Addiction and Recovery

            This paper deals with a powerful and controversial subject, addiction and recovery. Both physiological and psychological factors contribute to most forms of addiction. Addictions can be widely varied, both to chemicals, substances or behaviors. Recovery can involve a multitude of different approaches; some recovery techniques are controversial, while some have become part of mainstream society. Mainstream recovery techniques primarily focus on 12 step programs, which consistently show higher success rates. These mainstream programs focus on the psychological attitudes and behaviors. These treatments prescribe a lifestyle modification which ultimately focuses on an individual's higher power. .
            
             Addiction and Recovery.
             This paper will discuss addiction in its various forms. Both physiological and psychological influences greatly factor whether a person can become an addict. While physiological addiction can be treated with a variety of medical treatments, psychological addiction is questionably much more difficult to successfully treat. A study of the U.S. population found that one person out of every four have had a substance abuse problem at some time in their life The technical definition for addiction is the compulsion to use substances repeatedly, even when doing so can be dangerous. Addiction varies greatly: the majority of addicts are drug abusers, but any compulsion that produces an altered state of consciousness can become an addiction.
             The 2 types of addiction are physiological and psychological. A psychological dependence can be defined as: needing to use the regularly to maintain a comfortable psychological state. A Physiological addiction can occur when a substance becomes part of the chemical functioning of the body. .
             The body adjusts to such a degree that, when the drug is not present, the body cannot function properly and the person experiences painful withdrawal symptoms. Addictive drugs produce progressively stronger addiction because over time the body learns to adapt more easily to the drug in its system.