Addiction Theory

There are several theories of addiction. All of them are imperfect. All are partial explanations. It is for this reason that it is important to be aware of and question addiction theories.

Now this is where choice in very important. Choice works throughout the entire addiction process along with environment and brain chemistry. Addiction is commonly developed in this order. At this point addiction has taken over the over the life of the individual and usually effects anyone close to them. The addict must make the choice to continue along this path or pull out of the situation. Not all addicts have to hit “rock bottom” to overcome their addiction. Addiction can show its self in many different forms and is not the same for everyone. It can effect people in

According to the biological perspective, drug use may start off as casual, but through continued use, it produces changes in the brain that influences the onset and maintenance of drug addiction. (Horvath et al., 2013). Drugs have their most prominent effects on the function of neurotransmitters. Almost all major drugs of abuse activate the reward system and cause a flood in the levels of dopamine which is a neurotransmitter that is involved in pleasure. As a result, not only do people learn to associate drug use with pleasure, but the brain also starts to reduce its own natural dopamine production in adjustment to the levels of dopamine produced by the drugs. This is called tolerance, and the consequences of tolerance are highly influential

However, usually, a multi-treatment approach is necessary. Psychological models focus on the emotion and the mind, while biological models, as discussed next, find that addictive behaviors depend on the structure and chemistry in the body’s genetic makeup.

Certain models and theories regarding addiction have a tremendously valuable impact con society’s reaction toward addiction. There are certain aspects of each theory which are very important in the treatment of addiction. Not all addicts and alcoholics fit into the specific criteria of one theory or model so it is beneficial for Chemical Dependency Counselors to have an in depth understanding of various theories to draw from. Most theories about addiction fail to provide a comprehensive account of chemical abuse, dependence or addiction. There is truth and speculation to every theory. It is important for Chemical Dependency Counselors to continue to research and critique theories because it initiates the creation of new theories. For the

All around the world anyone can find people that are addicted to some form of drug. Drug addiction is a huge issue that has been occurring for about thirty years now and is occurring to this day for many reasons. Some of those reasons may be that something is going on back home and they have had enough, or because of stress, peer pressure, biological reasons and the list goes on. However, there has been law enforcement due to drugs since the mid 1980’s. People have many viewpoints to when it comes to drug use and addiction. There are three perspectives people have that view the use of drugs and drug addiction which are structural functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionist.

It is impossible to treat a disease without including all of the possible primary causes of the symptoms. In the same regard, it is unreasonable to identify addiction as coming from a singular source, or conceive a model in which to view it, without taking into consideration other influences. As the biopsychosocial model has come to the forefront in providing a better understanding of addiction, it is not enough; other pathways yet to be address require attention. Therefore, I maintain that until and unless we are willing to include all contributing factors in identifying a theory or model for addiction, we do a disservice to the individuals who are battling this disease. Let us examine the components of the FCP of Addiction Model. Biological influences take into consideration what the disease model classifies as an imbalance in the nervous system, though drug induced. The psychological component includes how a person learns, their motivation, personality, and how they interact with others. Since we are all a part of the world at large, and each of us identify with our own culture, we would be remiss not to consider the influence and impact of social norms and culture on addiction. I have intentionally touched briefly on the three modalities of the biopsychosocial model because my position is that there are other influential pathways to consider in the treatment of

Addiction is regarded as having a multitude of causations and contributing factors. No single specific component or model can accurately predict a person’s substance use behavior (Clinton & Scalise, 2013). Substance use disorders are a reflection of the impact of person-specific biological, psychological, and social influences. Understanding an individual’s spiritual beliefs and the role spirituality plays in a person’s susceptibility to addiction is also necessary. If a spirituality component is absent in a person's life, addiction could fill that void (Doweiko, 2015). Substance

The lasting effect cocaine has on the brain’s reward system can lead to an addiction in individuals. Cocaine addiction is a brain disorder that affects the health of millions of people across the world (Homberg et al., 2013). However, understanding the mechanism behind this addiction and the underlying reasons behind an individuals craving for a drug can help us distinguish the different responses males and females exhibit to an abusive drug, such as cocaine. Even though a higher prevalence of cocaine abuse is found

The addict’s brain becomes overridden and continuously wants the substance which it craves. Help Guide.org produced an article titled “Understanding Addiction”. The article reads as following, “Addictive substances and behaviors stimulate the circuit then overload it. In nature rewards usually come only with time and effort. Addictive drugs and behaviors provide a shortcut, flooding the brain with dopamine and other neurotransmitters”(Understanding Addiction 1). In other words, when the brain is pleasured it feels rewarded. Normally rewards are earned, but the use of substances provides a rewarded feeling to the brain. Neurobiology is the biology of the nervous system.This research is what provides us with the information on the brain being taken over. The brain is broken up into several sections. Research has shown there to be certain genetic codes that vary from addiction to addiction. These codes can inform people what the brain’s drug of choice may or may not be. No one certain factor can determine if a person becomes addicted or not. For example, the AI allele of the dopamine receptor gene DRDR is mainly found in those addicted to alcohol or cocaine. Another example is that those with high stress level hormones have been noted to have an increased risk for addition. Individual differences have also shown to meter the effectiveness of a drug on a person. One study compared two sons, one of the son’s father's was a alcoholic and the other son’s father was not. Neither son drinks, but when given alcohol the son of the alcoholic seemed to have a higher tolerability to the alcohol than the son of the non alcoholic father. Obviously the son of the alcoholic has genes from his father that cause alcohol not to affect him as much, and this can lead to him over drinking and becoming an alcoholic

There are several theories when it comes to addiction. One being that addiction is choice and the individual lacks morals and character. Another big theory is that environment has a lot more to do with addiction than any one believes so.

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.

It says that addiction occurs from changes in the brain. What really causes addiction to occur is stress. How do they influence each other? The person gets so stress and start looking for a way to ease the stress. As we all know, smoking, drinking, drug abuse are the most popular addiction nowadays. By getting drunk, the person gets to forget about the stress events in his or her life. Addiction serves a way to clear the mind, and thus release stress. Let’s take an example of professional models, they are always very skinny. That is because society expects models to be very thin and have a certain shape. Now this puts a stress on the model to always maintain a skinny body. This is how an addiction can starts, the model can become addicted to

Cocaine abuse has been a persistent health problem worldwide for many years (Platt, 2002). Adults aged 18 to 25 year have a higher rate of current cocaine use than any other age group, with 1.5 percent of young adults reporting past month cocaine use (The Science of Drug Abuse & Addiction , 2013). Every drug has a history as to how it came about, also, as to why it is used and or abused among adults. Each drug has its own chemical make-up, along with how that drug works in the human body. Treatment of cocaine addiction must be comprehensive, and strategies need to assess the neurobiological, social, and medical aspects of the patient’s drug abuse (The Science of Drug Abuse & Addiction , 2013). Due to the treatment intensity, how willing one

It is shown that people that tend to be involved in the use of drugs do so after making a voluntary choice (Heyman, 2009). The major use of drugs for social and non-medical preferences can lead to dependence and further addictions, it is a choice that people tend to make and from that it can lead to wanting it more, do it more with friends and further it becoming an addiction, that then effects the brain and body. When drugs are used in the wrong way they can cause many health issues but some people still tend to refer to drug addiction as a disease. Yes, There has been compelling evidence that addiction is a disease, however the result shown are weak and inconclusive. Results of different brain scans are shown by The National Institute of Drug Abuse (2017) are used to back up that addiction in fact is a disease, however the brain scans used in this research are not symbolic of any abnormal changes. The research by The National Institute of Drug Abuse do point out that changes in an individual’s brain is shown as evidence that addiction is a brain disease, however this argument can be shown as mistaken as changes in many human brains can be seen as not exclusive in addicts, although they can occur when a person is normal (Branch,2011). To top it off the information that is stated by the NIDA however doesn’t show evidence of the behaviour of addicts being involuntary or