Pathways to Recovery: understanding the science behind addiction

You must have seen people go from leading a healthy lifestyle and balanced life to getting addicted to certain things and falling prey to them. Your heart must have broken into a thousand little pieces when you saw a happy-go-lucky person turn into a victim. But the question is what is so interesting about addictions that people don't find in a normal life?

What does addiction mean?

Addiction is a chronic condition in which an individual may get habitual to certain things which may change their regular pattern of life which includes both physical and mental well-being. These addictions not only affect your health but also have an ultimate effect on your relationship and career.

Although it is a chronic condition many people also refer to it as a disease because it is tackleable and can be treated using medications and therapies. It is a brain disorder which is due to lack of willpower and usually leads to wrong decisions.

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Addiction and its types:

Addictions are divided into two subgroups based on the things that one might get addicted to:

1. Substance addiction involves getting addicted to medical or non-medical drugs. This includes drugs such as alcohol, caffeine, sedatives, inhalants, cocaine, and cigarettes as well. These substances are held responsibke of altering your brain chemistry and making it abusive to your own body.
2. Non-substance addiction involves addictions related to behavior and certain other mental conditions that are co-related to OCD etc. These addictions are often related to gambling, eating, shoplifting, etc. 

Symptoms and causes:

In the beginning of the journey to being addicted to something, a person might not feel that it is quite serious. But in reality, it is. It may take away mental peace, physical fitness and sometimes even cause chronic diseases.

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The symptoms and causes of these addictions may include:

1. Not being able to calibrate it and stop.
2. The tolerance might increase suddenly.
3. One might start focusing more on the addiction and lose their interest or attention from the rest of life things.
4. One might also lose their control and fall prey instantly.

The causes of addiction are not very complex. Sometimes it is extremely easy to get addicted to something only because it is fun or the person who does it finds some kind of peace in it. Some causes also include:

1. Environmental factors
2. Mental health conditions 

Treatment:

Treating addictions is easy if the person who is addicted realizes that there is something wrong in it. Although, if the addictions look difficult to let go off and are serious, the doctor might suggest medications, rehabilitation, therapy, or advice joining support groups which work towards making the person addiction free.

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Treating an addiction is only difficult when the person affected has not have had realizations regarding the fact that they are on a wrong path. Certain groups of people might also feel like these addictions are bringing them more towards light but they often forget that the light is shining in an opposite directions. So, if you see someone getting addicted, tell them that there is one life and that they always got a chance to come out of it.