Reddit reviews The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease

I’m sure genetics do play some sort of role in addiction, but...

>A summary of research over the past 35 years shows that for alcoholism, by far the most studied addiction, there is no genetic factor for most people. There is a subset of people who may have increased genetic risk but we now know conclusively that there is no single gene for alcoholism. Indeed, given what genes do (code for amino acid chains of protein molecules) it would be impossible for there to be a gene for a behavior as complex as addiction. The fact that there is any genetic factor at all means that there may be many, perhaps hundreds, of genes that could bear on the condition. Inheritance of alcoholism is similar to other conditions like high blood pressure where there is no specific gene or set of genes for it but a combination of many factors including some genetic predisposition for some people with many non-genetic factors such as behavior, personality, and environment. Given our knowledge of the psychological basis for addiction, it is possible that genetic factors that might influence tolerance of frustration could have some role for some people. For a full discussion of the role of genetics in addiction, see chapter seven of "The Heart of Addiction". [Source]

Regarding “addiction as disease”:

>…is addiction a disease? This book makes the case that it isn’t. Addiction results, rather, from the motivated repetition of the same thoughts and behaviours until they become habitual. Thus, addiction develops—it’s learned—but it’s learned more deeply and often more quickly than most other habits, due to a narrowing tunnel of attention and attraction. A close look at the brain highlights the role of desire in this process. The neural circuitry of desire governs anticipation, focused attention, and behaviour. So the most attractive goals will be pursued repeatedly, while other goals lose their appeal, and that repetition (rather than the drugs, booze, or gambling) will change the brain’s wiring. As with other developing habits, this process is grounded in a neurochemical feedback loop that’s present in all normal brains. But it cycles more persistently because of the frequent recurrence of desire and the shrinking range of what is desired. Addiction arises from the same feelings that bind lovers to each other and children to their parents. And it builds on the same cognitive mechanisms that get us to value short-term gains over long-term benefits. Addiction is unquestionably destructive, yet it is also uncannily normal: an inevitable feature of the basic human design. That’s what makes it so difficult to grasp—socially, scientifically, and clinically. I believe that the disease idea is wrong, and that its wrongness is compounded by a biased view of the neural data—and by doctors’ and scientists’ habit of ignoring the personal. It’s an idea that can be replaced, not by shunning the biology of addiction by by examining it more closely, and then connecting it back to lived experience. Medical researchers are correct that the brain changes with addiction. But the way it changes has to do with learning and development—not disease.

For more information on this subject, read The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease by Marc Lewis.

“Addiction is a disease” is certainly not a fact. Sorry to burst your bubble.

The Biology of Desire This is a great book outlining this idea.

Also see his book The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease.

Sorry, got the title wrong in my memory. It’s Biology of Desire I really enjoyed the anatomical descriptions of how addiction works in the brain.

Here's the book on Amazon and here's the awesome blurb,

"The psychiatric establishment and rehab industry in the Western world have branded addiction a brain disease. But in The Biology of Desire, cognitive neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes a convincing case that addiction is not a disease, and shows why the disease model has become an obstacle to healing.


Lewis reveals addiction as an unintended consequence of the brain doing what it's supposed to do-seek pleasure and relief-in a world that's not cooperating. As a result, most treatment based on the disease model fails. Lewis shows how treatment can be retooled to achieve lasting recovery. This is enlightening and optimistic reading for anyone who has wrestled with addiction either personally or professionally."

Here’s a book by a neuroscientist, who explains why addiction is NOT a disease. Please read up on the actual science of addiction before posting stuff like this.

You wanna explain how addiction is a disease?

“It changes your brain chemistry!”

...So does falling in love. In the same way, actually.