Addiction is commonly described as a brain disorder, or as a chronic disfunction of brain reward system. As for behavioral factor, it is usually mentioned as an addictive behavior, activity that is a result of a disease. An issue by Eileen L. Daniel (93), provides a two-side view of the problem. Even though the mechanisms of the disease have been studied in detail, the question still remains: is an addiction a biochemical pathology of the human body, the brain in particular, or is it just a behavioral disorder of an individual, which results in compulsive use of a substance?
Modern theories of addiction cause and characteristics are split into behavioral, genetic, social, psychological and some other ways of examining the problem. The primary theory is a disease model. It follows the idea that addiction is a biochemical brain condition that makes a person initially prone to compulsive behavior of any kind. Being compulsive doing anything, means being unable to avoid some types of actions, especially those providing a pleasant feeling, or an escape route out of unpleasant experience instead. Once trying a drug, a compulsive person finds it hard to resist the urge to repeat, and more often than not fails to understand that he or she is actually an addict. Another argument straightening the theory is that some people are more influenced by different substances or actions, be it food, cigarettes, exercising or gaming. Various biological factors make their organisms more effected by sugar, wheat or alcohol consumption, altering their mood, energy levels and cognitive power in a special way. Moreover, addiction is a condition that is beyond behavioral solution and one can hardly overcome it with the help of metal effort, no matter how rational an abstinence is. Though addiction, when studied as disease caused by biological factors, is often treatable with chemicals.
Opposite to these models, there is a clear statement that a lot of addictive activities have no special ingredients, such as eating, gambling, sex, or Internet usage. These activities cause a dopamine release circuit, making a person wanting them more and more every time. The dopamine release addiction leads to a complete sabotage of one’s personal principles, to a motivational shift, and to focusing most of thoughts and energy on one pursuit – satisfying the dopamine craving, which is masked under a certain action. Thus, even if a certain brain disease takes place here, is it more like a result rather than a cause of an addiction. One must repeat an addictive action multiple times to create a special dopamine circuit, and wire the brain to a specific behavior. Following this idea, people struggling with addiction have voluntarily indulged into some kind of destructive behavior for a period of time, up to the point where it became impossible to resist. What could the cause of addiction be then, if not a conscious choice? It has to be an activity that makes something addictive, the fact of doing it systematically. The quality of the individual’s life deteriorates, forcing the addict to avoid self-reflection and to try to medicate him or herself with the help of the same substances or actions that this person is addicted to. Despite the health and behavioral consequences, in modern society addiction is not a mitigating circumstance, exempting a person from liability.
Having studied the issue, I’ve came to conclusion that none of the arguments alone actually lead to seeing the whole picture. It is impossible to approach the solution of the problem, considering only one of its aspects, especially when all the aspects are closely connected. Addiction is really a disease that includes biological, genetic, and behavioral factors. It is worth noting that a big role in falling under addiction can be played by mental issues, problematic surroundings and, on the other hand, isolation. It is known that addiction highjacks the brain in such a way that it is not possible to get rid of it by power of will. Not because a person has no will power, but because addiction falls out of the field of conscious information processing. Addiction becomes the background setting, the platform of the man’s activity. The disease creates distortions in feeling, thinking, and perception, which make people behaving in ways that are not understandable to others.
It is hard yet to understand, why some people become addicted to things that others are not addicted to, despite similar amount of repetition. What is the reason for a lot of people using hard drugs recreationally and never become addicted to them? It must be a complex of conditions making these people immune to substances.
I agree that exposing yourself to using drugs or addictive activities is a voluntary choice. However, addiction cannot be understood as a behavioral issue only. At the initial stage, a person does not choose an addiction, but simply a pleasant experience. A platform for addiction can be built in a healthy brain, but an activity becomes addictive only when a neurotransmitter imbalance occurs, and new neuronal connections are created – that are, changes in the brain tissue. Though people with brain diseases are more vulnerable against addictive behaviors, an addiction itself is not a result of a brain disease, but something that goes hand in hand with it. To simplify, addiction can be labeled as a reward system disorder. However, until we can find the root cause of addictive behavior patterns, we should examine the problem under all possible angles.
- Daniel, Eileen L. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Health and Society, McGraw-Hill Education; 11th edition, 2013.
