Describing Addiction

Question 1

What is Addiction?

Answer 1

A disorder which an individual consumes a substance e.g. nicotine.
Or engages in particular behaviour that’s pleasurable but eventually becomes compulsive with harmful consequences e.g. gambling.
Addiction’s more than simply doing something a lot, key features are dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal syndrome.

Question 2

What’s Psychological Dependence in Relation to Addiction?

Answer 2

-The mental and emotional compulsion to keep taking a substance as the individual believes they can’t cope with work and social life without a particular drug e.g. alcohol or behaviour e.g. gambling.
-It may increase their pleasure or lesson their discomfort.
-Absence of the drug/ behaviour causes the individual to feel anxious/ irritable and leads to craving for substance.

Question 3

What’s Physical Dependence in Relation to Addiction?

Answer 3

-State of the body that occurs when withdrawal syndrome’s produced from stopping substance use/ behaviour e.g. headaches.

Question 4

What’s Meant by Withdrawal Syndrome?

Answer 4

The collection of psychological and physical symptoms an individual will experience when they no longer have a substance in their system/ engage in particular behaviour.

Question 5

What Happens When An Individual Experiences Withdrawal Symptoms?

Answer 5

Includes low mood, feeling nauseous, achy pains, tremors.
-It’s very unpleasant so they continue taking the substance and engage in the behaviour to avoid the withdrawal symptoms.

Question 6

Factors the Seriousness of the Withdrawal Syndrome Can Depend On

Answer 6

1) The substance taken/ the behaviour engaged in.
2) The amount of substance consumed.
3) How often the substance use/ behaviour occurs.

Question 7

What’s Meant by the Term Tolerance?

Answer 7

Tolerance arises when a substance’s taken/ certain behaviour’s maintained for some time, and due to repeated exposure, the response to the substance/ behaviour’s reduced.
When tolerance occurs an individual will need greater doses to feel the same physical and psychological effects.

Question 8

Examples of Tolerance: Cellular Tolerance

Answer 8

Takes place when brain neurons adapt their responsiveness to higher levels of a substance.

Question 9

Examples of Tolerance: Metabolic Tolerance

Answer 9

Takes place when a substance has been metabolised quicker and leaves the body

Question 10

Examples of Tolerance: Behavioural Tolerance

Answer 10

Individuals learn through experience to adjust their behaviour to compensate for the effect of the drug e.g. walking slower to avoid falling when drunk.