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Chemistry, not moral failing, accounts for the brain’s unwinding. In the laboratories that study drug addiction, researchers have found that the brain becomes conditioned by the repeated dopamine rush caused by heroin. “The brain is not designed to handle it,” said Dr. Ruben Baler, a scientist with the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems. Like many other diseases, alcoholism is chronic, meaning that it lasts a person's lifetime; it usually follows a predictable course; and it has symptoms. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person's genes and by his or her lifestyle." [62]
Four main Behavioral Models of addiction exist: the Moral Model, Disease Model, Socio-Cultural Model and Psycho-dynamic Model. [ citation needed ] The Moral Model of addiction theorizes that addiction is a moral weakness and that it is the sole fault of the person for becoming addicted.
An addictive behavior is a behavior, or a stimulus related to a behavior (e.g., sex or food), that is both rewarding and reinforcing, and is associated with the development of an addiction. There are two main forms of addiction: substance use disorders (including alcohol, tobacco, drugs and cannabis) and behavioral addiction (including sex ...
Showing that a medication can help someone stop taking drugs makes it easier to communicate this and helps people to understand that addiction is a mental health disorder, not a moral failing ...
The common biomolecular mechanisms underlying addiction – CREB and ΔFosB – were reviewed by Eric J. Nestler in a 2013 review. [3] Genetics and mental disorders may precipitate the severity of a drug addiction. It is estimated that 50% of healthy individuals developing an addiction can trace the cause to genetic factors. [4]
Throughout history, addiction has largely been seen as a moral failing or character flaw, as opposed to an issue of public health. [ 54 ] [ 55 ] [ 56 ] Substance use has been found to be more stigmatized than smoking, obesity, and mental illness.
The etymology of the term addiction throughout history has been misunderstood and has taken on various meanings associated with the word. [201] An example is the usage of the word in the religious landscape of early modern Europe. [202] "Addiction" at the time meant "to attach" to something, giving it both positive and negative connotations.