What causes addiction?

What causes addiction? The genetic association has been studied for a long time. While science doesn’t yet know for certain the exact genes underlying alcohol dependence, they know the genetic contribution to alcoholism is significant. The two genes usually associated with alcoholism are alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). More studies will be done on all addictive drugs as time goes on, and hopefully the findings will enhance the treatment of and recovery from addiction. A family history of addiction still makes it more likely that you will be susceptible to addiction.

Studies on anxiety have been associated with onset of addiction. Science isn’t yet sure how anxiety and addiction are related, but there appears to be a connection. This doesn’t mean that the alcoholic simply has to resolve the anxiety in order to drink normally. The association is more likely linked to changes in the brain from early anxiety disorders that lead to addiction susceptibility, and the fact that drinking and using mood altering drugs can complicate anxiety even further.

In addition to genetics and anxiety disorders, other factors associated with addiction are psychological factors, such as depression and low self-esteem, and social factors, such as peer pressure, shyness, etc.. Again, it’s misleading to say that depression or peer pressure cause addiction, because then it logically follows that once the depression is lifted, or the shyness no longer exists, the alcoholic is cured. Depression and low self esteem might make some people drink or use drugs more frequently, but this doesn’t explain the chronic brain disease we call addiction. One reason treatment has been criticized is that people think of all types of talking therapy as treatment, and most talking therapy is ineffective by itself. Because addiction is a chronic brain disease, a medical component is also needed. Addiction treatment is a specialized treatment that doesn’t respond well to traditional talking therapy by itself.

More and more is learned about addiction and the brain, so the latest treatment methods must be incorporated in order to achieve higher recovery rates. We’ll surely find some medicines are very effective, as well as nutrition and physical exercise. I’m not sure enough time has passed to study the true success rate of more modern medical treatments, but eventually we’ll have some answers, and, in the mean time we can use what we know now works the best. Treatment in the future will be, no doubt, much more comprehensive than what has been done in the past.