There has been some controversy for some time now about the right way of labeling addiction, as pertains to what it is and how it y manifests itself. In the mid-1990s, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), introduced the idea that addiction is, was, and will always be a “brain disease.” NIDA explained that this is true because addiction it is tied to changes in brain structure and function. However, there is a lot more going on than just changes in brain function.
The repeated use of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, alcohol, and nicotine do change the brain concerning the complex circuitry involved in memory, anticipation, and pleasure. Some observers of these complexities consider addiction a form of learning. They believe that people discover that a substance or an activity such as gambling helps them assuage pain or elevate their mood, and they form an attachment to it, kind of like humans have a strong attachment to food and water. Internally, synaptic connections strengthen the human brain to establish the association.
So there definitely is a connection between the brain and addiction, but not enough for labeling addiction as a brain disease. This is true and has been proven by science. But in all honesty, it could be argued that the critical question is not whether brain changes occur, but whether these changes block the factors that sustain self-control.
Labeling Addiction as a Brain Disease Can Limit Treatment Options
Is addiction truly beyond the control of an addict in the same way that the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or multiple sclerosis are beyond the power of the afflicted? Is addiction something that we have no control over?
No amount of reinforcement or punishment can alter the course of an entirely autonomous biological condition like cancer, MS, dementia, or Alzheimer’s. Imagine bribing an Alzheimer’s patient to keep her dementia from worsening, or threatening to impose a penalty on her if it did. Wouldn’t that be crazy? When you think about it, it’s quite ludicrous to state that addiction is something that those afflicted have absolutely no control over.
The whole idea here is that addicts do respond well to consequences and rewards routinely. So, while brain changes do occur, describing addiction as a brain disease is limited and misleading, and in a lot of ways is an “easy way out”, because it gives addicts the justification, though it is a false one, to avoid responsibility for what they might have done while addicted.
A case in point is how individuals with selective careers get treated when it comes to substance abuse and their jobs. Take, for example, the case of physicians and pilots with drug or alcohol addictions. When these individuals are reported to their oversight boards because they are caught with an addiction of one degree or another, they are monitored closely for several years after they complete rehabilitation. They are suspended for a period and return to work on probation and under strict supervision when they have complied rehab.
This is just one example that eradicates the idea that labeling addiction as solely a brain disease.
Listed below are a few other examples to consider:
- A lot of problems abound from substance abuse. Few are as bad as youth substance abuse. When young adults abuse drugs and alcohol, they run the risk of creating permanent damage to their brains and central nervous systems, as these areas are still developing. Furthermore, young adults are far more likely to die from substance abuse than older adults are, and this happens all too frequently. Finally, young adults are more likely to attempt to get other people to abuse drugs and alcohol than older adults are, causing a faster proliferation of addiction. However, though there is a significant, “permanent,” risk to the brain of a teen from intensive drug abuse, the United States still sees thousands upon thousands of young adults emerge from rehab centers healthier and recovered. This will not be the case if they have serious brain problems.
- Convicted drug offenders are a great example of individuals who have total mental faculty and control over what they are doing. Addiction is not just in the brain for them. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that many substance abusers in the criminal justice system never receive the treatment they need, and this is mostly because there is very little help available today for the addicted criminal. A 1997 Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) survey found that less than 1/5 of all incarcerated offenders with substance abuse problems received proper treatment for their addictions. These untreated offenders are much more likely to relapse and become repeat offenders, costing the public more money and overwhelming the criminal justice system as it continues to tax the American residents.
Not Just a Brain Issue or a Personality Issue
As it is now painstakingly obvious that addiction is a major issue of the mind, body, and personality, it becomes apparent that an extensive handling and approach must be applied. The best way to address addiction so that all factors are approached is through an inpatient addiction treatment center. With help like this, it is actually possible to effectively address all mental, personal, physical, and psychological aspects of addiction once and for all.
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