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Helping an individual stop using drugs is not enough. Addiction treatment must also help the individual maintain a drug-free lifestyle, and achieve productive functioning in the family, at work, and in society. Addiction is a disease which alters the structure and function of the brain.
Psychological dependence develops through consistent and frequent exposure to a stimulus. After sufficient exposure to a stimulus capable of inducing psychological dependence (e.g., drug use), an adaptive state develops that results in the onset of withdrawal symptoms that negatively affect psychological function upon cessation of exposure.
An addiction is, by definition, a form of compulsion, and involves operant reinforcement. For example, dopamine is released in the brain's reward system and is a motive for behaviour (i.e. the compulsions in addiction development through positive reinforcement). [19] There are two main differences between compulsion and addiction.
Behavioral addiction is a treatable condition. [20] Treatment options include psychotherapy and psychopharmacotherapy (i.e., medications) or a combination of both. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most common form of psychotherapy used in treating behavioral addictions; it focuses on identifying patterns that trigger compulsive behavior and making lifestyle changes to promote ...
A 2012 study conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University concluded that the U.S. treatment system is in need of a “significant overhaul” and questioned whether the country’s “low levels of care that addiction patients usually do receive constitutes a form of medical malpractice.”
Long-term use has been linked to personality changes such as depression, paranoia, anxiety which can be related to psychological disorders. It is often reported that substance use coincides with personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder. It has also now been linked to severe brain damage leading to an inability to control ...
Unlike negative affect, positive affect is related to addiction in both high and low forms. For example, individuals high in positive affect are more likely to engage in risky behaviour, such as drug use. Individuals with high positive affect in response to use are more likely to seek out substances for hedonic reasons. Conversely, low positive ...
The stopping of antidepressants for example, can lead to antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. With careful physician attention, however, medication prioritization and discontinuation can decrease costs, simplify prescription regimens, decrease risks of adverse drug events and poly-pharmacy, focus therapies where they are most effective, and ...