symptoms from such, but what is a disease? “an impairment of the normal state of the living animal or plant body or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions, is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms, and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition, industrial hazards, or climate), to specific infective agents (as worms, bacteria, or viruses), to inherent

Nearly 21 million people in the United States have experienced addiction. 1 out of 8 people suffer from addiction once in their lifetime. Drug addiction is a very serious sickness that can “change” people into completely different people. Addiction is a sickness found among many people in the United States due to drug abuse.

It seem that a new connotation has been given to the term ‘drug’. Before in the past, the term was used for the word ‘medicine’. But in the 21st century it’s not only used to describe medicine, but also to reference fatal narcotics, which includes heroin, cocaine, and many other specifications. All these narcotics have an evil affect on the mind and body cells of the addict. The young generations are failing victims of these addictions. I believe that addiction is a brain disease. It is when the addict becomes dependent on a drug and uses it, despite of having knowledge of what the long term harm of it does to one’s health. Addiction is a brain disease, because it can change the structure and functioning of the brain. While I watched the video,

I do not agree with the claim that addiction is a brain disease. As Alexander pointed out addiction is a more complex issue. To say that drug addiction is merely a brain disease could be an effort to reduce stigma because little evidence has shown otherwise. In fact, Levy 2013 stated that, addiction is a disorder of a person, embedded in a social context; which was further verified by Alexander in his rat experiment. As shown, the rats placed in isolated cages where more prone to inject drugs, in contrary to the rats in rat park whose environment was more suitable and less restrictive. In fact, they too had access to morphine injections, but, instead chose water. The isolated rats could be an example of poor social, economic communities where there are very few choices, leaving one to feel more constrained and unhappy. Verse higher economic communities where individuals are given more opportunities and have fewer constraints. As seen drug use is more of a choice that has horrible effects. Alexander (2013) further concluded that user tend to replace whatever is missing, which as seen in rat park little is missing. The change in the environment for the rats altered a change in routine. To only consider drug addiction to be a brain disease could further enable addicts. For example, give addicts an excuse to why they abuse should be more tolerated.

Addiction is a severe problem facing millions of people every year. People can become addicted to many things, but the main problem revolves around alcohol and illegal drugs. These substances change the brain’s structure to need more and more of it, which in turn makes the addict focus on the substance instead of their everyday life. Addiction is problematic because people are gaining access to more and more substances that be extremely harmful to their bodies, it is very hard to recover from, and it is becoming more available to younger people whose brains are more susceptible to them than adults. Although addiction is classified as a disease, there is a debate over whether it is the choice of the addict to stay on the substance or a

In this article, readers were taught about the different types of treatment, and research done on patients who have an addiction. An addiction does not always have to be on Drugs, it could be based off of Alcohol and hobbies/interests. “Scientists believe that many allures of modern life- junk food, shopping, smart phones- are potentially addictive because of their powerful effects on the brain’s reward system, the circuitry underlying craving.” There is a medication and treatment for each type of addiction but relapse is very common. Addictions are very unhealthy and damage the brain because it causes hundreds of changes in it’s anatomy and chemistry including the synapses. Addictions are likely caused by spikes in the neurotransmitters dopamine, which heightens salience, or the motivational pull of a stimulus.

It is often hard for the general population to understand what it takes to be a drug addict, or how an individual chooses to undergo such a lifestyle. However, addiction is similar to many other diseases that can occur in the human body. Addiction usually is not a choice, but a disease that takes over an individual’s sense of control. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her”

The brains appropriate preforming guarantees our continued existence. When our brain functions well, we are continuously modifying to our environment or setting. Paradoxically, it is the brain's aptitude to be so adaptive that aids to the development of addiction. Addiction initiates alterations to the brain in at least four vital ways: addiction causes changes to the brain's natural balance, or what is called homeostasis, it alters brain chemistry, changes the brain's communication patterns, and it causes changes to brain structures and their functioning. Like many other diseases addictions affects at least one organ in the body. Now take cancer, for instance. In the eyes of many, cancer is a disease and like addiction it can affect the brain and many other organs such as the kidney or lungs. Many people who oppose the statement that addiction is a disease tend to use the claim that addiction is not curable therefore it is not a disease. However, like other chronic diseases, addiction can be controlled effectively. Treatment allows people to work against addictions influential and dominate troublesome effects on their brain and conduct and regain control of their lives. Take cancer, for instance, once again. Like addiction, there are many types of cancers that are not curable. However, there are treatments that can work against the disease. Even though there are treatments, there is not guarantee that relapse will not occur. Both cancer patients and those of addiction have a likely chance to relapse after being treated. Relapse, nonetheless, does not signify failure, preferably, it denotes that treatment ought to be reestablished, altered, or that alternative treatment is required to aid the individual to redeem control and recuperate. Consequently, the power addiction has to affect the organs of one’s body to the point of functioning abnormally is a prominent attribute to being defined as a

One of the most controversial topics of our time is drug addiction. To get more specific about what drug addiction is, one must understand how addiction is defined. It is a chronic brain disease that is characterized by constantly seeking the use of a substance. The jump from labeling something as an addiction, and grasping that it is referring to a brain disease that is extreme. The thing that makes this addiction a disease is of the use of drugs changes the brain function in a negative way, and can and most likely will harm the structure as well as affect the way the body works.

Drug use is not something that just happens overnight. There are many things that led up to a person deciding they want to try a drug for the first time. It might be that they were exposed to it at an early age and perceived it to be the norm to use them. They might have experienced peer pressure at a party or just wanted to fit in with a certain crowd. Or they may have gotten a prescription for one and liked the high they felt when they were on it so they wanted to find a way to continue feeling that same high. Each situation is different, and the drugs that were most likely used in each scenario are also going to be different.

Drug addiction is a worldwide epidemic. Drug abuse is the intake of a substance which is catastrophic to one’s health. Substances such as cocaine, heroin, Marijauna, prescribes medicatio, etc. A regular use of said substances can cause one to become addicted. Drug addiction is referred to as a chronic relapsing brain disease, it is referred to as a disease because substance abuse alters the structure of the brain. The analysis of different surveys and interviews shows that in developed countries such as the U.S., almost 9% of citizens regularly consume some drugs today (Goode 28-29). Although many factors can cause people to fall into drug addiction, many treatments exist to save them from unhealthy and or deadly consequences.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. These brain changes can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a “relapsing” disease-people in recovery from drug use disorders are at increased risk for returning to drug use even after years of not taking the

Drug addiction is the chronic disease affecting the brain, and just everyone is different. Drug affect different ways. One person can take and abuse drugs, yet never become addicted, while another merely has one experience and is immediately hooked. Addiction explain and is charactererized by a person having to used the drugs repeatedly, regardless of the damage it does to their health, family career, and their rrelationshipwith friends and the community. Addiction is not limited to drugs a nd alcohol. People can be addicted to many things, such as food, gambling, shopping or most anything that gets in the way of a healthy lifestyle.when things get out of hand, and people behave compulsively, regardless of the