"The Addicted Brain" by Eric J. Nestler and Robert C. Malenka

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.

There is however, hope for people addicted to drugs. Treatment is possible and they can rid of this disease for good. Critical in the recovery are the type of program used and the expertise of the facility or center to carry out the program.

A common assumption that is made is that people who are addicted to drugs are suffering from a lack of willpower or moral fibre. People assume that these people could stop using if they simply tried a little harder. Unfortunately for those who are addicted, it is not that simple. When someone takes a drug regularly, heroin, for example, their brain chemistry becomes altered. The body produces less natural dopamine and begins to require more and more of the drug to feel its effects. Eventually, the body will begin to crave the drug, and going without it will lead to nasty withdrawal symptoms, including vomiting, increased heart rate, and

First of all, there is the Structural-Functional perspective way people view drug addiction as. The structural-functional perspective is the role the drugs do for the person or the weakening of the norms. It is the way they affect the person and what it does to them that makes them be addicted to drugs. For some people drugs relieves them. It takes them away from their problems from a while and they feel stress free and because of that feeling they receive from the drugs they like it and continue to take more and more. Those with this type of perspective well most likely disagree with this view of drug addiction and would want the problem to decrease.

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.

Drug addiction can cause an intense craving for the drug. You may want to quit, but most people find they can 't do it on their own.

Addiction is for life-This simply isn't true, and it places a huge emotional and psychological burden on recovered addicts. Addiction is a spectrum disorder, like depression, and every person is different. While there are plenty of cases where addicts struggle for years to overcome a drug addiction, many more cases reveal the opposite -- short-term users who manage to put the past behind them and lead normal and productive lives. According to the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, 75% of alcoholics recover without treatment. (Jaffe, 2012)

Addicts use drugs to overcome their feelings. If an addict is feeling sad, happy, or angry, they use. This leads to their addictions. After a while, the addict can’t hold a steady job,

Their mental disorder is fueling the addiction, so the mental disorder must be treated for the patient to truly heal. Dual diagnosis treatment offers this option.

I personally believe that it is not entirely possible to cure oneself of addiction that the person had for almost his or her entire life without professional help. That is no way saying that people had not quit on their own. I am just saying that it is hard thing to do. It requires lots and lots of motivation. Even people who go to rehab center, it is hard for them to avoid temptation to relapse.

Drug addiction is something that everyone is vulnerable to, and that unfortunately is something that many people are going through in today’s society. Everyone is exposed to drug addiction, no matter what, it’s just up to the person to determine if they have a strong enough will power to not take the drugs. However, drugs are available to anyone who is willing to buy them, and many people are willing to spend everything they have in order to buy drugs that might give them temporary relief of a situation that they are currently struggling in; drugs are many people’s escape from the reality they are forced to be in. People have different reasons as to why they start using and abusing drugs; some may choose to do it simply because they like the feeling the drugs causes or occasionally because of the environment or situation the person was or is in, but I mostly think it’s because the person isn’t strong enough to stop taking the drugs or to say no to them.

When people start taking drugs, they don't plan to get addicted. They like how the drug makes them feel. They believe they can control how much and how often they take the drug. However, drugs change the brain. Those who use drugs start to need the drug just to feel normal. That is addiction, and it can quickly take over a person's life.

Though the treatments for drug addiction is complicated one, it is curable. The treatment is complicated because the addiction has it’s long term effects on the brain and behavior of the person. But if the person has strong determination, consistent on treatment then it make easy to quit the addiction.

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 individuals, but frequent drug use can lead to brain alterations that challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. These brain alterations can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a "relapsing" disease. People in recovery from drug use disorders are at increased threat for returning to drug use even after years of not taking the drug. It's common for an individual to relapse, but relapse doesn't mean that treatment doesn’t work. As with other chronic health conditions, treatment should be constant and should be adjusted based on how the patient answers. Treatment plans need to be reviewed often and modified to fit the patient’s changing desires.

Drugs cause an indescribable high, causing the imprisoned individual to be set free from their reality; however, that’s not only what drugs cause. About 200 million people around the world are drug users causing 250,000 deaths each year. Dependency on a drug then leads to a tolerance to the drug, and before the user knows it, they are addicted. Drugs are like a black hole that vacuums the user into a state of addiction which makes it even more difficult to escape and quit. However, addiction can also take place with any civilized human being. Caffeine, alcohol, and plastic surgery are just a few addictions that people let take over their lives. For someone to stop is quite brave due to several obstacles they are put through. The end of an