Psychological Theory Of Addiction Essay

From 1900-1950 drug addicts and alcoholics didn’t have very many treatment options. Addicts were looked at as morally degenerates and they didn’t get any form of treatment was at the least brutal punishment. “Until research showed that addiction was a treatable disease of the brain, many addicts were also given prison sentences or shut away in asylums because it was assumed that they were permanently lacking in moral or mental substance”( The Evolution of Addiction Treatment, 2012). Imprisonment had the effect of detoxification but no understanding of the physical components of addiction. Many thought addicts deserved the pain they suffered going through detox. As people began to understand the importance of the bodies physical dependency detoxification became the primary goal in treating addiction. Soon the public began taking alcoholism and drug abuse more seriously and they started to develop things called community groups. Also, sober houses began appearing. Following the overturn of the prohibition era, a major founding for alcoholics came in 1935 when Bill Wilson founded Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA
They then develop an appetite for the drug and consequently an addiction. Both theories emphasize the fact that the disease causes compulsive actions despite negative consequences. Also, the loss of interest in social and personal issues. It is the drug itself that the addict becomes addicted to not because of the genes a person has. It doesn’t matter if the person is pre-disposed with genetics or not they will become addicted to drugs purely because of the feelings they get from the drug. People’s sensitivity to the drug’s effects is due to not because they are pre-disposed genetically but they are receiving positive effects like a high euphoria or strong emotional