What Is Addiction?

Such a simple question, but it requires a complex answer. The American Heritage® Stedman’s Medical Dictionary states that addiction is Habitual psychological or physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one’s voluntary control. The American Medical Association’s definition of alcoholism and other drug addiction is “…an illness that is characterized by significant impairment in the emotional, psychological, spiritual, physical, and social areas that is directly associated with the persistent and excessive use of alcohol and drugs. Impairment may involve psychological or social dysfunction. Alcoholism and other drug addictions also are manifested as a type of drug dependence of pathological extant and pattern, which ordinarily interferes seriously with the patient’s mental and physical health and his adaptation to his environment”.

Many people believe that addiction is simply an inability to stop abusing alcohol and/or other drugs due to a lack of willpower and self-control. The reality is; addiction is a primary, chronic disease as evidenced by the presence of an onset, progression, and predictable outcome. The disease is considered primary since it affects all of life’s domains and must be treated to cease the progression. People with the disease of addiction often state they tried unsuccessfully to stop using on their own, continued using despite negative consequences, loss of social and family relationships, increased tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, and spending a great deal of time engaging in activities necessary to obtain their substance of choice. If willpower alone were enough, there would only be a fraction of the reported number of alcoholics and drug addicts.

There are many different philosophies regarding recovery from the disease of addiction, and here at the Charlotte Rescue Mission, we believe that recovery requires addressing the mind, body, and spirit. Participants of the Rebound Men’s Program are taught the process of the disease of addiction, are required to attend 12-Step fellowship meetings, obtain a sponsor, and begin working the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. Admitting powerlessness and unmanageability (step one) allows a person to take ownership of the disease and begin the process of putting the disease in remission.

The simple answer to the initial question is: addiction is a primary disease, with proper treatment and a person’s ability to change, the disease can be arrested and a positive outcome is achievable.

- Thomas G. Strouse Admissions Supervisor