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Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena01:15

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Drug dependence, abuse, and addiction are complex phenomena that can precipitate various abnormal states. Physical dependence refers to a state of pharmacological adaptation to a drug. This adaptation often results in tolerance—a reduced response to the drug after repeated administrations. When the drug use is abruptly stopped, withdrawal symptoms occur due to the body's need to readjust from the pharmacologically induced imbalance. However, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms do not necessarily...
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Medications are typically administered to achieve therapeutic effects. Some drugs can modify an individual's mood and perception, frequently resulting in various enjoyable experiences. However, this can result in drug dependency, a condition marked by continuous drug use despite potential negative consequences. Drug dependency primarily falls into two categories: psychological and physical dependence. Psychological dependence occurs when the pleasurable feelings induced by the drug...
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Community Based Intervention01:30

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Community-based interventions in mental health represent a paradigm shift from institution-centered care to treatments embedded within the fabric of local communities. By prioritizing inclusion and leveraging existing societal structures, this approach fosters a supportive environment conducive to addressing mental health challenges while promoting individual dignity and agency.
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Tachyphylaxis is described as a rapid decrease in response to a drug after repeated or continuous administration of the same drug dose. It is a phenomenon where the body becomes less responsive to a particular substance or intervention over time, requiring higher doses or stronger interventions to achieve the same effect. It results from adaptive changes in the body's receptors, signaling pathways, or physiological processes that occur in response to prolonged exposure to a stimulus.
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Bruce K. Alexander on John Kleinig's "Framing failure".

Substance use & misuse·2012
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Addiction: the urgent need for a paradigm shift.

Bruce K Alexander1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. alexande@sfu.ca

Substance Use & Misuse
|November 29, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Addiction is a social adaptation to cultural breakdown, not just an individual disease or moral failing. A paradigm shift is needed to understand and address widespread addiction effectively.

Area of Science:

  • Social Sciences
  • Sociology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Severe addictions to drugs and other habits cause global harm.
  • Current interventions by law enforcement, medical professionals, and therapists have largely failed to control the growing addiction problem.
  • Existing paradigms view addiction as an individual disease or moral failing, which has proven insufficient.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Propose a major paradigm shift in understanding addiction.
  • Advocate for a social perspective on addiction.
  • Challenge the dominant individual-focused models of addiction.

Main Methods:

  • Critique of existing addiction paradigms.
  • Application of social science theories, particularly Karl Polanyi's work.

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  • Analysis of addiction as a societal response to cultural changes.

    • Main Results:

    • The individually oriented paradigm of addiction has failed to control its spread.
    • Addiction can be understood as a social adaptation mechanism.
    • The breakdown of psychologically sustaining culture, influenced by free-market society, contributes to addiction.

    Conclusions:

    • A social paradigm, rather than an individual one, is required to understand addiction.
    • Understanding addiction requires social scientific perspectives over individualistic ones.
    • This new social paradigm offers a framework for addressing the global addiction crisis.