Addiction - Physical Or Mental Dependence?

[pagetheoracle]

I think that addiction may become chemically based after time but I believe it starts off as a desire for something and becomes an embedded belief.  Further I believe it has to be negative (see poster design below, which was originally a document, not deleted).  It is like those who want to claim their rights, where in fact no-one has any right to anything in reality but physically takes something then claims it is their own (I don't personally believe in legality of ownership in this respect but just a better argued case, mentally i.e. more thorough).  I don't believe we have an innate right to land for instance but take it and possess it instead. I would also argue that mentally, focus blindness as demonstrated by the gorilla on the pitch experiment (Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simmons), and that this too is a sign of addiction whereas open mindedness isn't (free to think anything as opposed to stuck in a habitual way of thinking, which enslaves you to limitation e.g. Creationists who won't accept evidence that contradicts their beliefs):  There is more I could say but that will probably occur to me as the argument develops, if it does.

 

In short addiction is something you cannot let go of

 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/395964992208973522/

Edited July 30, 2014 by pagetheoracle

[Allanah]

Seeing addiction firsthand, I agree. I think it starts out as a desire. From what I’ve seen, it usually starts off from “I’m depressed so I better hurt myself”. I also see a lot of “My life sucks I can make it better by doing drugs”. Either way I do believe the desire to escape reality is there. Eventually, it becomes a need like no other. Obviously, you can’t just quit cold turkey after a certain amount of time. That is when it becomes a medical need more than a desire.

[InfinityLoopz]

I've witnessed a few people go down the path of addiciton some who turned from it, others who are still addicts, and a few who died from their disease.

Addiction is really a "symptom" at least in my eyes, to an underlining problem that needs to be addressed. I'm sure you've heard the cliche of some
old washed up guy sitting alone at the bar drinking is misery away. Same concept. To me addiciton is a primarily mental thing, if you can urge yourself

and use enough will-power addiction can be defeated (even with the nasty withdrawals that some may have to go through).

My two cents.

[labelwench]

'Addiction' has long been thought to have a genetic predisposition because it is seen to run in families. There is an identified physical mechanism whereby pathways in the brain actually change.

 

When drugs produce euphoric, highly pleasurable effects in the user, this behavior becomes reinforced in the brain. In addition, the reward system becomes improperly calibrated, so that normal positive behaviors are no longer stimulating enough to produce positive feelings. As a result, users feel the need to continue using more and more of the drug in order to achieve the same pleasurable effect.

http://recoveryassociates.com/addiction-recovery/anatomy-addiction-4-key-components/

 

Our reward system can also become addicted to other things besides ingested or injected substances, as witness adrenalin junkies and thrill-seekers, or people who cannot form lasting relationships because they are ever in search of NRE, New Relationship Energy.

 

It seems to be an inherent chemical feed-back loop (physical mechanism) which affects how we think and feel (emotions) about ourselves and our environment. How we feel then determines our actions and reactions and it can be devilishly difficult to separate the two, or even to know which one to address first.