Addiction is a chronic illness affecting millions of people in the country. Particularly, addiction is the uncontrollable consumption of food, alcohol, or drugs that develops over time (TedMed, 2015). The illness has significant negative consequences for affected individuals and their families (Greenfield, 2015). For example, family members experience high anxiety levels, depression, the risk of harm, and absenteeism of loved ones. On the other hand, addicts develop a chronic illness or die out of their addiction. Understanding addiction causes and treatment methods are essential in managing the ailment.
There are two primary causes of addiction. One is biological factors that predispose individuals to control. Addictions cause the decline of dopamine B2 receptors essential for exerting self-control in the human brain. Dopamine levels increase for short periods with the expectation of pleasurable reward or presence of conditional stimuli motivating people to consume food until the urge to eat is satiated (TedMed, 2015). Eventually, dopamine reduces as addiction takes over people’s lives, and they have little self-control to stop consuming the food or drug. Consequently, one would conclude that, unlike popular opinion, addiction is not always a choice.
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Secondly, are the environmental factors surrounding a person. Addiction is learned through interactions with peers and family members, access to unhealthy food and drug substances, and general living conditions (Greenfield, 2015). Personal thoughts and feelings may also cause people to develop addictions. Addiction occurs when people are exposed to a conducive environment supporting their compulsive desires and needs for drugs or unhealthy foods. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to prevent the development of addiction.
Treatment is an essential solution for individuals suffering from addiction. The treatment options include medication and therapy essential for unlearning behavior. Alcoholics have a tougher time recovering from addiction, thus undergo lengthier treatment as long as they need help to break dependence on the drug (Willenbring, 2015). Family involvement is important for successful treatment with one of the most commonly used approaches being the community reinforcement and family training (CRAFT) method (Greenfiled, 2018). The effectiveness of CRAFT is evident from a number of studies done on the technique.
References
Greenfield. (2018). CRAFT: Community Reinforcement And Family Training. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlYFcXb0JBk
TedMed. (2015). Why do our brains get addicted?. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnd2-al4LCU
Willenbring, M. (2015). Getting Help for Alcohol Addiction. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rH6TKaD4hI
