Reflection Of The Book Unbroken Brain

Addiction is a “chronic and relapsing brain disease portrayed as an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief

Addiction is a chronic brain disease that often results in some sort of relapse. Addiction is characterized by inability to control drug use which results in problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships. This disease causes compulsive behaviors such as the need to use drugs despite the many harmful consequences that affect the addicted individual and those around him or her. Although for most people, the initial decision to use drugs is a one time lapse in judgement, the brain is easily affected by these drugs if the person decides to use these drugs multiple times. The changes that occur to the brain over time will cause the addicted person’s ability to resist the intense impulses of drugs to be altered causing the addict to often give into the temptation of these drugs. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death. Drug addiction is an issue that many people deal with whether they are the addict or the addict is their loved one; but with a good source of support anyone can over come the challenges and consequences of addiction.

It is believed that certain individuals are predisposed or vulnerable to addiction based on biological, psychological and social influences. The euphoric high produced by many addictive substances is the result of overstimulation of the “pleasure center” of the brain. This is the same area that controls emotions, fear, self-control and overall feelings of wellness. The presence of these foreign chemicals creates a response that the brain will crave as soon as it fades. The brain’s chemistry works against its own health, as it rewires its decision making faculties around the primary goal of finding and taking more of the drug” (1). Many people mistakenly believe that psychological addiction is somehow less serious or real than physical addiction. The psychological aspects of addiction are much more challenging to repair and recover from than the physical addiction. Psychological addiction can last for years or even a lifetime.

For many years, individuals have battled substance abuse and addiction. My position comes from hearing about it, having seeing results from it, and reading about it, also developing my own thoughts about addiction. Weil and Rosen (1993) believe that a drug use (and addiction) results from humans longing for a sense of completeness and wholeness, and searching for satisfaction outside of themselves. McNeece and DiNitto (2012) says the reason why people continue to use drugs to the point of becoming a physically and/ or psychologically dependent on them are more complex, some have tried to explain this

Wise and Koob state that addiction begins with positive reinforcement, habits, a person feels the “high” of the habit, however, then the tolerance sets in which conditions the brain for negative reinforcements and one increases the use to enjoy the habit (2014). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2012), drug addiction is a chronic brain disease. This disease is complex disease that is treatable, however it is a lifetime of treatment, sending many into relapses over and over again. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)

As results of scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that affects both the brain and behavior. A disease is an interruption, cessation, or disorder of a body system, or organ structure, or function; according to Stedman’s Medical Dictionary. (Sheff ,2013) cites, the disease od addiction has an etiologic agent, identified by a group of signs and symptoms or consistent anatomic alterations. There are significant changes in the brain. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) states that addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristics biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathology pursuing reward and /or relief by substance use and other behaviors. (Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment of behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships and dysfunctional emotional responses. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse, and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death. (ASAM Adopted as Policy, February

At the end of the course, it would only make sense that we turn to the question that we considered at the beginning of the course: What is addiction? Although the many decades of research on the topic have focused on many of the same topics, there are still disagreements on the answer to this question. Despite differences in opinion related to some of the most basics aspects in the field, there have been improvements in treatment and the way the topic is discussed. When I began this course, I was firmly ground in the belief that addiction is a disease, but there were some different parts of the course that have encouraged me to reexamine my initial understanding of addiction. This final paper will detail the process in which my beliefs at the

“The Addict: One patient, One doctor, One year” is a book written by Dr. Michael Stein that follows the narrative told by a doctor treating a patient with drug addiction. Though it primarily follows the story of this one patient, Lucy Field, other stories with a similar experience to Lucy are mentioned throughout the book. Within it, several concepts and ideas about addiction and its treatments are presented. Dr. Stein states that despite the fact that many individuals have experimented with drugs, only a fraction of this population has developed a massive addiction. Various contributing factors lead to addiction, these

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.

Addiction is like all behaviours “the business of the brain”. Addictions are compulsive physical and psychological needs from habit-forming sustenances like nicotine, alcohol, and drugs. Being occupied with or involved in such activities, leads a person who uses them again and again to become tolerant and dependent eventually experiencing withdrawal. (Molintas, 2006).

28) which explains to us about the psychoactive drug use in other cultures and how/where this began from the Roman empire. I found it very interesting how different countries started with different sorts of addictions which not only involved drugs but alcoholism as well. Even with the risk of getting addicted to drug or alcohol, addiction becomes a chronic brain disease that is distinguished by uncontrollable drug or alcohol use. I’ve learned from reading the book and doing further research that these brain changes can be long-lasting which often leads to many harmful and self-destructive behaviors, which many people don’t think about or understand why and/ or how other people become addicted to drugs. Drugs start changing a person’s brain that makes the thought of quitting very hard however these days fortunately there is research treatments found that can help a person recover from addiction and lead to productive

Addictions are strongholds and bondages that are more often than not difficult to overcome. The addiction holds a person’s well-being captive which result in unusual behavioral patterns. According to Gabor Maté and Arold Langeveld “addiction means be to a slave” relatively speaking when a person is addicted in reality they are a slave to the stimuli. Furthermore the outcome of addiction will result in behavioral patterns that will satisfy the addiction.

One myth about addict users is that addicts can stop if they really want to. Research shows that brain chemistry is effected when substance use is used for a long period of time (White, n.d.). Because of the changes in brain chemistry, craving occur along with impulse control and this leads to addiction (White,

Addiction and abuse of drugs have remained an unexplainable circumstance, even till today. A mistaken assumption is that drug abusers lack moral principles, and if given a chance or in the presence of will power, their selections could be altered. In reality, drug addiction is known as a complex disease and requires more than will power or mere good intentions to change. Due to the fact that drug addiction could change the way the brain works, with time, the brain promotes compulsive drug abuse. It is difficult to relent even if one is ready to do so. Drug abuse has negative influences not only in the lives of mortals, but also in the society.

This way, I can convince the readers that drug addiction is more than a habit, and can be considered a brain disease. I will use the information I gained in my psychology class in college where we spent a lot of time going over the science side of addiction and what it does to the brain. It allowed me to see addiction as a brain disease rather than a compulsive habit and that helped me deal with the loss of my friends. I will explain the way that prescription pain killers mimic the endorphins, the body’s natural “feel-good” chemical and how the brain will eventually become tolerant to the “fake” endorphins and depend more and more on pain killers to keep from experiences withdrawal symptoms.