What is Alcohol & Drug Abuse Addiction?
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Treatment and Interventions can help a family member, friend or co-worker see their alcohol abuse more clearly. Pacific Interventions outline and define what alcohol & drug abuse addiction is.
Pacific Interventions Alcohol Drug Abuse Mission Statement is to provide our clients and their loved ones with the ability to overcome the devastating effects of alcohol and drug addiction.
Drug addiction has many faces
Dictionary
[uh-dik-shuh n] – noun
The state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.
How Common Is Addiction?
According to the World Health Organization
91.6 million people worldwide have substance abuse disorders
76.3 million people worldwide have alcohol use disorders
15.3 million people worldwide have drug use disorders
1/3 of the world’s population over the age of 15 smoke tobacco.
Psychology of drug & alcohol abuse addiction
Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health. Users may not be aware that their behaviour is out of control and causing problems for themselves and others.
American Society of Addiction Medicine Definition of Alcohol & Drug Addiction
Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviours.
Alcohol Addiction is characterized by the inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioural control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviours and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities such as an intervention, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death.
The definition of alcohol & drug abuse addiction refers to the obsessive and repeated use of dangerous amounts of drugs and the appearance of withdrawal symptoms when not using drugs. The effects of drug addiction seen, due to this compulsion, are wide-ranging and profound. Effects of drug addiction are felt by the addict both physically and psychologically. The effects are also seen in those around the addict, like family members. American Society of Addiction Medicine.
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