What is addiction?

As you can surmise from the title of this post, Understanding Addictions, the intent is to invite exploration of addictive disorders and their treatment. But what is addiction?

Everyone – literally EVERYONE – has an understanding of what addiction is as a “problem” and who addicts are as individuals. The problem, however, is that these personal definitions of addiction are fraught with “facts” born of the “nudge, nudge; wink, wink” personal descriptions of addiction and addicted individuals, often based on “Hollywood’s” spin on these disorders. Consequently, every person on the street has an opinion about what an addiction is and how to "spot an addict." Have you seen Train Spotting, Leaving Las Vegas, or When a Man Loves a Woman? Did you have any doubt about who was addicted and who was not? But while any observant human being may be able to identify the individual in the later stages of dependence, i.e., the classic symptoms of physical withdrawal, serious medical complications resulting from chronic abuse, and the litany of socioeconomic problems associated with addiction, it takes a trained counselor to recognize the problems of abuse and dependence in their earliest stages so as to increase the likelihood of effective treatment. This is not easy to accomplish without a clear understanding of what an addiction is and how it evolves.

As you can image, “street definitions” may not be the most accurate source of information about addictive disorders on which a professional counselor can base a diagnosis and develop an effective treatment plan. Unfortunately, relatively few counseling and medical professionals have much if any direct education about or training in understanding addictions and their treatment.

The Assignment
To learn more visit the online article on addiction by Howard Schaffer. Consider his attempt to answer the question, “What is an addiction”? Think about how like/unlike Dr. Schaffer’s position is from your “preexisting” beliefs.

In addition, also read Peter Cohen's essay on addiction—I think you will find this essay interesting as it argues there is no such thing as addiction, suggesting instead that addiction is a “social construction.”

As will become clearer when you dig deeper into the issue of addictions, rarely does someone present at a counselor’s office saying, “The war’s over, I lost and am ready to do whatever you say to get better.” In fact, most clients do not even realize the extent to which their use of alcohol, other drugs, or involvement in compulsive behaviors such as gambling affect their lives and those of their significant others. It is our job as professional counselors to invite our clients to consider what one mentor of mine used to suggest…“what causes a problem is a problem because it causes problems.”

Robert J. chapman