Addiction psychology

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About 1 in 7 Americans suffer from active addiction to a particular substance. Addiction can cause physical, psychological, and emotional harm to those who are 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 world of psychology and medicine, there are two models that are commonly used in understanding the psychology behind addiction itself. One model is referred to as the disease model of addiction. The disease model suggests that addiction is a diagnosable disease similar to cancer or diabetes. This model attributes addiction to a chemical imbalance in an individual's brain that could be caused by genetics or environmental factors.^[3] The second model is the choice model of addiction, which holds that addiction is a result of voluntary actions rather than some dysfunction of the brain.^[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 relate to drugs, alcohol, and smoking.^[6] Process addictions relate to non-substance-related behaviors such as gambling, spending money, sexual activity, gaming, spending time on the internet, and eating.

Psychologists' oldest definition of addiction is that the addict has a lack of self-control from something that has a rewarding effect which keeps them coming back. The addicted party wants to abstain, but they can't resist the temptation. Some addicts experience what they consider to be a loss of control over their actions. This can involve an internal battle between fueling the addiction and the desire to abstain and regain control.^[7]