A really important announcement was made by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, stating that from a four year investigation, it is their conclusion that addiction is a brain disorder emphasizing the emotional and/or environmental influences come second to neurological findings. The new definition describes addiction as:

a primary disease, meaning that it’s not the result of other causes such as emotional or psychiatric problems. Addiction is also recognized as a chronic disease, like cardiovascular disease or diabetes, so it must be treated, managed and monitored over a life-time.

The importance of this new definition is that addiction is not a choice, in any broad sense.  However, what remains true, is that it is still a behavioral choice to seek help. Read more…