Dependency And Addiction Essay

Dependency and addiction are words that carry negative connotations, especially when applied to individuals who are physically reliant upon drugs and alcohol. The terms “abuse”, “dependency” and “addition” are often used interchangeably, yet when substance abuse and addiction professionals use these terms they are describing different conditions, behavioral patterns, and physiological characters. Both substance abuse and addiction have numerous risk factors that affect individuals mentally, emotionally, psycho-socially, physically, and spiritually. Fortunately, there are ways to manage substance-related and addictive disorders, such as group meetings. To differentiate between substance related and addiction disorders, first you have to understand

These disorders are a “leading cause of medical morbidity, mortality, and health expenditures in the United States” (Chambers, 2013). Substance abuse does not occur overnight. It develops gradually, beginning with social or recreational use and leads to misuse and intoxication. There is a very thin line between substance related disorders and addictive disorders, known as dependency. Some individuals are dependent on the use of drugs to complete activities of daily living. According to Keogh (2014), “Physiological dependency occurs when the individual experiences withdrawal symptoms when abstaining from the substance and psychological dependency is when the individual exhibits drug seeking behaviors after the physical dependency has dissipated.” Addictive disorders are a condition or disorder that develops due to an obsession or compulsive use of alcohol, drugs, sex, games, and so on, that are pleasure seeking and rewarding to the brain. The characteristics and signs of addiction are loss of behavioral control with craving and inability to abstain, loss of emotional regulations, and loss of the ability to identify problematic behaviors and relationships. Addiction can also have essential features such as obsessive thoughts about the drug and continued use despite the knowledge of negative health and social