 Addiction is a serious condition affecting more than twenty million
Americans. Anyone who has been around a loved one with an addiction
problem has seen how it can destroy their job, business, family, health
and even their life.
Some of today’s drugs are far more capable of rapidly causing addiction
than drugs from ten or twenty years ago. Methamphetamine, crack cocaine
and Ecstasy can be addictive after just one or a few uses. OxyContin
can rapidly create addiction in a young person who just wanted to try
it out a few times.
Is Addiction a Disease?
There are some scientists and government officials who describe
addiction as an incurable disease like heart disease or diabetes. This
description justifies and encourages the use of medications such as
methadone or suboxone for treatment. But the success of drug-free
addiction treatment programs disproves this theoretical definition of
addiction.
Addiction is a condition characterized by repeated, compulsive seeking
and use of drugs, alcohol or other similar substances despite adverse
social, mental of physical consequences. It is usually accompanies by
psychological and physical dependence on the abused substance and the
appearance of withdrawal symptoms when the addictive substance is
rapidly decreased or terminated.
When addiction exists, the drug use controls the individual rather than the individual controlling the usage.
There are very specific factors that hold an addiction in place. When
these factors are thoroughly addressed, an addict can recover from the
terrible hold addiction has on his soul and his body, and he can once
again enjoy a productive life.
|