Drug Addiction: Chronic Brain Disease

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).

The National Institute for Drug Abuse agrees by breaking down a more biological understanding of addiction. Their method is known as a "disease model." They believe that it is quite clear that drug addiction is "considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain-they change it's structure and how it works." The disease model consists of some well thought out points. It states that drug addiction is a brain disease because repeated use and abuse of drugs changes the brain. Drug addiction alters brain pleasure centers, so that normal happiness requires higher and more frequent drugs. Brain imaging studies show changes in the brain that are critical to judgement, decision making, and behavior control. The risk for becoming an addict is greatly dependent on one's biology, such as gender or ethnicity. The prepondrance of research indicates neurological effects of repeated drug

Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, alcohol, opium, tobacco, hypnotics, just to name a few. Addiction is a chronic disease that affects the chemicals in the brain. It dysfunctions the circuits in the brain that deal with memory, reward, sex, motivation, behavior, relationships and emotions all mostly resulting in substance use or other behaviors to fulfill those circuit rewards. This world is in a current addiction epidemic on drugs. Let’s try to understand addiction to make it a little clearer.

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.

Is addiction a disease? Yes. Is addiction a “brain disease?” No. It is my contention that addiction is not a brain disease though addiction itself can rightly be referred to as a disease. Upon hearing the word “disease,” my thoughts go immediately to images of microscopic bacteria and viruses and some of the visible symptoms from such, but what is a disease? “an impairment of the normal state of the living animal or plant body or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions, is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms, and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition, industrial hazards, or climate), to specific infective agents (as worms, bacteria, or viruses), to inherent

There are many things one may do to control their addiction. Addiction was derived from a Latin term that means "enslaved by" or "bound to." Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of the brain. Anyone may become addicted to any particular substance, thing, or activity. Some common addictions are food, exercise, gambling, sex, shopping, work, internet, and drugs. A drug is any chemical that has a psychological effect on the brain when consumed. Alcohol, caffeine, aspirin, and nicotine are all examples of drugs commonly used. One can become addicted to anything. From piercings, to music, to even plastic surgery. When a person becomes addicted to something, they cannot control how they use it, and they become dependent on it to cope with daily life. The way we survive is based on a reward system. When we do something that aids our survival as eating, or exercise, our brain releases a chemical called dopamine or "the feel good chemical." Particular drugs, activities, and things release dopamine. When one likes it a lot, the dopamine is released in higher doses. Since it releases high amounts of dopamine, our body builds a tolerance to the amount of dopamine, and it takes more and more to reach the desirable effect. To control addiction, one must change their environment, figure themselves out, and change their way of thinking.

1. Define: drug, drug addiction, narcotic drugs, depressants, stimulants, opioids, cannabinols, hallucinogens, inhalants and over the counter drugs.

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.

It seem that a new connotation has been given to the term ‘drug’. Before in the past, the term was used for the word ‘medicine’. But in the 21st century it’s not only used to describe medicine, but also to reference fatal narcotics, which includes heroin, cocaine, and many other specifications. All these narcotics have an evil affect on the mind and body cells of the addict. The young generations are failing victims of these addictions. I believe that addiction is a brain disease. It is when the addict becomes dependent on a drug and uses it, despite of having knowledge of what the long term harm of it does to one’s health. Addiction is a brain disease, because it can change the structure and functioning of the brain. While I watched the video,

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.

The real key to stopping addiction and abusive behavior in our coming generations is prevention. If we can work together in society to better educate the actual physical effects that drugs have on an individual and step away from the typical drugs are bad we might be able to educate enough youth to make them not want to except drugs even for that first time before you realize that that’s all you needed to lose control. Life is a choice however some choices come with irrevocable consequences and drug abuse and addiction is truly one of these choices. The question you can ask yourself is where will you fall in this choice? It can be the best decision you make in your life or the worst.

Many people believe the misconception that an addiction is a moral problem and not a disease. To better understand the reasons why an additicition is in fact a disease; I will identify several types of addictions, and the problems associated with them. I will examine reasons why certain people are more susceptible for developing an addiction. Also, I will determine why many addicts deny their problems and many recovery methods addicts use to fight their illness. Researching these issues, will help aid my claim that addiction is a disease.

Drug addiction: A Modern-Day DiseaseThesis statement: Drug abuse is a complex disease that needs enduring and extensive treatment. People who have struggled with substance abuse have often found it extremely difficult to quit due to the physical and/or mental addiction.

Addiction is a choice and by classifying addiction as a disease, we are just enabling drug addicts to take no responsibility for their own actions in their lives. By labeling addiction as a medical condition it creates a false assumption that addicts have no control over their own behavior. People become addicts because of their behavior, not their brain chemistry. The disease concept is so popular because it gives people an easy way out; if they inherited their addiction they can’t be responsible for their own behavior. The disease model of addiction is flawed for a number of reasons; first, most people who take drugs do not become addicted, but may take drugs for a period of time, then stop when they choose to do so. Many well respected professors and scientist claim addiction is a scapegoat behavior that has been incorrectly identified as a physical or mental illness, an addict is only a victim of bad science and misguided policy.

Drug abuse is not a new problem, it has been happening for the longest time, abusing drugs has always been an interesting topic to me because I have never been able to grasp the concept of why addicts start or continue when it is clearly obvious that it has negative effects on the human body. It is a popular conception of common sense, but is false. Drug abusers sometimes are not educated enough to know the damages or the addict truly believes they are not addicted. This topic sparks an interest to me because all around me, my co-workers, peers, and close relatives have been hooked and addicted to addictive substances.