Addiction to alcohol or drugs is a disease. Many opponents of such a statement hold on to the idea that a drug or alcohol addiction, unlike other diseases, is a choice.
History shows us that when drug addiction was first being studied, addicts were looked upon as having little willpower and to be without morals. This way of thinking about addicts and addiction still exists. Addicts are viewed as weak for allowing themselves to become addicted to drugs or alcohol.
The medical community has long considered addiction a disease. The American Medical Association declared alcoholism an illness in 1956, and several studies have shown addiction to be a chronic brain disease. Abuse of drugs physically damages the brain, inhibiting function for the areas that govern decision making, memory and behaviors.
No one chooses to have a disease. No one chooses to become addicted to drugs or alcohol.
The truth is, the majority of addicts started out just wanting to "try" the substance, perhaps because they wanted to feel better, or forget about their problems, or because they were curious, and wanted to see what would happen. Most of these people probably did have knowledge of the consequences of using the substance.
Despite bad choices, addicts did not choose to walk around with an uncontrollable, seeking and using of a substance that alters their behavior, their relationships, their ability to hold down a job or take care of their children.
They chose to try it. In the same way a person with skin cancer first began the ritual of weekly tanning, or a person with heart disease grew up on hamburgers and fried foods.
-Why a disease?
There is no one agreed-upon definition for the word "disease." The simplest definition is a disruption of the normal function of a body or its parts. In other words, when an organ, a structure or a system in the body ceases functioning properly, and the reason for the malfunction is due to an illness, sickness, an imbalance or even a toxin, that is disease.
In the case of addiction, the brain is the organ that ceases proper functioning and the drugs or alcohol is the toxin that has caused the damage to the brain.
-This is how addiction works
All drugs have one thing in common: dopamine. Rather, the way that drugs affect dopamine, a naturally-occurring chemical in the brain that gives feelings of pleasure. Our brain releases this chemical as part of a reward system, for activities such as eating or sex.
The reason that drugs make people feel "good" is because they cause the brain to release excess dopamine, sometimes ten times the amount normally released during the reward system process. Eventually, the brain no longer releases dopamine as a natural reward, which often means the addict can no longer feel pleasure, incurring depressive-like feelings and a lack of pleasure in everyday activities. Consequently, to bring dopamine levels back to what they once were, the addict continues using drugs.
The twist is that the brain has a great memory, which is why we tend to repeat behaviors that give us pleasure. Eating food is an excellent example of this brain function; we learn to keep eating certain foods. The problem is, when it comes to drugs, the brain has the ability to teach the addict to continue taking the drug over and over again.
Once the brain becomes used to the drug's presence, the drug no longer gives the same "high" as before, and the user has to take higher quantities of the drug to achieve the same effect, a process known as tolerance.
Some addicts may become physically dependent on their drug of choice. Their body, now used to having the drug, will go through withdrawal symptoms if the drug is removed from the system.
Not all addicts become tolerant or physically dependent and not all people physically dependent or tolerant of a drug are addicted to it. Many patients taking drugs for medicinal purposes can develop tolerance or dependence on the drugs, without becoming addicted. Addiction is a compulsive seeking and taking of a drug, without regard to the consequences of the drug abuse.
Recovery from addiction, like all diseases, is possible. In a similar way that a diabetic avoids sugar, or a heart patient takes a daily walk, an addict adjusts behavior and seeks a path without drugs or alcohol.
For more information about drug abuse and addiction, visit http://www.nida.gov.