Is Addiction a Disease?

Is Addiction a Disease?

There are many things that influence the likeliness that someone will suffer an addiction. Some of these things include genetics and family behavior. However, an addiction lacks many of the traits of a disease. An addiction cannot be caught like a disease, you are not born addicted to something, and it can be 100% avoided by correct human behavior. A disease would imply that it is not up to the person whether or not they suffer from it, but an addiction can be prevented by proper human action. Although genetics influence the likelihood of obtaining an addiction, genetics affect thousands of other things that we do not consider a disease. Therefore, no help should be provided for those who attend rehab, but relapse. If people continue to feed their addiction, then the only help they should be able to receive is from friends and family. Also, people feel that certain activities such as gambling, drugs, and eating are addictive. However, none of these activities share a common ingredient which makes it addictive. This means that there is no method to prove that a given activity is addictive or not. Similarly, this means that there cannot be a cure. Hundreds of activities are considered to be addictive, yet none of them are similar, so no one cure can be made to solve every problem. Scientifically, so called addictive activities trigger a release of dopamine, which is the reward feeling you have when you accomplish something. Not only do household activities such as fixing a leaky pipe, or cleaning up a room trigger this release, but also simple events such as reading the comics every Sunday morning. Many scientists claim it is the release of dopamine which triggers the brain disease, but all rewarding activities are followed by this. This is actually a very important part of a healthy everyday life. Now we are back to square one: not knowing the signature sign of an addiction. Saying addiction is a disease of the brain is like saying