Disease is a broad term that encompasses a range of involuntary health conditions, including those caused by genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. Among these, addiction to drugs and alcohol is increasingly recognised as a disease by the medical community. This categorisation is significant because it frames addiction as a medical issue rather than a failure […]
Alcoholism as a Primary Illness: Meaning that addiction to alcohol is a separate illness to other conditions connected to it and not the symptom of another underlying condition. Also, that the alcoholism needs to be addressed first – other co-existing conditions e.g. depression, can be most accurately diagnosed and treated only once the alcoholic is in […]
A stimulant, often illegally produced and sold to addicted people. Amphetamine is a stimulant that can be used to increase wakefulness. Amphetamine reduces fatigue and appetite. It can only be used legally with a prescription but is commonly abused recreationally. Amphetamine affects three major neurochemicals – dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. Even though these neurochemicals are responsible for […]
An antagonist is medicine that thwarts the effects of another drug. An antagonist is a substance that blocks the effects of another specified drug; for example, naltrexone is an antagonist for opioids and antabuse is an antagonist for alcohol. Antagonists are used in the treatment of addiction and alcoholism. However, this is unlikely to keep an alcoholic or […]
The formal and cohesive delivery of a professional range of services from a multidisciplinary addictions team, including out-patient (after-hours rehab), in-patient treatment including detoxification, group therapy, individual counselling, didactic lectures on addiction consequences and recovery paths out of active addiction. When a person suffering from the disease of addiction enters a treatment programme, whether as […]
An addict is a person who suffers from the disease of addiction. This disease is an obsessive and compulsive condition where the person engages in destructive patterns of using a substance or behaviour to avoid feelings and escape. A drug addict is someone who compulsively craves drugs, seeks drugs and continues to use drugs in […]
Addiction Medicine is the speciality of treating people suffering with the disease of alcoholism, drug addiction and related illnesses. It includes the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of addicted people and is a part of addictionology. A doctor specialising in addiction medicine will usually form part of a multidisciplinary addictions team that combine their skills to more […]
An addicitonologist is usually a physician (doctor or GP) certified in the field of addiction medicine (see addictionology) and specialising in the area of drug and alcohol dependence and other addictive illness. An addictionologist is trained to diagnose and treat substance use disorders, as well as other addictions like gambling or compulsive shopping. These experts […]
Addictionology is primarily an American term and denotes the study of addictions. It is usually focused on drug and alcohol addiction although in recent years the broadening definition of what is means to be addicted seems to be ever widening. Clinically though addictionology focuses on dependence. Also known as addiction medicine or addictology, is a […]
