Drug & Alcohol Addiction: Is Addiction a Disease or a Choice?

The high that comes from using drugs is bigger, brighter, louder, and more gratifying than any natural reward, and it can make natural rewards seem small, dim, and quiet by comparison. They will hold your hand and be there for you right from the start to the end. Contact us to learn more about our opioid addiction treatment options and how they can help you. Since the drug substances have already interfered with how the brain and neurotransmitters work, the only way to address the addiction is to use a combination of medical and therapeutic interventions. Research shows that once an individual enters into a state of drug dependence, particularly opioid addiction, it is quite difficult to recover from mere willpower. They overstimulate your brain’s reward system, and two, they tend to mimic the natural transmitters such as dopamine to send false signals to the central nervous system.

What Is State-Funded Drug Rehab?

It is also viewed as a disease in order to facilitate insurance coverage of any treatment. Moreover, disparities in substance use disorder treatment completion are evident. Generally, individuals identifying as white, those who are employed, and those with higher educational backgrounds are more likely to complete addiction treatment compared to other racial and socioeconomic groups. Additionally, factors such as pollution can affect cognitive function, especially in children. For instance, exposure to nitrogen dioxide has been linked to decreased cognitive function and attention symptoms. This potential decline in cognitive abilities may lead individuals to use substances as coping mechanisms.

Treatment Approaches for Addiction

Blaming and punishing individuals with addiction only serves to further stigmatize and marginalize them. It does not address the underlying issues that contribute to their addiction or provide them with the support they need to recover. Instead, it perpetuates a cycle of shame and guilt that can make it even more difficult for individuals to seek help.

• By reframing obesity as a disease, the commission seeks to shift perspectives among patients, healthcare professionals, and policymakers.
• Instead of returning to normal and no long being a problem, addiction is a process of ongoing recovery.
• While this stigma is still common today, modern addiction can affect any person regardless of their socioeconomic class, ethnicity, and background.
• Recognizing that addiction often affects diverse populations differently is also crucial.

Treatment Approaches Based on Disease

From a psychological standpoint, when this happens the brain has created special pathways for the activity to make it an easier trigger for that positive stimuli within the individual. Since drug use frequently causes a wave of pleasure or at the very least relief from a negative feeling, these behavioral scientists argue that addiction is a case of repeated choice rather than a disorder. If an addict finds the self-control to stop using their chosen substance, the expected result of this belief system is that the brain can fully recovery from addiction and eventually proceed in life as if it never occurred. In Chapter 5 Heyman addresses the disease model more fully by examining the arguments and data supportive of that perspective.

Scientific Perspectives on Addiction

Advocates for this perspective emphasize the importance of personal responsibility and decision-making in recovery. The disease model of addiction11 views this disorder as a chronic illness, similar to conditions like diabetes or heart disease. Just as these diseases alter biological processes and require ongoing management, addiction disrupts brain chemistry and requires long-term treatment. Just as with all chronic diseases, addiction can never be fully “cured.” Commonly, addiction is compared to cancer where many people can go into “remission” but never be fully cured.

I Loved Getting High – Why Did I Change?

Choice model advocates emphasize the role of sober house free will, personal accountability, and the capacity for change in overcoming addiction. They assert that classifying addiction as a disease removes personal responsibility and undermines an individual’s ability to make positive life changes. Instead, they stress the importance of willpower, self-control, and the conscious decision to seek help and maintain sobriety. Addiction is characterized by changes in the brain’s reward system, specifically the release of dopamine.

Relationships in Recovery

• Treatment approaches that align with this viewpoint focus on personal responsibility and accountability.
• According to the neuroscientist Dr. Marc Lewis, this argument is largely based on the idea that when a person carries out an activity that they enjoy, it triggers pleasure in the brain and over time becomes a habitual act.
• The person may also begin to have intense cravings for the drug or alcohol, even though they have suffered negative consequences due to their use.
• Challenging the prevalent misconceptions about addiction is essential in supporting those affected.
• First, data are presented confirming the now well-known fact that drug use usually does not advance to drug abuse.

No matter how one defines addiction or what term is used, what is clear is that addiction is an enormous problem in the U.S. that affects millions. Another irrefutable fact is that many drugs—both illicit and prescription—are quite addictive. This further supports the argument that addiction is a disease because if it were a choice, one’s family history wouldn’t have any significant bearing on their chances of developing addiction. It implies that substance abuse becomes linked to one’s brain and is no longer a free choice they can make consciously. It means that when you ingest them, they disrupt the normal functioning of your body. Mostly, they affect how your nerves receive, send, and interpret signals which eventually alter your brain’s communication system.

In the ongoing debate surrounding addiction, one perspective argues that addiction is primarily a matter of choice. This viewpoint suggests that individuals have the ability to control their actions and behaviors, including the decision to engage in substance abuse or addictive behaviors. Some people argue that it is a personal choice, and therefore anyone who is addicted to a substance has ended up there because of the lack of self-discipline or morality. Meanwhile others argue addiction is a disease, and as a result cannot be cured entirely or even resisted by discipline alone. The first view has been the most common understanding of addiction throughout history, and as a result there is a stigma surrounding people who struggle with drug abuse that often prevents them from willingly seeking help. It is important to challenge misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding addiction in order to reduce stigma and improve access to treatment and support.

• Understanding how addiction develops shifts the focus from blaming people for their initial choice to supporting them through undoing the changes to their brain chemistry that perpetuate addiction.
• Discover how Powerball can lead to gambling addiction and the vital signs, impacts, and support available.
• Examination of the research cited (Hasin, Stinson, Ogburn, & Grant, 2007; Stinson, Grant, Dawson, Ruan, Huang, & Saha, 2005) however, does not appear to support that estimate.
• Heroin use was so common that soldiers were required to be tested for heroin addiction before being allowed to depart Vietnam.
• Each year, thousands of individuals may avoid seeking treatment due to fear of judgment or misunderstanding.

It’s important to note that treatment approaches based on choice and disease are not mutually exclusive. In many cases, a combination of both approaches may be beneficial for individuals struggling with addiction. The choice to seek treatment and make positive changes is influenced by personal agency, while the disease model emphasizes the need for medical intervention and support. By considering both perspectives, treatment programs can be tailored to address the unique needs of individuals affected by addiction.