The World of Addiction Essay

Every day, hundreds of people experience the overwhelming effects of addictions. Individuals can become addicted to virtually any action or item. If individuals use addictive substances, there will be serious medical repercussions. This paper will focus on the idea of addiction through the fields of anthropology, psychology, and sociology, and how these fields have benefitted this prominent issue. Addictions are currently being researched by various social scientists in an attempt to fully understand their causes and cures.

Addiction is when a person cannot stop abusing a drug or substance, even if they want to quit. The effects from continuing drug use take over the mind and body. Drug addiction is classified as a "relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the drug addict and those around them" (NIDA 4). Repeated drug use leads to addiction, which then leads to a disease that changes the brain (CDC).

Any adverse dependency consequences caused by a specific behavior or using substances that alter one's mood continuously are referred to as addiction. A person can be addicted to many things, but the most common are, gambling, smoking, too much exercising, drug abuse, and alcohol abuse. Addiction can cause someone to lose control over the substance or behavior they have acquired, and the body becomes more tolerant. This leads to the person having to use larger amounts in order to get the initial results.

A more narrow definition of addiction would be to say that it involves a compulsive use of or mind altering acts or substances. With this type of addiction the individual will have usually developed a physical as well as psychological dependence on the behavior. Which will cause and an increased tolerance for the behavior overtime. As time goes on they will need to keep on delving deeper, and

Addiction is considered to be more of a behavioural disorder that may or may not include physical dependence. It is present when an individual continues to use a drug regardless of negative consequences on their life. They can sometimes gives up important activities such as work, school, family or other relationships because of the substance use, uses a substance addictively and is unable to stop once they have started, uses a substance for reasons other than that for which it was intended and craves the substance even when they are not in pain.

Each form of addiction is brutal in its own way. Whether that be street drugs, prescription drugs, tobacco or alcohol. Addiction is a state of mind that makes something habitual. It can be considered a disease or it could be considered something that is genetic or natural. It causes a person to become self-seeking of their own needs. There are also forms of addiction like gambling, sex, food, or even shopping. Addiction could be anything and there are always consequences that come along with it.

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Addiction is problem within society. People associate addiction with drugs but a person can be addicted to several different variables such as drugs, alcohol, food, sex, gambling and exercise. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines addiction as “a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble)” and “an unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). With that being said, I will focus mainly on drug and alcohol addiction in this paper. There are numerous theories and models on why addiction occurs but I strongly favor gene-environment theory. I have always thought genetics and environment has a powerful impact on how people develop addiction.

The disease of addiction is a three, fold it affect you physically, mental, spiritually and I would have to say emotional. This disease can manifest in anyone of these area at different time individual life.

Addiction is a mental health disorder that shows many different symptoms and signs. The DSM-5 states that there are 11 different behaviors that become present once in the addiction stage. Some of the behaviors include being unable to keep up with responsibilities due to not having the substance and continuing the substance despite the negative health factors.

Addiction is a chronic disease that affects every single person in one form or another, the most common forms are drug/substance abuse, gambling, shopping, internet overuse, and pornography. The former being repetitive and destructive often causes the victim to be unware of its harmful effects that are life long and detrimental.

Addiction is defined as “a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health” (Psychology Today, n.d). Addiction not only affects the individual but also those around them, especially the immediate family.

An addiction is defined as a strong, uncontrollable need to take drugs, drink alcohol or carry out a particular activity, such as gambling.

There are many factors that play a role in an individuals’ life that lead to the cause of their addiction. Addiction affects the individual’s brain which causes them to have many psychological problems. Abuse of a drug can change the structure and molecular functions of the brain. The reasons for an individual to develop an addiction to something can be from depression, anxiety, genetics or mental illness. But, are certain addictions more serious than other?

First and foremost, it is important to define addiction. According to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Family, “addiction begins when an individual makes a conscious decision to choose to use alcohol or drugs, and interfere with normal brain functioning and continued use has long-term effects on brain metabolism and activity. The brain goes thru long term changes targeting specific parts of the brain like judgement and planning, making it impossible to stop using drugs. Because of the changes in the brain, drugs then create a chronic disease, addiction that requires treatment to stop using.