I highly recommend this article in the NY Times on a new approach to seeing Addiction as a learning disorder. It makes clear sense as it advances the concept that the brain is “wire differently” for anyone suffering from an addiction. It espouses what cutting edge neuroscience has established in the past three decades — that the brain is wired to have different circuits that link up powerful centers that involve drive, reward, and painful consequences — in a way that makes it harder for someone suffering from an addiction to find auto regulation. In a climate where many people with addictions are being shamed, told that they are weak, or that they have to just “toughen up” — this article is a well written critique of those outdated ideas and establishes the truth: yes, addiction is a disease. And yes, with the proper treatment, not punishment, people who suffer from it can recover.
