Medical Journal Article: Addictions as Real Physical Disease

Addiction, it is all around us, affecting people from all walks of life, it is not limited to certain social classes or lifestyles. It is found in every ethnic group, regardless of gender or age. It affects our neighbors, our friends, and our family either directly or indirectly. Although substances such as alcohol and illegal drugs are two of the most common addictions we hear about, there is a wide range of substances and even activities such as gambling and shopping. There is some debate whether addiction is a brain disease or a choice.

According to DrugAbuse.gov, long-term studies of drug use patterns show that most high school students who use other illegal drugs have tried marijuana first. Teens are often peer pressured into doing drugs; they get to comfortable with them they inevitably reframe to harder and more potent drugs. In Cole Meyer’s short story, “Addiction” the narrator is a struggling teen addict and his addiction continues to worsen as he ages. Meyer uses setting, character and conflict to illustrate the devastating effects of addiction on the individual.

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- a primary, chronic, neurobiologic disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. It is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving. The difference between addiction and abuse is often times unclear. It’s a difficult call to make as a family member or a close friend that is dealing with a person like this in their life, but ultimately it is a call that only the addict can make for themselves. There are tons of different sources and tests and questions out there that can be done that can

In order to better understand addiction as a disease as opposed to a moral dilemma it first must be broken down. First you must look at the way in which the chemicals affect the brain. The first attempt at partaking in any mind altering substance can be looked at as a choice to the individual. However what happens after that first

Addiction is now mentioned in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association (DSM). With it being mentioned in this book, the idea cannot be dismissed about it being a disease (Leyton, Marco). This book is used to look up diseases and learn more about the overview, symptoms and possible cures. All of the diseases known are listed. It’s like the dictionary or encyclopedia of human diseases.

The history of addiction goes back centuries, and unfortunately, there is still a long way to go for people to realize the effects of chemical substances do more harm than good. The difference between drug use and abuse relies heavily on a person’s dependence on the substance. The line between the differences is often very fine. Depending on other factors involved, such as morals, values, environment, and genetic predisposition, the line will most likely be crossed without regard to the consequences until treatment and recovery are the only options left. This is essay compares two theoretical explanations

Is addiction a brain disease? The definition of disease is a disorder in an organism that produces specific signs/symptoms that affects a specific location and isn’t a direct result of any kind of physical injury. Addiction is a compulsive need for any substance or service that can cause a person or organism to form a habit, and is a chronic disease of brain reward and causes dysfunctions in the circuits. Addiction is also characterized by the inability to consistently abstain impairment in behavioral control. The idea that addiction is a brain disease is just about universally accepted among scientist that focus on addiction (Corrigan,2008). However few believe that addiction is not a brain disease because they claim that neural dysfunction is not sufficient for disease. (NCBI, 2012). Some agree that addiction occurs in the brain but should not be considered a brain disease or a disease at all(Lawrence 2013). Substance abuse is the most common addiction that people base their decision upon. These drugs affect the brain and cause different reactions to the rest of the of the body. The types of drugs include: hallucinogens, opioids, sedatives, stimulants, etc. cause different

Drug and Alcohol Treatment in America has been based on the Medical Model of Treatment. According to Wikipedia, the medical model of addiction is rooted in the philosophy that addiction is a disease and has biological, neurological, genetic, and environmental sources of origin. Treatment includes potential detox with a 28 day or more stay at a residential treatment facility. The continuum of care can include an additional 28 days at the partial hospitalization level, followed by another 6 weeks of Intensive Outpatient.

The rationale for this view was that no rational person would deliberately engage in a behaviour that was both anti-social and harmful to them. Hence they must be consuming substances against their will, which is unlike normal people. They had no control over their consumption so they had to have a “disease” (UnKnown, 2011).

A disease is a disorder in a human, animal or plant that produce physicals symptoms that do not allow the body to act how it would without a disease.

This story is very important to me, the situation challenged my knowledge, skill, and my ability to control my personal emotions. This story is very memorable because I have actually been to this residence for other instances where the patient overdosed and was revived. With this, I was able to see the progression of his addiction, just like as we will as we gain experience in the field of nursing.

A Disease is a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, that produces signs or symptoms that impairs normal functioning and is not because of a direct result of physical injury

“Addiction is a brain disease expressed in the form of compulsive behavior,” says by Alan Leshner in his article, “Addiction Is a Brain Disease” featured in the book Drug Abuse: Opposing Viewpoints. Addiction has a variety of meanings depending on what your viewpoint of addiction. According to dictionary.com, the concrete definition of the word addiction is, “the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.” Basically various doctors and therapist consider addiction to be a genetic disorder. “Provocative, controversial, unquestionably incomplete, the dopamine hypothesis provides a basic framework

Humans have been recorded using drugs for over 9000 years. During this time, drugs have been used as home remedies for maladies and religious ceremonies, in addition to recreational drug use (Guerra-Doce, 2014). When opioids, hallucinogens, stimulants, inhalants, cannabinoids, depressants, or anabolic steroids appear in recorded history, abuse of these drugs also appear. Writings on ancient Egyptian scrolls show rehabilitation records. Sumerians have writings about opium, using a word that translates to joy (druglibrary.org). It is common knowledge that drugs impair movements, brain activity, and are detrimental to the health of human brains, nerves, and other bodily organs. Addiction to these psychotropic drugs negatively affects human fitness in general. Keeping all of this in mind, what compels humans to engage in a behavior that has such harmful effects on the body? Is there any evolutionary benefit of drug addiction? Why has the predisposition in humans to drug addiction not been selected against?