Friday, 02 September 2011 09:20

For the first time, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has officially recognized that addiction is a chronic brain disease. 

"At its core, addiction isn't just a social problem or a moral problem or a criminal problem. It's a brain problem whose behaviors manifest in all these other areas," ASAM Past President Michael Miller, MD, said in a news release. Previous research has shown that addiction affects neurotransmission in the reward area of the brain, triggers craving of addictive behaviors based on memories of previous experiences, and alters areas that govern impulse control and judgment.

Recognizing substance abuse as a “primary disease” has huge implications for how those with substance abuse problems are viewed.  Specifically, as ASAM points out, it means that substance abuse is “not the result of other causes such as emotional or psychiatric problems," but rather is a chronic condition that needs to be"treated, managed, and monitored over a life-time."

Raju Hajela, MD, chair of the ASAM new definition committee and past president of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine, said that this disease drives behaviors that others might not understand.  "Simply put,” he said, “addiction is not a choice.”  ASAM estimates that genetic factors account for about half of the likelihood that an individual will develop addiction.

For years, many people dealing with addictions were stigmatized, based on the popular belief that their behavior was entirely within their control.  Now, with the recognition that addictive behavior is similar to other disorders, I hope that more people will seek the help they need.