Understanding Addiction

Addiction is not a new problem; however, the contemporary understanding of addiction is much more complex than that of days past. Even only a century ago, addicts were perceived as unethical and lazy without the motivation or moral grounding to throw off their use of substances and be healthy, productive citizens.  Fortunately, the medical community transformed both the perception of addiction as fundamentally a choice as well as the social stigma attached to it.  Although there is still much work for us to do as a society, the passage of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act in 2008 indicates that many Americans recognize that addiction is the byproduct of complicated physical and psychological components.

Many scholars have devoted their lives to trying to understand the nuances of addiction.  In this section, we have attempted to consolidate the extensive research on addiction into manageable, relevant information for those who are currently struggling with an addiction, who are in the unfortunate position of watching someone else follow a self-destructive path, or who are enjoying and adjusting to recovery.  Because each addict is unique, each addiction is also unique in terms of the exact reasons why it developed in the first place and what strategies will be most successful in treatment.  For this reason, understanding addiction and its related concepts is important for addicts as well as family and friends who are ready to fight back.  It is also important to be aware of the possible long-term consequences of addiction to stop cycles of codependence and to intervene as soon as possible.