What is Addiction?
by Hope Rehab Team
Topic at a glance:
Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. (The American Society of Addiction Medicine 2011)
The impaired ability to experience pleasure drives those caught up in addiction to chase the rewards they seem to obtain from alcohol, drugs, and process addictions such as gambling. Willpower is no longer enough once the reward circuitry has been impaired.
Common symptoms of addiction include compulsive reward seeking, obsession, impaired decision making, denial, psychiatric problems, dysfunctional emotions, and a low stress threshold.
Addiction cannot be ‘cured’ in the medical sense, but it can be treated so that those with the condition are able to live a full life.
Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors.
Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. 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.
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) 2011
The memory of the drug has become more powerful than the drug itself.
However, the relief or highs provided by drugs and alcohol are short-lived.
You know you are addicted when you cannot stop doing something that is hurting you. For an addict Using is like going back to the problem for the solution. Addiction’s are repeating repetitive behavior – so don’t be surprised the solution need to be repeated everyday also… Scientists say Addiction could be renamed dopamine deficiency disorder or neurotransmitter disease…Shakespeare used the word Addiction meaning devotion to something unnecessary. The good news is if you can quit for a day, you can quit for a lifetime.
Compulsive Reward seeking.
Relief seeking.
Impaired decision-making.
Anxiety (fear).
Obsession.
Low Stress threshold.
Low frustration tolerance.
Denial.
Dysfunctional emotions.
Apathy.
Co-dependency.
Depression.
Isolation and agoraphobia.
Psychiatric problems.
Low Boredom threshold.
I can’t live without it.
I need it.
It helps me.
I don’t have a choice.
I can’t say no.
I must have it.
Dopamine – reward, pleasure, motivation, addiction
Serotonin – mood, appetite, sensory depression.
Endorphins – natural opiates, pain relief
Noradrenaline – arousal, alertness, energy concentration
GABA – arousal, impulsiveness, cognition
Glutamate – excitatory, cognition balance
The neurotransmitter dopamine is released into the nucleus accumbens and produces pleasure. This system is called the reward pathway. When we do something that provides this reward, the brain records the experience and we are likely to do it again.
Is There a Cure of Addiction?
Don’t be confused about addiction, it cannot be cured in a traditional medical sense, it is best viewed as chronic condition like diabetes. Treatment means addressing psychological, environmental and social aspects (triggers) of the problem, not just its biological condition.
Medical treatment in this field is known as “medication-assisted therapy” not “therapy-assisted medication.” Medication alone fails in the long-term. An analogy is with depression, if you ask people what depression is, they’ll say it’s a serotonin deficiency and that the solution is to prescribe antidepressant medication. This is a simplistic and short-term way of managing depression. Medication can be helpful however it needs to be combined with talk therapy and lifestyle change. Also humans become tolerant to all drugs and medication so a sustainable long-term solution is needed. There is no pill, which can cure addiction, so choosing a recovery lifestyle over unhealthy behaviours is the same as people with heart disease who choose to eat healthier or begin an exercise program.
The term dependence and the term addiction have been interchangeable in recent times, however the latest medical thinking is that Substance dependence can be a symptom of addiction, not the addiction itself, the cause is the brain chemistry deficit that pre-exists it, low dopamine levels. And the same goes for substance-abusers who binge occasionally for example. The reason for making this distinction is not to exclude people who do not form a physical-dependency and to include those users of non-physically-addicting substances like stimulants, as they are equally compulsive and problematic.
If you are concerned that you (or someone you care about) has developed an addiction problem, please contact our team by phone or email for advice and support.