Understanding Addiction
Some people see addiction as a disease in which addicts are afflicted and have little power over the cause or onset of addiction- to be a pre-disposition (the “addictive personality”). Others see addictive behaviors as a choice, and addiction as the direct outcome of this choice. In the case of “physical” addictions such as alcoholism or drug dependence, there are those who believe that susceptibility to addiction is passed on genetically. Others claim that addiction is simply the result of repetitive behavior that, in some people, leads to a physical or psycho-logical dependence. Defining exactly what is meant by addiction is not simple. People often associate addiction only with alcohol or drug abuse, but it’s clear that addictive behaviors go far beyond. In fact, the key to “addiction” is an obsessive and compulsive need or dependence upon a substance, an object, arelationship, an activity, or a thing. There are six clear indicators of an addiction: