Addiction and substance use disorders (SUDs) were, for many years, widely misunderstood, and the people struggling with them were unfairly judged. Because of widespread misunderstanding and misinformation, those living with addiction were considered to be choosing their drug of choice. The cultural outlook was that they were morally corrupt, weak, and devoid of willpower. Many people’s families and loved ones couldn’t understand why they didn’t simply do the right thing and quit. They wrongly assumed that their addiction was a choice. It took the development of the disease concept of addiction for people to understand that addiction is actually a medical illness.
Risk Factors and the Disease Concept of Addiction
Now, because of years of scientific research, we’ve come to understand that addiction is a disease rather than a choice. The disease concept of addiction pinpoints both biological and environmental risk factors for addiction. Among those risk factors are traumatic experiences, mental illness, and a family history of addiction. These factors don’t predict that an addiction will develop, and they are not necessarily causative. There is, however, substantial research behind these risk factors supporting this concept of addiction as a disease.
These scientific findings have helped individuals and their families, and our communities at large, offer support and understanding rather than passing judgment. Athens Area Commencement Center provides a supportive, non-judgmental community where individuals are treated with compassionate understanding for the difficult illness they’ve been struggling with.
Neural Circuitry and the Disease Concept of Addiction
In addition to well-documented risk factors, scientists have analyzed brain imaging to better understand the disease concept of addiction. Brain imaging studies have found that addiction affects a person’s free will. Those of us struggling with addiction are not weak or without willpower. We’re not choosing our drug freely. We are, in fact, living with an illness that impacts our ability to make healthy choices. Our will has been dramatically impacted, our inhibitions lowered, and our judgment clouded.
Reward, Control, and the Disease Concept of Addiction
Studies have found that drugs actually alter how our brains function, triggering changes in the neural circuitry that governs reward and control. When we are addicted to a substance, that drug is altering our brain chemistry. We become highly reward-seeking. Our ability to control our impulses is reduced. It is, therefore, not a moral failing on our part. We’re not choosing our drug of choice with free will. Important brain functions are being altered in drastic and impactful ways.
Because the parts of our brain that govern reward-seeking and impulse control are impacted by the addictive substance, we can feel totally out of control. We’re compulsively motivated to seek out the reward of the high. Our main objective is to get our hands on our drug of choice. In those moments, nothing else matters. We’re not thinking clearly. Many of us find that we no longer feel like ourselves. Our lives have become consumed by our need for this drug.
Illness vs. Choice and the Disease Concept of Addiction
Thanks to this scientifically based disease concept of addiction, we are moving away from believing that addiction is a choice. Just as we don’t choose cancer or heart disease, we don’t choose our dependence on an addictive substance. We are not bad people. Our choices are often made unconsciously as we are not of sound mind. The choices we make are the result of an illness that is altering how our brains work and, therefore, how we think, feel, and behave.
Substance Use and Mental Illness
When we’re struggling with SUD, we’re also often living with chronic, co-occurring mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Similarly to addiction, mental illness has been misunderstood for many years. People with depression were told to snap out of it. Those struggling with anxiety were told to calm down. After severe traumatic experiences, people with PTSD were told to just get over it.
Mental Health and the Disease Concept of Addiction
We now have a deeper understanding of mental health, thanks to scientific research, and we now know that these conditions are illnesses that affect our brain chemistry. Imbalances in our brains’ neurotransmitters, like serotonin and dopamine, are thought to be at the root of our mental health conditions. Just like with the disease concept of addiction, we now understand that we’re living with actual medical illnesses, not personality flaws or moral failings. Our conditions are the result of biochemical changes to the brain, not immorality.
Addiction Treatment Following the Disease Concept of Addiction
At Athens Area Commencement Center, we treat SUD, along with co-occurring disorders, with a medical understanding of the disease concept of addiction. We are committed to staying up to date on the science of chemical dependence. As such, our medical team receives continuous education and training, always building upon our knowledge to best serve the clients we care for.
If you’re struggling with substance use disorder (SUD), you likely feel like you have no control anymore over your addiction or your life. You might feel considerable guilt and shame for things you’ve done as part of your addiction. None of it is your fault. You’re living with an illness that impairs your judgment and robs you of your free will. At Athens Area Commencement Center, we understand the disease concept of addiction. We work with you to heal holistically – mind, body, and spirit. Our medical team has expertise in addiction and other mental health issues, also known as co-occurring disorders, and we will support you in your journey of reclaiming your health. Call (706) 546-7355 for more information.