Addiction psychology

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About 1 in 7 Americans reportedly suffered from active addiction to a particular substance. Addiction can cause physical, emotional and psychological harm to those affected by it.^[1] The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as "a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual's life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences."

^[2] In the fields of psychology and medicine, there are two models commonly used for understanding the psychology behind addiction itself. One of such models is referred to as the disease model of addiction. This model classifies addiction as a diagnosable disease just as cancer or diabetes. It attributes addiction to a chemical imbalance in an individual's brain associated with genetics or environmental factors.^[3]

The other model is the choice model of addiction, which contends that addiction is a result of voluntary actions rather than brain dysfunction.^[4] Through this model, addiction is viewed as a choice and is studied through components of the brain such as reward, stress, and memory.^[5] Substance addictions may be related to drugs, alcohol and smoking,^[6] process addictions are related to non-substance-related behavior, such as gambling, spending money, sexual activity, gaming, spending time on the internet and eating.

Psychologists' oldest definition for addiction considers addiction as a lack of self-control resulted from a rewarding effect that is hard to get rid of. The addicted party's desire to abstain from the addiction is often hampered by difficulties resisting the temptation. Some addicts experience what is considered a loss of control over individual actions, which can involve an "internal battle" between the fuel to the addiction and desire to abstain for regaining control.^[7]