Addiction: Lack of Will Power or Brain Disease?
Demonika M. Martin
PS101 Introduction to Psychology
Park University
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I. Introduction
Addiction is a disease that continues to fester and destroy individual’s lives. Once an individual is under the influence of drugs they no longer have control over their actions. Drug user’s brains are hijacked and taken on an explosive ride that begins with pleasure and ends in the damage of their brain. “Drug use is on the rise in this country and 23.5 million Americans are addicted to alcohol and drugs. That’s approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12 – roughly equal to the entire population of Texas….” said Dr. Kima Joy Taylor, director of the Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap Initiative. Once a person is addicted to a drug or alcohol they will lose their willpower and become subject to the desire of needing that drug continuously.
II. Counter Argument
There are a selective few that may feel that addiction is a choice and not a brain disease. There are various possibilities that may lead to an individual voluntarily using drugs. It is very doubtful that it is due to brain disease but in fact to stimulate a craving that is not essential to sustaining life. Psychologist Marc Lewis argues; “The brain changes with addiction,” he writes. “But the way it changes has to do with learning and development — not disease.”
In contrast to Mr. Lewis’s statement the National Institute on Drug Abuse defines addiction
Further, circumstances such as economical, health, or personal issues resulting in a person’s choice to take drugs ironically can be the same reasons for them to either change their pattern, stop taking drugs, or get help versus the unavoidable, involuntary effect of a diseased brain. Additionally, those that choose to continue being addicted over a long period of time illustrates that by making that choice they are not helpless compared to a person who has a chronic disease. “Rather than being the inevitable, involuntary product of a diseased brain, these actions represent the essence of voluntariness. The addict’s behavior can be modified by knowledge of the consequences. Involuntary behavior cannot (Satel, Goodwin, 1998, pg. 5).
Addiction: is it a disease or a choice? A disease can be described as “a disorder of structure or function that produces specific signs or symptoms, or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of a physical injury.” Knowing this, one can believe addiction is a disease. It is something that is done frequently, that usually does not end, just as a disease; it cannot cease on its own, because it requires some form of treatment. The big question regarding addiction is why people believe it to be a choice opposed to a disease.
After reading the journal article, “addiction is a brain disease”, there were two interesting facts that caught my attention. One of it was the environmental cue that the home environment is the reason why one begins to use a drug and becomes addicted to it. The home environment cue is who the individuals hanged out with, drug-buddies or the spot where the individuals consume the drugs. For example, a group of people hangs out and one of the people in the group does not do drug, but everyone in that group does drug and persuades the person to do drug constantly then the person becomes addicted to the drugs. When an individual is addicted to a drug and try to seek help, some individuals will be successful at their full recovery of their addiction
When people see the word addiction they immediately think of the usage of illegal substances. There’s more to think of than just one type of definition for this word, addiction can be viewed as a brain disease or a need for a particular substance. The definition of addiction is most commonly known as a condition that results when a person ingest a substance.
Should the cause of addiction rely on people 's actions? These days, drugs can be found everywhere, and it may seem like everyone 's doing them. Lots of people are tempted by the excitement or escape that drugs seem to offer. But learning the facts about drugs can help one see the risks of chasing this excitement or escape. Several people argue whether drug addiction is a disease or a choice. Discussing this argument in hopes to have a better understanding as to why this topic is so controversial. For those on the other side of the argument they claim just the opposite. According to a source on the Internet entitled "Saint Jude Retreat House", alcoholism and drug addiction are not diseases because those types of behaviors can be avoided and there is help available to change these behaviors.To call addiction a disease and not a choice, evidence will need to show the flaws in calling addiction a choice, show how drugs of abuse work, how addiction fits into the disease model, identify what organ is primarily affected, and be able to recognize what the symptoms of drug addiction are. There are some very educated individuals who believe that addition is a behavior and that behaviors are a result of choices. According to Gene Heyman, a Harvard psychologist, drug addiction is a choice, not a disease. In his book, Addiction: A Disorder of Choice, Heyman states that "addiction is not a disease and that it is a pattern of persistent but
Addiction is a Brain Associated Disorder that Allows the Body to Become Dependent on a Substance
There are two central debates that often arise when speaking of addiction ; either addiction is a disease caused by the brain, or addiction is a matter of weak will. In comparison the disease model would take responsibility away from the addict and place it on biological reasoning ; the weak will model, would ultimately condemn the addict and place blame on the addicts decision making process and thus blame the addict for their behavior.
Addiction is a powerful force, that has the potential to worsen and even end lives. The complex interplay of biological, environmental, social, and behavioral factors puts addicted individuals at great personal risk. While opioid addiction has commonly been viewed as an urban issue, in recent years increasing attention has been paid to the foothold it has gained in rural America (U.S. DHHS, 2012). As rates of drug addiction rise throughout the Midwest and Ohio, rates of hospitalization and drug poisoning deaths also increase. While extant data does not elucidate a causal relationship between these variables, strong correlations are evident. Furthermore, the lack of information about this issue highlights the need for more accurate data
Gene Heyman says that drug addiction is a choice rather than a disease. I do agree that when people first use drugs, they make a choice to do so. However, once an individual becomes addicted, it causes biological and chemical changes in the brain in which an individual no longer has self control over, which turns drug addiction into a brain disease (Goldberg, 2011, p. 146).
Drug misuse and abuse has fueled a controversial issue to arise amongst physicians, psychiatrists, and general citizens. Sally Satel, a methadone clinic psychiatrist in Washington D.C., wrote an interesting article titled “The Human Factor” in which she discusses the debate on whether drug addiction should be considered a brain disease or not. Satel believes that treatment for addicts should focus on treating them as humans with control over their lives, as opposed to treating them as people with an uncontrollable disease.
Addiction is a powerful force. The complex interplay of biological, environmental, social, and behavioral factors puts addicted individuals at great personal risk. While addiction has traditionally been viewed as an urban issue, in recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the foothold opioids have gained in rural America (U.S. DHHS, 2012). As rates of drug addiction rise throughout the Midwest and Ohio, rates of hospitalization and drug poisoning deaths also increase. While extant data does not elucidate a causal relationship between these variables, strong correlations are evident. Furthermore, the lack of information about this issue highlights the need for more accurate data collection in order to resolve the
Society has very different ways of viewing personalities and changes in people, and has believed that the label given as a norm is a valid way of describing someone or something even without solid proof. This, however, I strongly believe is not the case for addiction because if addiction were labeled as a disease then we must be overlooking the gap in the argument of disease or the term “disease” must be redefined. Addiction should not be considered an illness, as it is only a group of behaviors.
Addiction is a persistent, deteriorate brain disease that triggers the center of the brain through neurotransmitters and affects personal behavioral changes. It can become more important than a persons’ need to sleep or eat. People of all ages suffer damaging and traumatic outcomes due to addiction. In order for an addiction to be determined and subjected to someone, the person must meet at least three or more of the based criteria of the American Psychiatric Association and World Health Organization. This can be based on a person’s tolerance, withdrawal, limited control of the substance or addiction, negative consequences because of these actions, neglected or postponed liveliness such as social or work activities, dedicated time or energy
Many people do not know what causes addiction or why it happens. Addiction can be defined as the condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. A lot of evidence of drug use shows that there is a lot of contributors that cause addiction. In particular, there is psychological, social, and biological factors that contribute to addiction.
There is often a misconception in the general public on why and how people become addicted and abuse drugs. People tend to draw conclusions that people who are addicted to drugs lack morals and values, or think that they can choose to stop at any moment. While that can be true in individual cases, the truth, however, is that drug addiction is a very complex disease, and being able to stop takes a lot more than just choosing to stop. Drugs rewire and