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Disease Model of Addiction

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By jessmegz
Words 1098
Pages 5
The disease model of addiction describes an addiction as a lifelong disease that involves both biological and environmental sources of origin. The disease model originates from the traditional medical model of disease which states that an individual suffering from a disease has an illness or sickness that causes interruption, cessation, or disorder of bodily functions, systems or organs and must have identifiable signs and symptoms (Gorski, 2001). The contemporary medical model attributes addiction to changes in the brains mesolimbic system and also takes into consideration that the disease may be a result of other biological, psychological, or social entities (Disease model of addiction, 2011). Within the disease model of addiction, it is believed that a genetic predisposition to addiction exists, in addition to the occurrence of some environmental events that increase the likelihood that this predisposition will be sparked. Within the overall concept of the disease model of addiction, there are various specific disease models that concentrate on the specific areas of the disease concept. For example, the medical consequences model focuses on the many biomedical consequences of alcohol and drug use. This model simply focuses on the biological etiology and consequences of drug and alcohol consumption. The bio-psycho-social-spiritual consequences maintenance disease model is much richer than the biomedical consequences model because the concentration is on biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors that contribute to the disease rather than just biological consequences. Theorists and counselors apply this disease model by concentrating on changing addictive behaviors by addressing the multiple facets of the disease. The bio-psycho-social-spiritual disease model asserts that over-time, excessive alcohol and drug use leads to profound biological,

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