Addiction is a chronic, relapsing, and remitting disorder. Individuals struggling with addiction often continue to use substances or engage in repetitive behaviors despite being aware of the negative consequences on their physical health, mental wellbeing, relationships, and functioning. This pattern is not a result of poor self-control but arises from a complex interaction of genetic predisposition, environmental factors, life experiences, and neurochemical changes in the brain. These changes affect the brain’s reward system, impulse control, and stress regulation, making it difficult to stop without support. With timely intervention, structured treatment, and ongoing support, recovery is achievable and sustainable.
The following are the main signs of substance addiction:
• Falling grades or trouble in school;
• Declining performance at work
• Relationship problems including frequent fights with family members, friends, or people who express disapproval against addiction in general.
• The inability to give up a substance even when it may be contributing to personal or health concerns.
• Loss of interest or lack of vigor in regular day-to-day tasks.
• Significant physical changes, such as weight loss and a clear disregard for personal hygiene.
• Taking increasing quantity of the substance to achieve a sense of high
• Using the substance despite knowing the adverse consequences
People may seemingly experience apparent benefits from drugs/substance when they take them for the first time, and they may also think they have control over their use. But a person’s life can be quickly taken over by the substance. If the substance usage persists over time, other enjoyable activities eventually lose their appeal, and the user eventually has to use the drug in order to feel a sense of normality. Then, despite knowing the fact that using drugs poses serious risks to both themselves and their family, they could become compulsive seekers and users.
Most of the time, consuming the substance is a voluntary choice. But sustained use can cause a person’s capacity for self-control to deteriorate significantly; this is the defining feature of addiction. Studies have shown that due to continuous use of the substance, certain areas of the brain get deeply affected, which in turn are responsible for making decisions, judgment, memory, learning, and behavior regulation.
Behavioral Addiction
Behavioral addiction refers to recurrent and persistent behaviors that continue despite causing significant harm to an individual’s psychological, physical, interpersonal, and financial wellbeing. Similar to substance use disorders, behavioral addictions involve a loss of control over the behavior and continued engagement despite awareness of negative consequences.
Common symptoms of behavioral addiction include hiding or minimizing the severity of the problem, relying on the behavior as a primary way to cope with emotions, engaging in the behavior excessively or for prolonged periods, repeated unsuccessful attempts to reduce or stop the behavior, and continuing the behavior despite clear adverse outcomes.
Several factors increase vulnerability to behavioral addiction. These include genetic predisposition, co-occurring psychological conditions such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, or OCD, and a family history of addiction or mental health disorders. Individuals with such backgrounds are generally more susceptible to developing behavioral addictions.
Additionally, adverse life experiences, particularly early childhood trauma, neglect, maltreatment, or abandonment, can contribute to the development of addictive patterns later in life. Personality traits such as impulsivity and risk-taking tendencies further increase the likelihood of engaging in repetitive and harmful behaviors.
Several types of behavioral addiction are:
• Gambling addiction
• Internet addiction
• Porn addiction
• Sex addiction
The Science Behind Addiction
Addiction is a complex disease. Everyone who consumes substances does not get addicted to them. An individual’s genetic factor, personality, and environment may determine if they may get addicted to substances. Genetics plays a substantial role in the development and progress of addiction. According to research, heritability is responsible for 40–60% of an individual’s vulnerability to developing this disease.
In addiction, a substance or behavior over stimulates the brain’s reward system. This causes a large release of dopamine, the chemical linked to pleasure and motivation, making the brain learn that the addictive behaviour is extremely important for relief or happiness. Over time, the brain reduces its natural dopamine response, leading to tolerance, where more of the substance or behaviour is needed to feel the same effect. The areas of the brain responsible for decision-making and self-control become less effective, making it harder to resist urges. When the person tries to stop, low dopamine levels and an overactive stress system cause discomfort such as anxiety, irritability, or low mood, which pushes the cycle of addiction to continue despite negative consequences.
Addiction is a disease, not a moral failure
Addiction is a disease, not a weakness in a person. Despite knowing that drugs are bad for them, people with addiction struggle to limit their drug usage or repetitive behavior. It takes more than just using willpower to avoid drug temptation or overcome a behavioral addiction. Along with various forms of therapy, taking medication to help with withdrawal symptoms and cravings may be part of the recovery process.
Social stigma has long surrounded addiction. Many people believe that the severity of these problems stems from a lack of self-control and individual behavioral choices. It is commonly acknowledged that substance abuse is a complicated medical disorder that affects the brain, changes behavior, and can result in chronic addiction. This addiction is the product of a combination of behavioral, environmental, and genetic elements rather than a moral failure or a lack of willpower.
Therefore, to ensure that persons who are battling with addiction receive appropriate and compassionate care, treatment should be seen as a medical requirement in order to ensure that individuals can live a healthy life.
Triggers
Triggers are internal or external cues that activate craving and the urge to use. They can include –
• Emotional triggers such as stress, anxiety, loneliness, boredom, sadness, anger, or feeling overwhelmed.
• Situational triggers include specific places, people, times of day, or routines associated with past use.
• Social triggers involve peer pressure, social gatherings, conflict, or feeling the need to fit in.
• Thought-based triggers include beliefs like “I deserve this,” “just once won’t hurt,” or “this is the only way I can relax.”
• Physical triggers such as fatigue, hunger, poor sleep, or illness can lower self-control.
Over time, the brain links these triggers with dopamine release, so even seeing, thinking about, or feeling something related to the addiction can automatically activate craving and compulsive behavior.
Risk Factors
Risk factors are conditions that increase vulnerability to addiction. These include genetic predisposition, early exposure to substances or addictive behaviours, poor coping skills, high stress, trauma, emotional dysregulation, low self-esteem, impulsivity, mental health difficulties (such as anxiety, depression, ADHD), peer pressure, lack of supervision or support, easy availability of substances, and using substances or behaviours to cope with emotions or escape problems.
Protective Factors
Protective factors are conditions that reduce the likelihood of addiction or support recovery. These include strong family and social support, healthy coping skills, emotional regulation, problem-solving abilities, good self-esteem, stable routines, clear values and goals, positive peer relationships, engagement in meaningful activities, awareness about addiction, access to mental health care, and a sense of purpose or belonging.
Addiction as a family disease
Addiction is described as a family disease because its impact extends far beyond the individual using the substance or engaging in the behavior. It gradually affects the emotional, psychological, and relational health of the entire family system. As addiction progresses, families often live in a state of chronic stress and unpredictability, constantly adapting to crises, mood changes, broken promises, and uncertainty. Trust erodes; communication becomes guarded or conflict-ridden, and emotional safety within the family decreases.
Family members may unconsciously take on specific roles to maintain stability. Some become caretakers or enablers, protecting the individual from consequences; others become controllers, trying to manage or monitor the behavior; some withdraw emotionally, while others act as peacekeepers to reduce conflict. Although these roles are attempts to cope or help, they often unintentionally support the continuation of addiction by reducing accountability and increasing dependence.
Emotionally, family members may experience guilt, shame, anger, resentment, helplessness, and grief for the person the loved one used to be. Children in such environments may develop anxiety, hyper vigilance, people-pleasing tendencies, or difficulty trusting others, which can affect them into adulthood. Over time, the family’s focus shifts from healthy growth to managing the addiction, causing neglect of individual needs and boundaries.
Treatment
Overcoming addiction requires receiving proper treatment. Recognizing that addiction has become a problem in one’s life and is negatively affecting one’s quality of life is an initial step towards recovery.
Treatment starts with assessment and observation followed by a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment modalities.
Detoxification
Typically, the first stage of treatment is detoxification. Detoxification means minimizing withdrawal symptoms with a replacement therapy in the form of pharmaceutical agents.
Medication
During detoxification, people most frequently take medications to treat their withdrawal symptoms. Depending on the drug/behavior to which the patient is addicted, the medication will change. Furthermore, medication may also be used to address co-occurring mental health issues, if any. Extended usage of pharmaceuticals lessens cravings and keeps people from relapsing—using substances again after they have overcome their addiction.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapies assist patients in addiction in changing their thought pattern and drug-related behaviors. Patients are therefore more equipped to manage stressful circumstances and other triggers that could lead to another relapse. Additionally, behavioral therapy can help patients stay in treatment longer and improve the efficacy of drugs. Different therapies are available for the same—
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) assists patients in identifying, avoiding, and managing the circumstances that lead to substance use. This helps to change or replace maladaptive thoughts with more healthy and adaptive thoughts.
Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) employs techniques to maximize individuals’ willingness to modify their behavior, understand the discrepancies caused in their life due to excessive consumption of substance and take treatment in order to bring a change.
Family Therapy addresses factors that influence drug use patterns and enhances general family functioning for individuals with substance use problems, particularly young people and their families.
Inpatient Rehabilitation
Inpatient rehabilitation, usually referred to as residential treatment, provides care around-the-clock. Rehabilitation facilities are typically created by a multidisciplinary team of medical specialists, including psychiatrists, physicians, nurses, therapists, and counselors. They provide comprehensive recovery solutions by offering multifaceted treatment strategies that address addiction and mental health concerns.
Individuals undergo medically supervised detoxification, and therapies address underlying issues and assist in creating healthy coping mechanisms. Focused recovery is possible because of the reduced stimuli in the structured environment. Rehabilitation offers peer support, knowledge about stressors and relapse prevention. The goal is to assist individuals in returning to their regular lives and enhancing their quality of life.
Relapse Prevention
Relapse Prevention is a structured, cognitive-behavioral approach that helps individuals maintain recovery by identifying and managing situations that increase the risk of returning to addictive behaviour. The aim of relapse prevention is not only to prevent relapse but also to reduce its intensity and duration if it occurs.
Relapse prevention emphasizes understanding high-risk situations, recognizing early warning signs, and developing effective coping strategies to deal with cravings, emotional distress, and environmental triggers. A key component of relapse prevention is learning to differentiate between a lapse and a relapse, and responding to a lapse with adaptive strategies rather than guilt or self-blame. By strengthening self-awareness, coping skills, lifestyle balance, and social support, relapse prevention helps individuals sustain longterm recovery and regain control over their behavior.
