Addiction is a chronic disease of the brain. That’s according to former U.S. surgeon general Vivek H. Murthy.
This is a refreshing attitude for a visible, vocal government figure (or former government figure). It acknowledges that addiction isn’t a lack of willpower, a moral shortcoming, or a bad decision. Those judgments seemed to be the opinions of government figures in the past. Who can forget former first lady Nancy Reagan imploring people to “just say no” to drug and alcohol use, as if addiction merely boiled down to making or not making a choice?
No, Dr. Murthy’s definition of addiction acknowledges the complexity of the condition. People often don’t choose drugs or alcohol. Instead, it seems as if drugs and alcohol choose people. At least, it seems that some people have a greater predisposition to alcohol and drug abuse, just as some people have a greater genetic tendency for diabetes or other conditions.
Calling an addiction a disease also highlights the fact that addiction is a medical condition. It is a very real medical condition that can create some very real health consequences if people don’t treat it.
Diseases aren’t moral failings that require stigmatization from people. Of course, alcoholism and drug abuse are not exactly similar to conditions such as high cholesterol, a condition that doctors can detect and cure relatively quickly and easily. Addiction is more complicated because so much of it occurs in the brain.
While we have learned a great deal about how substance use disorder can impact the brain, it seems we have so much still to learn. Just as we don’t really know what’s going on in the depths of the oceans, we’re not 100% certain of how drug and alcohol abuse affect the brain. The brain’s a great frontier and we’re only just starting to explore it.
