Is addiction a disease? (and a brief American history of substance use)

<p>Ep #230 - There are so many different ways we can frame addiction. Numerous models and labels society wants to place upon addan attempt to take a very complex issue and whittle it down to a slogan or bumper stict's really discuss addiction, emphasizing it as a brain disease, not merely a lack of willpower. I'll shed light on the brain's pleasure circuits and the role of dopamine, elucidating how substance use addictions like alcohol, cocaine, and opioids, to behavioral addictions  like gambling, shopping, and eating how can hijack the brain's reward system, a feedback pathway utilized to ensure survival from our early beginnings as a species. Discover how substances profoundly alter brain chemistry, leading to escalating usage and cognitive decline ine in focus and memory. Beyond neuroscience, we will examine the history of substance use in American society - from the pilgrims getting tipsy on the Mayflower to drugs being demonized by politicians and society as subcultural issues.</p> <p>Here are a few of the addiction models I'll cover:</p> <ul><li>Disease Model: Views addiction as a medical condition needing treatment.</li> <li>Moral Model: Asserts addiction results from moral failing or weak will.</li> <li>Family Model: Focuses on familial dynamics and roles that perpetuate addiction.</li> <li>Neurobiological Model: Highlights brain structures and neurotransmitters in addiction development.</li> <li>Cognitive Behavioral Model: Emphasizes learned behaviors and thought patterns influencing substance use.</li> </ul> <p>Here is the book I talk about:</p> <p>Capuzzi, D., &amp; Stauffer, M. (Eds.). (2020). Foundations of addictions counseling (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.</p> <p>Just hit play, and let's dive in with our open minds, hearts, and energies, bringing everyone into the fold - you are in the right place, at the right time...right now.</p> <p>It is time. It has been time. To live is to shine. Step into the SUN.</p> <p>Stand up, step forward, raise your hand - it's your turn, head the call!</p> <p>*********