Overcome Addiction - Addiction Theories |
Currently, there are four main theories relating to the cause of addiction, which include
the biological, or disease model, the psychological model, the sociological model and social
learning model. I believe that most of these theories do play a role in addictive behavior.
However, they mostly occur as a result of the addiction or in conjunction with it, and not
as the root cause! These theories represent the current views regarding addiction, which
are coveted by the medical community. Bear in mind that these are only theories, and
none of them have been conclusively proven to be the cause of addiction.
1. The biological theory suggests that habitual users of drugs or alcohol have a
biological abnormality that causes them to become addicted. The theory suggests
that certain individuals are genetically predisposed to addiction by a faulty gene
or perhaps a chemical imbalance in the brain, which renders addiction an incurable disease!
2. The psychological theory views drug or alcohol addiction as problematic behavior.
In other words the individual uses alcohol or drugs to enjoy the effects that these substances
have on the mind and body.
3. The sociological theory suggests that societies which produce higher levels of
inner tensions such as guilt, stress, suppressed aggression and conflict have higher
rates of addiction. Furthermore, the model suggests that societies that are permissive of
and encourage such behavior have higher rates of addiction.
4. The Social learning theory suggests that drug or alcohol addiction is a learned
behavior and continues because the user gets some desired outcome from it. The model also
suggests that these behaviors are learned by being exposed to certain stimuli; people, places,
things, thoughts and feelings.
The sociological model does touch briefly on the fact that emotional issues are related to
addictive behavior. However, this theory seems to bridge the relation directly to the
societal breakdown in some groups where higher levels of inner tension and permissive
behavior are prevalent. I believe that it is not the emotional issue itself, but rather
understanding the cause of the emotional issue that is of the utmost importance.
The psychological model suggests that the addict displays problematic behavior by using
drugs or alcohol to enjoy the effects the substance has on the mind and the body.
Logically speaking, I would venture to say that people using drugs or alcohol do enjoy
the effects they have on the mind and body. However, that is not the reason they have
chosen to use those substances. People choose self destructive habitual behavior not to
enjoy the effects but to mask the pain of underlying emotional scars caused by family
dysfunction.
The social learning model suggests that addiction is a learned behavior resulting from the
stimuli of people, places, things and thoughts. I would not dispute the fact that repeated
exposure to this type of behavior could induce a learned behavior. However, this theory can
not explain why some individuals exposed to the same stimuli would opt to just say no! I believe
that difference hinges upon whether an individual has the need to mask the pain of underlying
emotional scars and their personal level of coping skills. While some of the abovementioned
models touch on the fact that emotional issues play a role in addiction, none of them have addressed
the underlying cause of these emotional issues. Are these emotional issues caused by the stress
factors of work, relationships, financial difficulties and every day life, or are they caused by
something that runs much deeper? Why is that some can cope with the stresses of everyday life
while others can not? Personality dictates the level of coping skills that each of us possess, allowing
some to endure a greater degree of stress and others to turn to the need to mask their pain with
addictive behavior. The pain of these emotional scars goes much deeper than the every day stress
factors and stems from issues of family dysfunction. From a very early age we learn a system of
beliefs from our families and sometimes these beliefs serve us well, and some times they are
dysfunctional. When you consider that eighty five percent of all families are dysfunctional, you
can begin to concur that more often than not these beliefs are self limiting to our well being and happiness.
Best wishes,
David Roppo
Addiction Coach
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