There is another school of thought that the addiction is due to a mental disorder and causes physical dependency. The mental disorder must be treated first in order for any treatment plan to work properly.
One more argument is that the alcoholism and drug addiction is due to chemical imbalance. With this belief, it is thought that the addiction must be treated with some sort of medication after detox has been completed.
Scientific studies support each concept but there are no full answers and the fact remains there are millions of alcoholics and drug addicts still out there. When someone goes through the treatment process, his chances of staying clean can range between 16% and 20%. If we want recovery rates to rise, we have to come up with some sort of treatment that will make this happen.
The last thought on addiction is that the alcoholism and drug addiction problem probably has something to do with the life cycle of addiction, which means there is some trauma suffered at one time or another or a painful experience an addict can't seem to get through without the use of some sort of chemical.
An example of this reason for addiction would be the person who can't seem to fit in with others, a painful condition either physical or mental, or a person who may be dealing with another real or imagined problem. The alcoholic or addict may feel there is no other way out of the situation and the addiction begins. The first drink loosens him up and then the numbness sets in and the addict begins the downward spiral.
The relief that an addict may feel is only temporary but it is enough to get the addict over the pain. The feelings that are suppressed by the drink or the drug are something that the addict would rather feel so the continued drinking is never about pleasure; it is always a form of self medication that leads him down a road where returning is that hardest step ever taken.
Effects of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction
The quality of life for this individual will gradually begin to decrease and the addiction will start to be a way to hide from the facts. Each and every moment an addict feels the pain of life, he will choose to take a drink or get high so he can avoid the pain. Alcoholism and drug addiction becomes a vicious cycle from which there seems no return. There are usually only three outcomes: sobriety, prison, and the worst case scenario -- death.
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