Drug Abuse vs Addiction
Drug abuse refers to the excessive, inappropriate, or illegal use of a substance, leading to negative consequences. Addiction, on the other hand, involves a chronic, relapsing brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences. While drug abuse may lead to addiction, not all individuals who abuse drugs become addicted.
6 Key excerpts on "Drug Abuse vs Addiction"
eBook - ePubDrugs and Crime
Theories and Practices
- Richard Hammersley(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Polity(Publisher)
...2 What Are Drugs? Even more than crime, drugs form a topic where all sources of information are biased. Official sources tend to take a pessimistic view, emphasizing problems and addiction, and hypothesizing that biological factors are primary. For example, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2006) defined addiction as follows: Drug addiction is a complex brain disease. It is characterized by drug craving, seeking, and use that can persist even in the face of extremely negative consequences. Drug-seeking may become compulsive in large part as a result of the effects of prolonged drug use on brain functioning and, thus, on behavior. For many people, relapses are possible even after long periods of abstinence. Many writers in the academic literature are dubious about the usefulness of the disease model of addiction (see further reading), and at minimum not only the drug but also the mindset of the user and the setting of use are important (Zinberg, 1984). Definitions The collective noun ‘drugs’ is often used as if it referred to something clear and concrete. It doesn’t. Imprecise thinking about ‘drugs’ is hardly extraordinary in everyday life, but it is surprising in supposedly educated and informed writing about drug problems. In everyday life ‘drugs’ has two meanings. The most relevant one roughly means ‘substances that have some sort of psychological effect that make people want to take them and are illegal to take in this way’. But many experts would include alcohol and tobacco at least with other drugs, although they are legal to take in many countries, at least by adults under defined conditions. Others see the legal status of substances as irrelevant to scientific definitions and prefer to classify all substances that have some sort of psychological effect that make people want to take them as ‘drugs’, whether they are illegal or not...
eBook - ePub- George F. Koob, Michel Le Moal(Authors)
- 2005(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
...A schematic illustration of a model that proposes a process of incentive salience and accounts for the consequences of drug-induced sensitization is presented in the chapter. The chapter describes a general and theoretical formulation of the homeostatic theory of acute and chronic tolerance and physical dependence along with several other theories presented by various researchers. Definitions of Addiction Drug use, drug abuse, and drug addiction Diagnostic criteria of addiction Dependence view of addiction Psychiatric view of addiction Psychodynamic view of addiction Social psychological / Self-regulation view of addiction Vulnerability to addiction Neuroadaptational Views of Addiction Behavioral sensitization Counteradaptation–opponent-process Motivational view of addiction Allostasis and neuroadaptation Summary References DEFINITIONS OF ADDICTION Drug Use, Drug Abuse, and Drug Addiction Drug addiction, also known as Substance Dependence (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), is a chronically relapsing disorder that is characterized by (1) compulsion to seek and take the drug, (2) loss of control in limiting intake, and (3) emergence of a negative emotional state (e.g., dysphoria, anxiety, irritability) when access to the drug is prevented (defined here as dependence) (Koob and Le Moal, 1997). The occasional but limited use of an abusable drug clinically is distinct from escalated drug use, loss of control over limiting drug intake, and the emergence of chronic compulsive drug-seeking that characterizes addiction. Modern views have focused on three types of drug use: (1) occasional, controlled or social use, (2) drug abuse or harmful use, and (3) drug addiction...
eBook - ePubThe Everything Health Guide to Addiction and Recovery
Control your behavior and build a better life
- Linda L Simmons(Author)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- Everything(Publisher)
...CHAPTER 1 The Nature of Addiction THERE ARE MANY kinds of addictions. Some people are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Others are addicted to gambling, food, pornography, or playing games on the Internet. What addictions have in common is their tendency to take over a person’s life. Once substance use or behaviors rise to the level of addiction, they can be very difficult to manage. Treatment and recovery can be extremely challenging and often expensive. But there is hope. In spite of the difficulty, people can and do recover from addictions. If you or someone you care about is struggling with addictions, recovery is possible! Abuse Versus Dependence With respect to addictions, is there a difference between abuse and dependence? This is a commonly asked question; the answer is yes. It is an important distinction to understand, as it may affect the type of treatment sought out and the level of difficulty encountered in recovery. Although both abuse and dependence can cause significant problems in a person’s life, dependence involves physiological changes that lead to an addictive process. Therefore, dependence on substances and/or behaviors can be more difficult and complicated to treat. Repeated abuse of substances and/or behaviors can develop into habits that are hard to break. However, abuse doesn’t necessarily lead into the physiological changes of addiction. Either abusing or being dependent upon a substance or a behavior can diminish one’s ability to fully participate in and enjoy everyday life. Substance Abuse Substance abuse occurs when a person uses drugs or consumes alcohol excessively. This excessive use typically causes significant problems in a person’s life. For example, if a person drinks excessively on a Sunday evening and is unable to go to work on Monday morning or is unable to perform job functions as well as usual, this is abuse...
eBook - ePub- Brian F. Shaw, Paul Ritvo, Jane Irvine(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- For Dummies(Publisher)
...So in this book, we use the term addiction to refer to a combined experience of mental and physical dependence. In addiction, as we see it, you’re compelled to use a substance or behave in a certain way, even though you know you face considerable harm by going through with it. You’re addicted when you can no longer direct yourself out of harm’s way. You’re addicted when you continue to use a substance or engage in a behavior that puts you in harm’s way. Simply put, addiction causes a change in your brain. A change that we, and other scientists and clinicians, are trying hard to understand. Make no mistake; although this change is something of a mystery, it’s still powerful. When the change occurs, you lose control over your urges to use a substance or engage in certain behaviors. The urges are irresistible. You can become so compelled by your addictive behavior that nothing else matters. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, how accomplished you are, or how physically strong you are. It can happen to anyone. Dependence is really one step along a slippery path that leads to addiction. At a certain point, a prolonged dependence results in another switch being thrown. The experience you have after that switch is thrown is what we call addiction. It’s important now to talk about both mental and physical dependence. Mental dependence refers to associations that develop in your mind between specific events (called triggers) and emotional and physical urges to use the substance or take part in the addictive behavior. These triggers are actually memory traces that are set off by various stimuli. When set off, they exert a powerful influence on your behavior...
eBook - ePubEvidence-Based Treatments for Alcohol and Drug Abuse
A Practitioner's Guide to Theory, Methods, and Practice
- Paul M. G. Emmelkamp, Ellen Vedel(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Substance abuse is not restricted to the homeless, the poor, or the destitute. People from all walks of life can become addicted to substances, although certain substances are more likely to be (ab)used by the middle and upper classes (e.g., party drugs), while others are more likely to be popular among the lower classes of the society (e.g., heroin, crack cocaine). In the United States, 1.6 million people with full-time jobs are heavy alcohol and drug users (Substance Abuse and mental health Services Administration, 2004). likewise, there are many well-known citizens including film stars, pop stars, politicians, and Nobel Prize winners who have acknowledged that they had a substance-use disorder at some time. Substance-Use Disorders: Abuse and Dependence The system laid down in the fourth revised edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), distinguishes substance abuse from substance dependence and focuses on the maladaptive patterns of use leading to clinical significant impairment, and not on actual quantities and frequencies of use. The DSM-IV-TR lists specific criteria that, if met, warrant the diagnosis of substance abuse (See table 1.1). It is striking that fulfillment of only one criterion is sufficient to warrant the diagnosis; extraordinarily, this means that a student who skips class several times because of a hangover meets the DSM-IV-TR criteria for such a diagnosis. TABLE 1.1 DSM-IV-TR Criteria for Substance Abuse A. A maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by one (or more) of the following, occurring within a 12-month period: 1. Recurrent substance use resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home. 2. Recurrent substance use in situations in which this is physically hazardous. 3. Recurrent substance-related legal problems. 4...
eBook - ePubDrug Abuse and Antisocial Behavior
A Biosocial Life Course Approach
- Christopher P. Salas-Wright, Michael G. Vaughn, Jennifer M. Reingle González(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Palgrave Macmillan(Publisher)
...© The Author(s) 2016 Christopher P. Salas-Wright, Michael G. Vaughn and Jennifer M. Reingle González Drug Abuse and Antisocial Behavior Palgrave's Frontiers in Criminology Theory 10.1057/978-1-137-55817-6_2 Begin Abstract 2. Prevailing Conceptions of Drug Abuse and Addiction Christopher P. Salas-Wright 1, Michael G. Vaughn 2 and Jennifer M. Reingle González 3 (1) Boston University, Boston, USA (2) Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, USA (3) School of Public Health, University of Texas, Texas, USA End Abstract Introduction Recent decades have witnessed tremendous change in the ways that we think about drug abuse and addiction. Rigorous scientific research has helped us to appreciate drug abuse and addiction as complex and multifaceted phenomena that influence—and are influenced by—our biology, psychological makeup, cultural factors, and the social and political environments that we inhabit. In subsequent chapters, we will consider the ways in which cutting-edge, biosocial research can help us to make sense of both drug abuse and antisocial behavior. However, in this chapter we will focus only on drug abuse and addiction, laying out the prevailing conceptual frameworks that have emerged as researchers have become increasingly sophisticated in understanding the nature of drug use initiation, drug abuse and dependence, and recovery. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which the addictions research and theory have evolved to quite naturally integrate the insights from biological research (most notably, neurobiology and genetics) with psychological, behavioral, and social science research to arrive at a highly promising, transdisciplinary understanding of drug abuse and addiction. Prevailing Conceptualizations There is no shortage of theories aimed at making sense of drug abuse and addiction. Robert West’s (2001) often-cited editorial in the leading journal, Addiction, entitled “Theories of Addiction” references literally dozens and dozens of theories...
