What is the difference between addiction & dependence?

Although someone with a drug addiction can end their physical dependence on the drug through detox, the mental component of the addiction remains, and maintaining sobriety can be an ongoing struggle. There has been an evolving understanding that substance misuse relates to a complex set of variables that includes a person’s genetics as well as physical, mental, emotional and social factors. Let’s examine how the world views addiction versus dependence in relation to substance abuse disorders. If you believe you have an addiction, it’s never too late to look for help. Working with a health care professional will allow you to explore the options to treat your addiction. People used to believe that addiction only happened in certain areas, like in inner cities, or among specific groups of people, like those who were down and  out.

While drug addiction affects the reward pathways of the brain (including the mesolimbic pathway and the mesocortical pathway), dependence affects the thalamus and brainstem. Like all chronic illness, a family history puts people at higher risk for developing the illness. Speak with your doctor if you develop a tolerance to your medication or any other substance. If you are taking a prescription medication, your doctor may change the class of medication, which may affect your body in a different way.

Comments: Addiction vs Dependence

Some doctors may diagnose this as an increasing tolerance, or it might be disguised as the possible start of an addiction issue. Studies have shown that addiction can form in individuals through a combination of genetic makeup and poor social skills. This is why the offspring of addicts are prone to becoming addicts. One study showed that a child of a parent with a drug or alcohol addiction is eight times more likely to develop an addiction as well. Abuse and dependence are defined on a scale that measures the time and degree of substance use.

This was an important achievement because the committee agreed that the disorder in question was compulsive, uncontrolled, drug-seeking behaviour, and defined it by a set of criteria that produced excellent inter-rater reliability. The committee made most decisions unanimously because there was general agreement from the experts as to how the syndrome should be defined (the names of the members are contained in the preface to DSM-III-R). There was a significant disagreement, however, among members of the committee with respect to the label that should be used. The clinicians on the committee were in favor of calling the disorder ‘addiction’ or ‘addictive disorder’, but the non-clinicians argued that the word ‘addiction’ was pejorative and would lead to alienation of the patients whom we want to help. They argued in favor of the more neutral term ‘dependence’, as the discussions were influenced heavily by work on the alcohol dependence syndrome by Professor Griffith Edwards and colleagues [1]. Medical and substance abuse communities have found that there are neurochemical differences between a normal brain and an addict’s brain.

What’s the difference between addiction and dependence?

When you understand the difference between these issues, you can find the type of treatment that best suits your needs. Effective programs usually include many components, designed to help the individual stop using drugs, maintain a drug-free lifestyle, and fulfill their obligations to their family and in the workplace. Most patients require long-term treatment, which can include medications, therapy, and https://ecosoberhouse.com/ residential programs. In traditional diagnoses, ‘addiction’ generally referred to a person’s physical reliance on alcohol, drugs, and other substances and behaviors, while ‘dependence’ was viewed more as the psychological reliance on addictive behavior. It’s a scenario that pits addiction versus abuse or addiction versus dependence. But increasingly in recent years, that view has flip-flopped a bit.

The session will address treatment for substance abuse in broad terms, including some of the trends in pharmacological research that are showing promise, and discuss the latest information on what can work in terms of prevention. Addiction and dependence are terms that are used interchangeably to describe an unhealthy, problematic reliance on drugs, alcohol, or other compulsive behaviors. Some people develop physical dependencies on a drug while others only develop a psychological (aka mental or emotional) dependence. Mark eventually develops a physical dependence on alcohol, as it’s an addictive substance. He decides to cut out this bad habit, but he soon starts drinking again. Now he drinks ten or fifteen beers every night, and he sometimes blacks out.

The important difference is often misunderstood—and it is no wonder.

Currently, the only behavioral addiction included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, text revision (DSM-5-TR) main list is gambling disorder. Alternatively, someone can become dependent on a drug apart from medical advice, either through regular use of an illegally obtained drug or simply through addiction vs dependence the frequent and consistent consumption of alcohol. It is possible to be physically addicted not to have a brain disease. The leading source to diagnose and understand addiction comes from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The DSM-IV defines dependence and abuse as two completely different disorders.

• When you miss your morning cup, you might develop physical withdrawal symptoms, like a headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and more.
• The 1995 data reflect a continuing increase in the use of hallucinogens and inhalants, as well as marijuana, among the nation’s youth.
• Less-educated people are more likely to engage in heavy use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
• Like your brain, your body can quickly get used to any drugs8 you take.
• People rely on various drugs for conditions such as heart disease, seizures, asthma, and a myriad of other health issues.
• Scientific research has found that there are actual neurochemical differences between a normal person’s brain and an addict’s brain, showing that some people are predisposed to addiction, but it is still at least a partial mystery as to why that is.