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Thesis statement is addiction a choice or disease
Is addiction a disease or choice essay
Addiction is a choice followed by disease essay
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“Addiction is a disease!” Have you ever stopped to think whether addiction is truly a disease or just a choice and everyone seems to turn a blind eye? I have a hard time believing addiction is a disease, and I am not the only person who thinks this. When it comes to understanding addiction, we are not on the same page. Till this day, there are people still arguing whether addiction is a disease or a choice. “A disease can be described as a disorder of structure or function that produces specific signs or symptoms, or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of a physical injury.” (2018 Oxford University Press) The different types of addiction are physical and psychological addiction. When one has a physical addiction, …show more content…
It helps them get away from reality, sleep better, relax, and feel in control of everything and everyone around them. How many of us just wanted to feel relaxed after a long day and just taking one pill, having one cigarette, one beer, having sex, or gambling can do that for you? Well, why not? It’s just one time, right? Why can’t we just do that without wondering “what if”? I will tell you why, because you may think you have control of how much and how often you will do this when in actuality the substance or action changes how your brain functions over time. You might think, “It’s just one time” but that one time makes you lose all your self-control overtime and can lead to drastic measures. The urge of just that “one time” becomes a daily habit even when you want to quit that habit, you cannot do so now. “Your brain is wired to make you want to repeat experiences that make you feel good, so you are motivated to do them again and again.” (A. Tom Horvath) Over time, your brain begins to build up a tolerance to the drug, so you might need to take more and more of the drug to get that same good feeling, thus leading to
As defined by the American Psychiatric Association, addiction is a "chronically relapsing disorder that is characterized by three major elements: (a) compulsion to seek and take the drug, (b) loss of control in limiting intake, and (c) emergence of a negative emotional state when access to the drug is prevented" (1). This disorder results from the repeated use of a drug over a prolonged period of time, causing physical changes in the brain.
Addicts appear to be Extremely selfish, destructive, and looked down upon by society. Maybe you know someone who acts in a similar way. They steal, cheat, lie, and worse. But a huge misconception is that this behavior is by choice, ...
One important and mostly accepted view of addiction is “The Disease Model of Addiction”. There are several perspectives within the disease model that emphasize different elements of addiction. The disease model of the AA handles addiction as a spiritual disease that can never be fully cured and suggests life-long abstinence ...
George F. Koob defines addiction as a compulsion to take a drug without control over the intake and a chronic relapse disorder (1). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association defined "substance dependence" as a syndrome basically equivalent to addiction, and the diagnostic criteria used to describe the symptoms of substance dependence to a large extent define compulsion and loss of control of drug intake (1). Considering drug addiction as a disorder implies that there are some biological factors as well as social factors.
The Disease model stance is that addiction can be managed but is never curable (Lewis, 2014). Furthermore, if an addict continues to abuse their drug of choice, they mental or physical facilities are inhibited and any reason is nonexistent. Overtime, the damage to the brain can become permanent. The function of the neurotransmitters can be destroyed not allowing for them to split from the terminal burton towards the postsynaptic receptors (Capella, 2016).
Addiction to alcohol, drugs, and all other mind-altering substances has gripped society and torn families apart for as long as these substances have been around. As early as the 1700’s, certain doctors realized how alcoholism was affecting people and suggested alcoholism as a disease. This started a centuries long dispute as to whether addiction and alcoholism was a moral issue or a disease. Many people today believe that it is possible to just stop using mind-altering substances without any treatment and support. Many under privileged alcoholics and addicts find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get proper treatment, and they end up in jails, institutions, or unfortunately, dead.
Addiction is a condition that develops from a simple immoral act or increased dependency on drugs for normal functioning of the body. While it has traditionally been considered as a condition brought by behavioral problems, addiction is a disease of the brain as evident in the findings in neuroscience, genetics, and biological studies. The condition is a disease because of the significant effects it has on the structure and function of the brain.
Science Education says that continuous taking of drugs causes changes in brain chemical system, including glutamate, a neurotransmitter will influence the reward circuit system and can become abnormally low. It also affects the ability to experience, learn and the pleasure. Now the abusers want to generate the dopamine high by taking higher amount of drugs than what they used to, for more effets. Finally the abuser will be completely addicted for drugs and that causes brain diseases.
Addiction /ə-ˈdik-shən, a-/ noun 1. A strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble), 2. An unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something (Addiction). Addiction can cause a person to sabotage their lives in order to get their next fix, whether that be scoring another gram of coke or a double with cheese, a large fry, and a large soda. Addicts are stuck in a constant cycle of getting cravings, going through with their ritual, using, experiencing guilt, and being emotionally triggered, thus bringing them back to the beginning. Now, most people when they hear the word “addiction”, the first thing that comes to their mind is drugs. However, if a vast majority of individuals
A behavior becomes an addiction when it brings negative consequences; it impairs their health, endangers their life, and undermines their personal relationships. If it doesn’t do any of these things, we can’t call those people
Addiction is the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. Alcoholism is the continued excessive or compulsive use of alcoholic drinks. Being addicted to either drugs or alcohol, it is still a choice. They are not diseases. People choose what they put in their body and how they control those substances. “...addiction is a habit that grows and perpetuates itself relatively quickly when we repeatedly pursue the same highly attractive goal.”(Lewis)
They produce and target our brain’s reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine works regions of our brain that regulates our movement, emotion, motivation and feelings of pleasure. At normal levels it rewards our natural behaviors. By adding drugs into our system that overstimulates the dopamine, it produces euphoric effects. Once a user feels those euphoric effects it reinforces the behavior of drug use that overtime teaches the user to repeat it. What I found most interesting is that are brains are wired to make sure that we will repeat activities that are associated with pleasure or reward. Which is why it makes sense we only remember the good memories because our brain notes when something important is
Addiction is defined as a chronic relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. The best argument against calling addiction a disease states that addicts make the choice to use drugs and that their inability to stop is simply immature and irresponsible behavior. From the articles that I have researched I am going to discuss whether or not drug addiction is a disease or if it is just a choice. I will analyze some key points on the definition of disease as well as choice and hopefully show some evidence to support my theories of drug addiction being a disease or a choice.
Addiction is a progressive, chronic, and ultimately a fatal disease. It is progressive in the sense that if it is left untreated it will get worse. Chronic means long term. Once one becomes dependent, it is like diabetes, in that diabetes is an incurable disease that can only be controlled. Long-term addictions have the high potential to lead to death through overdose, AIDs, suicide, or an accident (Aronson 17). The cycle of addiction tends to follow a pattern.
Addiction can be defined as “the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance or activity” (Oxford university press, 2014). Addictive substances can vary significantly, from drugs, alcohol and gambling, to art, food and exercise. There are many viewpoints regarding addiction development; is it more appropriate to view addiction as disease or moral failure?