Addiction

What Is Addiction?

The American Psychiatric Association defines addiction as a complex condition that occurs when someone cannot control their use of a drug, alcohol, or behavior. Despite experiencing negative consequences and problems at home, work, school, or socially, they cannot stop.

Many treatment professionals replace “addiction” with the term “substance use disorder.” They do this because the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), which professionals use to diagnose addiction, uses the term “substance use disorder.” However, addiction and substance use disorder can be used interchangeably.

People develop a tolerance when they repeatedly misuse substances over time. That means more significant amounts of drugs or alcohol or more frequent involvement in certain behaviors are required to achieve the desired effects, escalating the nature of the addiction.

Long-term use can result in a dangerous cycle of addiction in which people need to continue using substances or engaging in behaviors to avoid the uncomfortable symptoms of withdrawal. Eventually, they prioritize their addiction over everything else that was once important in their lives.

Is Addiction A Disease?

Yes, addiction is a disease, not a choice. Excessive substance abuse alters how the brain functions. When a person consumes drugs or alcohol, the brain produces large amounts of dopamine, which triggers the brain’s reward system, giving them a sense of euphoria and pleasure.

After repeated drug use, the brain cannot produce normal amounts of dopamine on its own. Therefore, they prioritize the substance or action over everything else to feel good. If they go without, they will experience withdrawal symptoms, which can be painful.

What Are The Signs Of Addiction?

Everyone is different, and it may be harder to detect an addiction in some people than in others. However, addiction typically has some general warning signs:

• Ignoring commitments or responsibilities
• Experiencing problems at work, school, or home
• Having unexplained absences
• Appearing to have a new set of friends
• Encountering considerable monetary fluctuations
• Facing changes in sleep patterns
• Undergoing lapses in concentration or memory
• Being unusually secretive about parts of personal life
• Withdrawing from regular social contacts
• Having sudden mood swings and changes in behavior
• Experiencing an unusual lack of motivation
• Undergoing weight loss or changes in physical appearance

Professionals use the DSM-5 to diagnose an addiction. There are 11 listed criteria, and depending on how many a person meets, they may have a mild, moderate, or severe addiction. The criteria include:

• Taking more of a substance and for longer than intended
• Desiring and trying to quit or cut back but without success
• Spending much time on finding, using, and recovering from use
• Craving or having intense urges to use
• Being unable to fulfill duties at home, work, school, or socially due to use
• Continuing to use it despite causing interpersonal relationship problems
• Giving up work, family, or social activities to use
• Using in dangerous situations
• Continuing to use despite causing or worsening a physical or psychological problem
• Having a tolerance or needing more to achieve the same original effects
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when going without substances

The more criteria you meet, the more severe your addiction. Even mild addictions can benefit from treatment, however. At the first sign of a problem, seek help from professionals. You can explore our rehab directory to find treatment centers near you or easily search by insurance provider, substance, level of care, and more.

Cause And Risk Factors For Addiction

There is no one single cause for addiction. However, many risk factors are associated with someone developing an addiction.

Risk factors are events or situations that make it more likely for someone to misuse substances or engage in unhealthy behaviors. The most common risk factors for addiction include:

• Having been physically, sexually, verbally, or emotionally abused as a child
• Genetics and family history of substance abuse or unhealthy behaviors
• Experimentation with substances of abuse at an early age
• High-stress lifestyle
• Post-traumatic stress
• Grief or loss of a loved one
• Peer pressure as a child, young adult, or adult
• Having a chronic disease
• Socioeconomic status and living in a neighborhood with a lot of addiction
• Unhealthy home environment
• Having a mental health disorder

The more risk factors a person has, the more likely they are to develop an addiction. Fortunately, replacing risk factors with protective factors can reduce the odds.

Types Of Addiction

Multiple types of addictions exist. Someone can develop an addiction in one of three categories: drugs, alcohol, or behaviors. Some may even develop an addiction to more than one substance or behavior simultaneously.

Common Substance Addictions

Types of addiction involving drugs or alcohol include the following:

• Alcohol
• Marijuana
• Nicotine
• Cocaine
• Methamphetamines
• Opioids
• Heroin

Many people choose to mix drugs and alcohol when seeking a high or trying to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, they can develop a polysubstance use disorder, which occurs when someone becomes addicted to two or more substances.

Common Behavioral Addictions

Types of addictions that involve behaviors are not related to substances but instead occur when a person feels compelled to engage in behaviors that produce a feeling of euphoria or give them a high. Only one behavioral addiction, gambling addiction, has been introduced as a mental health disorder in the DSM-5. However, many behaviors likely should be included, such as:

Someone with a behavioral addiction may experience significant distress or disability, psychobiological dysfunction, social conflicts or deviance, and expected responses to stressors. Someone with either type of addiction, substance or behavioral, has similar risk factors. When addressed and replaced with protective factors, people may be able to have long-term recovery.

Dependency Vs. Addiction

Someone can be dependent and never develop an addiction. Also, someone can have an addiction without having a dependence on a substance. However, when someone becomes dependent on drugs or alcohol, their risk of having an addiction dramatically increases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) described dependence as a pattern of continuous use of a substance with evidence of impaired regulation, in which it is manifested in at least two of the following:

• Experiencing impaired control over substance use or unhealthy behavior
• Increasingly placing more importance on substance use or unhealthy behaviors over essential daily activities and responsibilities
• Continuing to misuse substances or participate in unhealthy behaviors, even though some consequences are beginning to occur
• Having an increasing tolerance for the substance or needing more to feel the enjoyable effects
• Undergoing some withdrawal symptoms when they go through a period without the substance or behavior

The WHO states that a person must exhibit these symptoms for at least 12 months. However, it is also a sign of dependence if the use is continuous or daily over the previous three months.

Dependence on a substance can be physical or psychological. Symptoms of both include the following:

Many of the symptoms of dependence mimic those of addiction. For example, developing a tolerance and experiencing withdrawal symptoms are also typical of dependence. The difference is that when a person is addicted, they lose complete control over the substance, which takes priority over everything else in a person’s life.

The WHO also suggests paying attention to two other sure signs of addiction:

1. An episode of harmful psychoactive substance use in which the use of drugs or alcohol leads to significant physical or mental health damage, or results in harming the health of someone else.
2. A harmful pattern of psychoactive substance use in which the pattern of use has caused significant damage to a person’s physical or mental health or has harmed someone else’s health. The pattern is evident over 12 months or one month of daily use.

The harm inflicted on oneself or someone else occurs due to behavior related to intoxication, damage to internal organs, or the route of administration. When either of these occurs, a person should seek treatment to avoid further injuries from happening in the future.

Explore These Featured Addiction Treatment Centers

Addiction Prevention

Addiction prevention starts with simple conversations with people of all ages. Young children, teens, young adults, and adults must all be communicating about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that having a good understanding of the risk factors that lead to addiction and replacing those with protective factors whenever possible may reduce the risk of addiction. In addition, they suggest:

• Helping people avoid or delay the onset of drug and alcohol experimentation
• Stopping the progression of substance use into addiction
• Reducing harms, like injuries or infections, that lead to substance misuse

Prevention involves meeting people’s needs, no matter their age, situation, or setting. It is essential to replace any risk factors with protective factors as soon as possible in a person’s life. Meeting their needs and helping them achieve success at home, school, work, or socially will add protective factors that make it less likely they will turn to drugs, alcohol, or unhealthy behaviors to cope.

Helping A Loved One With An Addiction

You can best help a loved one by recognizing the early warning signs of addiction and getting them help as soon as possible. If you struggle to get them into treatment, ask for help from a local mental health professional or interventionist to stage an intervention.

It is also crucial for you, and everyone affected by addiction, to get treatment to learn more about addiction as a disease, resolve any issues you may have, learn how to set healthy boundaries, and how to support your loved one in recovery. Attending support groups like Al-Anon helps you meet other families facing similar struggles. Sharing stories and giving and receiving feedback can help tremendously with recovery.

Treatment Options For Addiction

Various addiction treatment options exist at the inpatient and outpatient levels of care. A treatment team of doctors, nurses, and therapists will work with you throughout the program to ensure a positive experience.

Inpatient Treatment Options

Inpatient detoxification occurs in a hospital setting and is for people who have severe substance use disorders and who have intense withdrawal symptoms. They will be given medication to ease withdrawal symptoms. Stabilization is the goal at this level.

Inpatient rehab is typically provided in a hospital setting, usually connected to a detox center. Many people transition from detox into rehab, which is where they continue medication for withdrawal symptoms while attending individual and group therapies to learn recovery skills.

Inpatient residential programs are in homes within the community in which sober peers reside. They attend individual and group therapies throughout the day, as well as medication management appointments.

Outpatient Treatment Options

Partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) occur in community-based agencies with access to hospital facilities when needed. Participants attend the program five days a week, during the day, for at least five hours daily. They participate in individual and group therapies to improve recovery skills.

Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) are like PHPs but less restrictive. They occur in outpatient facilities for three-hour sessions at least three days or nights a week. IOP is the perfect place to discuss how implementing recovery skills works in their daily lives outside of treatment.

Both PHP and IOP require participants to have a healthy support system and live in a healthy home environment. They must also attend community support groups outside of treatment.

Types of Therapies

At each level of treatment, therapists will use a range of therapies to teach early recovery skills and relapse prevention. Types of therapies typically include:

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Mindfulness-based CBT (MB-CBT)
• Dialectical-behavioral therapy (DBT)
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
• Couples therapy
• Family therapy
• Motivational enhancement therapies (MET)
• Trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT)
• Alternative and holistic therapies
• 12-step facilitation groups
• Psychoeducation
• Exposure therapy (ET)

Providers will base a participant’s treatment plan on their unique needs, so not everyone will participate in the same therapies. Having a well-rounded treatment plan addresses all issues that may lead to a relapse. Treating the whole person is essential in long-term recovery.

When To Seek Help

There is never a bad time to seek help. Whether you are experimenting with drugs or alcohol, or notice you are engaging in a behavior to get a high, it is time to get help. If you have been using substances for many years, it is time to get help. Fortunately, recovery can happen no matter how long you have struggled with addiction.

How To Find Help For Addiction

The first step in getting help is to request an assessment from a licensed mental health professional. You can contact your physician, a local therapist, or a treatment center for guidance. Other resources include school counselors, social workers, nurses, and local hospitals, who often have resources on substance abuse treatment.

If you are ready to get started today, you can talk with a treatment provider who can answer your rehab-related questions and discuss your treatment options. The key is to take the first step and reach out to someone for help. Don’t wait any longer to start the journey back to a healthy, happy lifestyle. Call today.