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| Addiction/Substance
Abuse |
 In everyday terms, an addiction is a compulsive need for a
particular substance or activity. People who are addicted depend on these
things to get along in their daily lives. They give in, day after day, to a
very strong craving that needs to be satisfied. Millions of people are trapped
in addictions they scarcely recognize. An uncontrollable urge for sugar is
labeled as a "sweet tooth," and a serious need for caffeine is disguised as a
pleasant "coffee break." Consider how many millions of people remain addicted
to nicotine, even as they openly acknowledge the serious risk that cigarette
smoking presents to health. Think about the many others who are uncontrollably
addicted to gambling, to overspending on credit cards, or to living as
"workaholics." Addictions of any sort are destructive in that they deprive the
addict of the ability to exercise control over his or her life. By definition,
an addiction offers no choice to the addict and often is
the direct cause of serious disruption in the person's health or life-style.
The most serious addictions of all involve psychoactive drugs. These substances
radically alter the user's mind and body, undermining health, economic
stability, and social functioning. It is this form of addiction and abuse that
most immediately threatens all of society. It is this addiction that demands
immediate attention.
The best known, most widely accepted, reason
for addiction is the disease concept. According to the American Medical
Association (AMA), the nation's largest association of medical doctors, a
disease is a disorder that results in the disruption of normal body functions.
Since addiction disrupts the normal function of the body and the mind, the AMA
has added it to the list of known diseases. The general public and many doctors
have had a hard time accepting addiction as a true disease. They say that the
medical profession has gone along with the disease concept because it means
that insurance companies will pay doctors for treatment. These critics point
out that most doctors in other countries do not believe that addiction is a
disease. Some scientists have even conducted experiments to test the disease
concept. Experts differ on the outcome of these experiments and list other
reasons for the addiction.
The following viewpoints are among the top 6
arguments for the reasons behind substance abuse and addiction.
- Chemical Dependency is a disease
- Neurological imbalances lead to Chemical Dependency
- Biological imbalances lead to Chemical Dependency
- Cultural Factors lead to Chemical Dependency
- Curiosity leads Teenagers into Chemical Dependency
- Media Glamorization of Drugs and Alcohol leads to Chemical
Dependency
All use facts and opinions to support their arguments.
However none are absolute, and there remains a lot of controversy in the field
of Addiction and Substance Abuse treatment. Most of the controversy is the
result of the shamefully low rate of success in treating addiction. Based on a
National Rate of success that floats around 16%, it is quite obvious that a lot
more needs to be learned in order to generate a more successful treatment
approach. Narconon of Georgia offers such an approach and with consistent year
after year documented success at somewhere between 70-80%, recovering becomes a
much more realistic endeavor.
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