What Is Addiction?
Addiction is a chronic, but treatable, disorder. People who are addicted find themselves unable to control their need for alcohol or other drugs, even when they are aware of the negative health, social or legal consequences. This lack of control is the result of changes in the brain that are induced by alcohol or other stimulants. These changes, in turn, cause changes in the person’s behaviour.
Drugs, including alcohol, affect the parts of the brain that control pleasure, motivation, emotion, and memory, these changes can lead to the diseases of alcohol addiction and drug addiction. Using these drugs repeatedly over a period of time changes brain structure and function in fundamental and long-lasting ways and these changes can persist long after a person stops using the substances concerned. However, with treatment and prolonged abstinence, some of the brain changes caused by specific drugs may be reversible, which is one reason why effective addiction treatment is essential.