People often debate about whether or not addiction is a disease. “Is drug addiction a disease?” is a question that does have some substance to it because it helps us know how to treat people who have it. Learn what the medical community has discovered.
Is Drug Addiction a Disease?
For thousands of years, society viewed addiction as a moral failing. Whether you struggle with addiction or know someone who does, this doesn’t make sense. Most people who struggle with an addiction to drugs would stop if they could, but they can’t.
Thanks to advances in medical science, we now have answers to the question, “Is drug addiction a disease?” The definition of a disease is any type of progressive illness that has diagnosable symptoms and involves an affected organ. Based on the results of various studies, we now know that addiction is a disease. With the help of MRI brain scans, we have empirical evidence that addiction is a disease and information about what separates the brain of someone with an addiction from everyone else.
Is Drug Addiction a Disease of the Brain?
The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. This organ is responsible for all of our daily functions. The most important part of the brain is arguably the limbic system because it’s responsible for our survival skills. The limbic system essentially tells us to repeat actions that give us pleasure.
This is often referred to as the habit loop, which goes in the following cycle:
- Trigger
- Behavior
- Reward
For example, when we’re hungry, we eat food and are no longer hungry. The brain tells us to do that the next time we’re hungry. The prefrontal cortex keeps the limbic system in check and helps a person logically understand that even though an action brings them pleasure, there may be consequences. The studies over the last few decades have proven that someone with an addiction has a prefrontal cortex that doesn’t function properly.
How Ashley Addiction Treatment Can Help
Knowing the answer to, “Is drug addiction a disease?” means that there’s hope for you to recover. Here at Ashley Addiction Treatment, we can help you with your psychological and physical drug dependence so you can live a better life. Our drug and alcohol treatment includes:
- High-quality clinical care through individual, group, and family therapy
- Comprehensive on-site medical care, including drug detox
- Holistic care approaches that include acupuncture, yoga, and nutritional therapy
- Gender-specific paths to recovery
If you’re ready to begin on a new path in life, one phone call can get you started. Reach out to Ashley Addiction Treatment today at 866-313-6307.
