Treating and Preventing the Medical Disease of Addiction
Treating and Preventing the Medical Disease of Addiction
In the world of medicine there are, as you know, medical specialists. Some doctors specialize in treating heart disease, others are cancer specialists. For every treatable disease, there are those who focus their research, care, and careers to helping people afflicted with that particular disease. I am a proud member of American Society of Addiction Medicine.
A common problem faced by medical specialists working in the field of addiction is the gap between what we, as doctors, know for a fact, and what the layman often believes. Many people do not believe that addiction is a physical disease, but that is only because they don't understand the meaning of disease, and the current definition of addiction.
People often confuse addiction with physical dependence in the context of medical treatment. Drugs that we often associate with abuse, such as opiates or central nervous system stimulants, are, in the proper context, beneficial medications. Addiction is also not synonymous with recreational or social use of mood altering agents, including alcohol. Once we clear up this misunderstanding, everyone understands why addiction is a true medical illness and why addiction is classified as a disease by every medical organization in the world, including the American Medical Association, The World Health Organization, and the American Psychiatric Association. Obviously, if addiction were not a medical condition meeting the clear definition of disease, our area of specialization wouldn't exist.
First of all, let's learn the meaning of disease. According to the World Health Organization, disease is "illness caused by biological, chemical or radio-nuclear sources." Genetics, of course, comes under the biological heading. We all know that exposure to certain chemical substances such as mercury, arsenic, and asbestos can cause a variety of diseases such as cancer, lung ailments, liver disease, brain dysfunction, and many others.
The smoking of tobacco, commercially marketed as cigarettes, fills the smoker's lungs with all manner of chemicals, in addition to Nicotine, and is known to cause chronic bronchitis, emphysema, gastritis and lung cancer. Not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer, but it is an absolute fact that your risk of lung cancer, or heart disease, increases if you smoke.
Not everyone who drinks alcohol has cirrhosis of the liver, but heavy drinking absolutely assures you of that possibility, along with a marked propensity towards diabetes, heart disease and many other diseases and conditions, none of which are pleasant or enjoyable.
Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by anatomical and/or functionality changes in the human brain. The anatomical changes can be clearly seen and studied with brain imaging technology such as a standard MRI and CP scans. The functional abnormalities can be seen, studied and evaluated by a PET scan, or use of the Functional MRI. These changes are in the brain's reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Some of these changes are repairable, while others are, so far, not reversible. For more infomation, visit malibu horizon drug alcohol rehab center
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