Addiction is a non-medical term used to describe a compulsion to repeat a harmful behavior despite its negative consequences. A person who is addicted is known as an addict. Many drugs or behaviors can precipitate a set of medical conditions that include a craving for more of the drug or behavior, increasing tolerance of higher exposures, and pain or discomfort upon terminating use (called withdrawal). Because these drugs/behaviors have the potential to provide physical or psychological pleasure, or release from pain, they are capable of causing dependency in those who participate in their use. The term "addiction" is no longer employed as a diagnostic term, and has been replaced with "dependence."
Addictions include those to:
There is no longer any significant debate over whether eating disorders are addictions: they are often characterised by strong elements of addictive behaviour. Many people experience withdrawal or withdrawal-like symptoms if they alter their diet suddenly, suggesting that some common food substances - eg. chocolate, artificial sweeteners, and sugar - may have the potential for addiction.
The medical establishment makes a distinction between physical and psychological addictions. Physical addictions lead to physical symptoms upon withdrawal. Psychological addictions lead to psychological symptoms upon withdrawal. The distinction should not be taken to mean that psychological addictions are easier to break than physical ones. Moreover, most addictions have both physical and psychological components. Breaking any addiction is very hard, or it wouldn't be an addiction.
The speed with which a given individual becomes addicted to a substance varies with the substance, the frequency and means of ingestion, and individual characteristics. Some alcoholics say that they drank in an alcoholic way from the moment they felt the first intoxication while most people can drink socially without ever becoming addicted. Nicotine is considered by many to be the most addictive substance of all.
Several explanations (or "models") have been presented to explain addiction:
- The moral model states that addictions are the result of human weakness, and are defects of character. Those who advance this model do not accept that there is any biological basis for addiction. They have scant sympathy for people with serious addictions, believing either that a person with greater moral strength could have the force of will to break an addiction, or that the addict demonstrated a great moral failure in the first place by starting the addiction. This model is no longer considered to have any therapeutic value.
- The disease model states that addiction is an illness, and comes about as a result of the impairment of healthy neurochemical processes. While there is some dispute among clinicians as to the reliability of this model, it is still widely employed in therapeutic settings.
- The genetic model posits a genetic predisposition to certain behaviors. It is frequently noted that certain addictions "run in the family," and while there may or may not be quantitative evidence to demonstrate such a correlation on a case-by-case basis, there is strong evidence that this is a legitimate factor in addiction.
- The cultural model recognises that the influence of culture is a strong determinant on whether or not individuals fall prey to certain addictions. For example, alcohol addictions are rare among Saudi Arabians, where obtaining alcohol is difficult and using alcohol is prohibited. In North America, on the other hand, the incidence of gambling addiction has soared in the last two decades of the twentieth century, mirroring the growth of the gambling industry.
- The blended model attempts to consider elements of all other models in developing a therapeutic approach to dependency. It holds that the mechanism of dependency is different for different individuals, and that each case must be considered on its own merits.
The word addiction is sometimes used jokingly to refer to something a person has a passion for. Such "addicts" include:
Although the term is used loosely rather than seriously, there is actually something to this, because any pleasurable activity releases endorphins, and this endorphin-rush can become 'addictive'.
See also:
