Addiction

ADDIC0 TION 5

A choice or a disease, it doesn’t matter.

Addiction is a critical problem that our society has been facing over the last decade, but when it comes to the term “addiction” most people think it’s all about substance use and lack of willpower, but in fact, addiction includes a lot of other aspects, before diving into it let’s see what addiction really is.

Addiction is the inability to stop doing something even though it causes psychological and physical harm. And by “Something” I mean anything, it doesn’t matter if it’s a chemical or behavioral addiction, anything may be addictive at some point.

Social Media

addiction, caffeine addiction, internet gaming addiction….. we’re all addicted to something without even knowing.

Now let’s see how addiction really works... in order to get to know its mechanism it’s important to know that addiction includes 4 elements, starting from the reward system, going through craving & tolerance, disinterest in other activities then finally loss of control.

Addiction interferes with the

brain functions, particularly in the reward system, when you do something you find enjoyable, whether that’s hanging out with your best friend, drinking a bottle of wine, or using cocaine, this reward system releases the neurotransmitter dopamine along with other chemicals, dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. When activated at normal levels, this system rewards our natural behaviors, overstimulating the system with drugs, however, produces euphoric effects, which strongly reinforce the behavior of drug use, teaching the user to repeat it. Figure.1

Cravings for the substance

or behaviour can be triggered by the urge to feel euphoria again, especially when you encounter the same triggers that tempted you to try it the first time, your brain continues to release more dopamine as you continue to use a substance or engage in a habit. It eventually realises that your brain already has plenty of dopamine and begins creating less in response to regular triggers, but your reward system still needs the same amount of dopamine to function as it should.

Figure 1

Eventually, to balance what your brain isn't releasing, you'll need to consume more of the substance, which is termed as “Tolerance” .

Craving & tolerance are

associated with disinterest usually

in

other activities. You usually start losing interest in hobbies and other activities as an addiction develops, this occurs when your brain no longer produces enough dopamine in reaction to natural stimuli such as drawing or eating.

Finally you face loss of control, as

addiction is characterised by

an inability to control the use of substances or specific behaviours, this can lead to a loss of employment, health problems, and relationship problems, among other things.

As a result, you may decide to stop using the substance or engaging in the behaviour, only to find that despite your best efforts, you continue to fall short.

Going back to our title,

“Addiction is a choice or a disease?” Individuals drink or use drugs for the first time voluntarily, and they assume they can regulate their consumption. To reach the same degree of pleasure and satisfaction as when they first started, more and more alcohol or drugs are required over time as mentioned in the tolerance part above. Individuals can no longer choose not to use drugs or alcohol on their own, even if it means losing believed in. everything they ever

“An intelligent person can rationalize anything, a wise person doesn't try. ” ― Jen Knox

Finally, we all must know that

the American Medical Association (AMA) has classified addiction as a disease in 1987, then latest studies have shown that addiction is a lot like other diseases, such as heart disease, both disrupt the normal, healthy functioning of the underlying organ, have serious harmful consequences, and are preventable and treatable, but if left untreated, can last a lifetime. Figure.2

Figure 2

That’s why addiction issues should be addressed to everyone and especially for us as future physicians to help people understand what they’re going through, how to treat it and how to prevent it in the first place.