Is Addiction Really A Disease Summary

To begin, I would like to discuss the benefits of the disease model for addiction. To be fair, this model resonates with me the most. As stated in the Historical Perspectives on Addiction, “By changing the way we talk about addiction, we change the way people think about addiction, both of which are critical steps in getting past the social stigma too often associated with this disease” (Freed, 2012, p.27). I feel that this quote sums up the most significant benefit of the disease model. Not only does it remove stigma, but by removing this stigma you could potentially have more individuals seeking treatment. In addition to this, by removing stigma you move it from an individual’s problem into a public health issue. Therefore, if addiction is a public health issue you would see more services/support systems available. A second benefit of the disease model is that there is evidence that supports the theory (Hall,2017).

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

Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, industrialized nations have seen the medicalization of a plethora of diseases including the ongoing trend of acknowledging addiction as a ‘brain disease.’ The claimsmaking made primarily by Nora Volkow in the documentary Addiction encompasses the constructionist ideologies of socially constructing a problem, or in the case of deviant drinking and drug use, a disease. The functionality of medicalization in America is seen with many different conditions and diseases. For example, the recent spike in the prescription of medications for ADD and ADHD is a prime model for how a deviant set of traits can be spun into a more socially acceptable and treatable “disease.” Whether or not drug and alcohol addiction

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: is it a disease or a choice? A disease can be described as “a disorder of structure or function that produces specific signs or symptoms, or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of a physical injury.” Knowing this, one can believe addiction is a disease. It is something that is done frequently, that usually does not end, just as a disease; it cannot cease on its own, because it requires some form of treatment. The big question regarding addiction is why people believe it to be a choice opposed to a disease.

Addiction is a disease that I will battle for the rest of my life. After being sexually assaulted at the age of twelve, I started to self-destruct. Lack of parental support, less than pristine living conditions, and an addictive personality paved an expressway to a life of addiction. I chose to hang with undesirable people, and was introduced to Marijuana, LSD, Ecstasy, PCP, Cocaine, Heroin and eventually what became the love of my life, the prescription painkiller Morphine. Never did I think that trying pot would have a domino effect. It led me to try harder and more addictive substances ultimately turning my life upside down. Often publicly

Over the years, there have been many discussions on whether addiction is a disease or if it is a choice. Addiction has been considered a disease for many years because it shows the same signs as a disease would. Many believe that addiction is a choice and not a disease. Two articles discuss the topic of whether addiction is a disease or a choice and the article that is saying it is a disease is "Addiction Is a Disease and Needs to Be Treated as Such" by David Sack and the other article is stating that it is a choice and this article is titled "Addiction is not a disease- and were treating addicts incorrectly" by Kyle Smith. Article one, "Addiction Is a Disease and Needs to Be Treated as Such" by David Sack is better than article two "Addiction

Imagine laying on the floor in your own pool of sweat—miserable, your mind bouncing off the walls while the cloud of your darkest thoughts looms over you. Teeth chattering anxiously, waiting to receive the next second, minute, hour of painless bliss. This—this is the life of an addict; does this horror appear to be a choice or more like a disease haunting the mind of the user? Despite the fact a choice was needed to initiate the result, addiction itself is a debilitating disease NOT a choice due to initial influences and anatomical changes to the brain.

The disease model of addiction and the moral model of addiction provide completely different explanation for the tendency of substance abuse. The disease model of addiction predates to 1784 when the American physician Benjamin Rush published a pamphlet which discussed alcoholism in medical terms and outlined treatments for what he considered was a “disease” (Atkins, 2014, p. 52). This model of addiction generally argues that it is not the individuals fault for their addiction to drugs and that not all, but some people, will inevitably become addicts in the future (p. 52). Inversely, the moral model of addiction does not view addiction as something that an individual “cannot control,” rather this model looks at addiction as something that an individual can certainly control but that the individual does not chose to because of “weak moral character” (p.52). Although both of these models have been, and still are, widely applied to other substances, the most common substance that it was used was for alcohol.

Addiction is a medical condition where a person is dependent or enslaved by a habit that may be pleasurable, but it does start to affect their life negatively and starts to cause a lot of trauma. These people may not be aware that their condition has gotten to this point and that it has started to cause problems for themselves and others. Volcanoes, on the other hand, are ruptures in the earth’s surface, which allow ash and lava to be released from its chamber. Volcanoes do not always erupt, and some may lay dormant for a long time, but there is always a possibility that it will explode and hurt quite a few people. Addiction is like a volcano. It can bubble under the surface for a long time, but that does not mean that it will stay dormant

Addiction is a worldwide disease that is not discriminatory against whom it affects. People take drugs because they want to change something in their lives; “They thinks drugs are a solution. But eventually, drugs become the problem” (“Truth About Drug Addiction”). This leads people to wonder, What is addiction? Are there treatments for addiction? There are four common steps on the pathway to addiction: drug abuse, tolerance, dependence, and last but not least addiction. ("Advert: Substance Abuse.")

Alcohol and illicit drug consumption are all too prevalent today in high schools, colleges, and all across the globe. Students seeking to fit in or forget about the repetitiveness of school and homework have a tendency to experiment. Drug addiction is known by the scientific community to be a psychological condition based on excessive, obsessive, and compulsive actions. Once that regular user crosses the line into addiction their only concern is their self and their life revolves around the getting, using, and finding ways and means to get and use more. Most people start using drugs and alcohol occasionally, which is a voluntary decision,

Addiction and Substance Abuse is a complex disease. With this in mind, substance abuse is one of the prime causes of death in the United States. From overdosing to drunk driving, both of these topics dwindle down to lack of self-control and adapting. The evidence shows, the devastating actions of this disease and how it is affecting not only our society but also the health of many struggling individuals.

Over a century ago, an epidemic swept the nation, banning substances such as opiates and cocaine due to a period of temperance. Suddenly, Americans were being punished for using recreationally or medically due to the Harrison Act. The Harrison Act is labeled “an act for preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated, or misbranded, or poisonous, or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes” (House Rep. 223) which fails to cease the vast war Americans still have on drugs and addictive substances. With such an epidemic occurring, addiction has become enlisted on a widespread spectrum of diseases, creating emphasis on the popularity and role it has on Americans every single day. Addiction, by traditional views is seen as an individual’s inability to overcome the predominance of a drug, become reliant upon the influencing factor. Millions of Americans every year become increasingly susceptible to the drugs roaming throughout America, expanding the ideal that the war on drugs is still prevalent. Instead of focusing primarily on what addiction isn’t, many should revolve themselves around the idea that addiction is a valid disease that can be cured with the right process and genuine ideals.

The four models of addiction that I have chosen to discuss are the Disease Model of addiction, the Twin Normative Failure Model, the Defect of Agency Model, and the Habit and Deep Learning Model.