Addiction Theory

The decade after World War 2 marked the shift of the idea that perpetuating substance abuse is not a choice. Instead it is a compulsive behaviour observed among the addicts. With the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous or AA, a group focused on healing addicts instead of shunning and punishing them, there came a drastic change in the perception of people on addiction and alcoholism. There were studies and theories supporting the same fact. the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines addiction as “a disease affecting the incentive circuitry in the brain as related to motivation and pleasure, creating changes in behaviour, emotions and cognition.”

These disease theories focus on addictions leading to loss of control among the users. They indicate that addicts have no ability to control their substance abuse without medical intervention or treatment. Let’s look at the different theories of addiction:

E. M. Jelinek’s Theory of Addiction

E. M. Jelinek, who is often referred to as the father of the disease theory of addiction published his book, ‘The Disease Theory of Alcoholism’, in 1960. According to this model, addiction is a chronic and relapsing brain disease with relapse rates similar to those associated with other chronic medical illnesses, such as asthma, hypertension and diabetes, at around 40 to 60 percent. The four main concepts of his theory included the concepts and findings that are, development of a tolerance to alcohol. i.e. the drinker needs to consume more amounts of alcohol each time in order to obtain the desired effects, quitting the use leads to physical withdrawal symptoms, inability to control the amount of alcohol consumed in a sitting or the duration of alcohol consumption, physical and/or social impairment related to the symptoms of the other three factors. 

Addiction and Genetics

Studies have it that one of the biggest contributing factors to the development of addiction is genetics. Cigarette smoking, alcoholism, and overweight run in families like divorce, child abuse and religion. This addictive inheritance has been most observed in the case of alcoholism. It means that because of their genetic make-up, some people are just more prone to the disease than the others. According to a study published in Psychology Today, the link between genetics and addiction is as high as 40 percent in some people.

Addiction and Childhood Trauma

Childhood trauma has been observed to be the biggest contributor to addiction in many societies. Lack of parental affection, peer pressure and the social stigma put together gravitate a person towards addictive behaviours that make them feel alleviated from pain.

Addiction and a/as a Mental Health Disorder

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one-third of alcohol users and one-half of drug users also suffer from a mental disorder. That is to say that mental illnesses and alcohol dependence occur together in many people. This diagnosis is called dual-diagnosis and is typically a hard to treat condition. This happens because Drugs or alcohol may provide a temporary numbing effect for mental health symptoms, but the need to continue using for symptom relief makes it impossible for the user to stop. Hence, the co-occurrence.

The Endorphin-Deficiency and Addiction

 “Addicts may be characterised by an inbred endorphin deficiency that leaves them unusually sensitive to pain. Such people would then especially welcome and might even require the elevation of their pain threshold brought on by narcotics.” Say endorphin theorists like Goldstein (1976b) and Snyder (1977).

Finding Help for Addiction

Since it is an established fact that addiction is a highly treatable condition, rehabs are the best option to get the right kind of help. Rehabs offer reliable care and support while also focusing on healing the person as a whole (The mind body and soul).