Is Addiction a Disease? What the Experts Say

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So, is addiction a disease? We’ve got the answers to this long-debated topic here. Click to learn what the experts say about addiction.

Is addiction a disease? This question has been asked time and time again is addiction a disease, whether addicts have genetic reasons for becoming addicts or making poor life choices. In this article, we’re going to try to answer this question for you.

If you’ve been waiting for the answer, continue reading for everything you need to know about the correlation between addiction and disease.

Should you seek professional help?

Unfortunately, many addicts don’t want to face that they have a problem.

And beyond that, many are skeptical of whether or not a psychiatrist can even work for them. As explained over at BetterHelp, “Different chemical imbalances cause that mental disorder in their brain.”

That makes finding a good therapist or psychiatrist crucial for an addict’s recovery.

Addiction and the Brain

When a person begins to use, it triggers a dopamine response from their brains. Dopamine is responsible for supplying those euphoric feelings, and other feel-good endorphins.

As an addict’s body becomes used to using the drugs daily, they find that they’ll need more and more of the drug to continue creating this “feel-good” effect. When the brain remains at a heightened level of this rewarding feeling, it begins to change and rewire to continually meet the higher levels of dopamine release.

If someone has decided to enter into rehab, it may take a long time for the brain to heal and return to normal.ย 

Disease or Choice?

When an addict initially chooses to use drugs, it can wipe out the talk of addiction being a disease. This is because everyone doesn’t have the right knowledge to understand why addiction is a disease.

Yes, a person can choose to use, but after that, the addict has no control over the changes that occur because of drug use. When someone continues to use drugs, the power that they once had over cognitive behaviors and actions is lost.

They are no longer in control, the drug is. Disease is often something that takes place because of the choices that an individual has made. For example, if you’ve had a poor diet for years and then find out that you’ve got diabetes, you’d understand that your choices led to you having the disease.

The same things apply to addiction.

Genetic Responsibility

In some cases, an addict may not have realized that their genetics play a role in their need to use drugs. In some families, examples of addictive behavior are evident in their genetic line.

When a person chooses to use drugs, this addictive personality may drive their need to continue using.ย 

The addict may not even realize that they had an addictive personality until after they began using. An addictive personality doesn’t just show itself through drug use, it can also be prevalent in any money spending habits or continually overeating.

Is Addiction a Disease? Yes

When asking is addiction a disease, the simple answer is yes. Once a person begins using drugs, they have no control over the response that their brains and bodies give as a result of their drug use.

We hope this article provided you with the information that you needed. Our blog has various topics like this one that offers more information. To read them, continue scrolling through our blog section.

Jeff Campbell

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