Addiction: A Progressive Neurological Disease

The disease of addiction is one that has plagued mankind for thousands of years. But while this condition is similar in many respects to other serious diseases such as cancer or heart disease, addiction affects many more aspects of a person’s life. This includes severe mental, physical, emotional and spiritual damage that in some case may be irreversible. Furthermore, a great deal of addictions that are left untreated ultimately prove fatal, indicating the progressive and deadly nature of this disease. Nevertheless, some people have difficulty understanding exactly how addiction is a disease and instead view it as a matter of self-control and will-power. However, the clinical and neurological nature of this condition can easily lay any such doubts to rest. Addiction is one of the few diseases that can affect any person at any time. There is significant evidence to suggest that some people are more genetically predisposed to addiction than others are, but the fact remains that any person who uses a substance regularly places themselves at significant risk of becoming addicted. This is because drug use causes the brain to release certain chemicals- primarily dopamine- that produce extremely pleasurable feelings of well-being and euphoria, among other side effects. This stimulates the reward center of the brain in such as way as to cause severe urges to replicate the “high” again and again. But as a person uses any particular substance the body begins to fight back by developing tolerance. This is accomplished through changes in the central nervous system that are designed to mitigate the effects of the foreign substance. However, when people use drugs to get high they will consequently need more and more of the same substance in order to achieve the same effect. This creates a snowball-effect that quickly leads to physical dependence as the changes made in the central nervous system become more permanent. Each time a person uses and dopamine is released from the brain there is a contextual association made regarding the events leading to the “reward” of the substance abuse. This is very similar to Pavlov and the Case of the Drooling Dogs, where dogs were conditioned to salivate based on associations about feeding time. The same type of phenomena occurs with addicts. As neurological and mesolimbic pathways are constructed in the brain to service the processes of drug abuse, associations can cause uncontrollable urges in the sufferer that can render even the most powerful and intelligent person helpless. Addiction is a serious problem that presents a significant healthcare issue for today’s societies. These issues can stretch into every aspect of a community and wreak havoc among all involved and at every level. But because no one is immune to this disease there is help readily available at successful treatment centers all across the country. All you have to do is pick up the phone, even if you just need to ask questions about how to get help for someone you care about. Whatever the case may be, you don’t have to suffer from addiction any longer.

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