Addiction is a complex disease that affects your brain and body. It can change how you think and act, making it harder to stop using drugs or alcohol. Although there are several different types of addictions, they have common symptoms and behaviors. You might recognize some of these warning signs in yourself or someone else:
What Is Addiction
Addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain illness caused by a variety of factors such as alcohol, drugs, gambling, and sex. Addiction is a complicated disease with numerous contributing variables. According to Julian Mitton, MD, genetics may make you more likely to acquire an addiction; however, it’s essential to note that not everyone with these genes will become addicted or even have one problem behavior, such as smoking cigarettes. Your environment and other mental health problems such as depression or anxiety disorders are also factors.
How Do We Define Addiction
Addiction is a chronic disease of the brain. It affects the mind, body, and spirit. Addiction has been described as a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations.
It’s important to note that this definition does not mean that other factors aren’t involved in developing an addiction; Julian Mitton, MD it simply means that genetics play a role in how your body reacts to certain substances or behaviors. Understanding addiction. Addiction is a disease that can be managed if you have the right support and information.
Why Do We Get Addicted
Addiction is a learned behavior. The brain is a reward-based system that rewards us for doing things that are good for us and punishes us when we do things that aren’t. This can be seen in how we feel pleasure when we eat food or have sex, but a pain when we burn ourselves on the stovetop or get rejected by someone who doesn’t like us back.
Our survival as humans is dependent on our ability to learn from these events so that we know what is and isn’t good for us; however, the same process also allows us to become addicted to certain behaviors or substances. Addiction can develop as a result of genetics, environment, or early trauma–or any combination of these factors–but one thing remains constant: addiction begins with a personal decision.