Addiction is More than a Moral Problem – Can We See it as a Brain Disease?
The various forms in which an addiction disorder manifests – be it drug, food, gambling, or addictions of an intimate nature – is the result of complex psychosocial, biological, and emotional factors. Contrary to popular stereotypes which merely conceptualize this disorder as moral failing, addiction is, in reality, a brain disease. In this article, I will use the term “disease” not with the scope of attaching more stigma to this already controversial term, but with the purpose of outlining the seriousness that addiction should be approached with by the medical community.
What is the evidence that makes us discuss addictions from the standpoint of a medical model? Can there be more to the tendency to fall in the trap of addictive behaviours than a simple character weakness or a lack of moral compass? This article will present a short summary of science-based arguments which have emerged in support of the medical model of addiction.
Brain Scans as Proof of Biological Changes
Findings from neurobiological research which looked into brain scans of people with versus those without an addiction disorder provide real evidence of biological changes that account for addictive behaviours. Compulsive behaviours characteristic of any addictive disorder, such as substance seeking and mood changes are not just “in someone’s head” – they are literally in their biology. It goes without saying that addiction also has a strong psychological component; for example, habits related to addiction are mentally reinforced through repetition. However, these habits do not only change someone’s mental health from a cognitive perspective – they elicit real biological and neurochemical changes that modify the way someone is able to exercise self-control over their behavioural habits.
The Biological Implications of Addiction
A further argument for the brain disease model of addiction is that compulsive behavioural patterns present in addiction disorders are driven by altered neurochemistry and neurobiology of the brain. For example, addiction leads to a desensitization of brain circuits involved in the ability to feel pleasure and motivation – in practical terms, this means that addiction leaves individuals with a reduced capacity to experience joy and pleasure in ordinary things. As a result, they need a stimulus, the source of their addiction disorder, to feel positive and uplifting emotions.
Studies also reveal that individuals with addiction experience changes in their cognitive abilities – when an addictive behaviour is repeated multiple times, the capacity for self-regulation, inhibitory control, and decision making is significantly reduced. And this is not because individuals with addictions have a weaker willpower. Their executive functions, which are essential for emotional regulation, are simply not functioning as they should. This is what leads many individuals to repeated relapses and to difficulties with overcoming addictive habits by themselves.
Finally, it is important for us to remember that addiction is not a perpetual bad choice, even if it might start as one. The real biological changes that are observed in the brain scans of people with an addiction disorder are a clear indication that we should view addiction not as a moral failing, but rather as a disease that should be approached with care and adequate treatment. In order for someone to fully recover from an addiction, they have to receive real support from multi-disciplinary fields that address all the underlying manifestations of this disorder.
