One of the dominant ways of thinking about addiction is as a disease. While there is evidence for this approach, it often leads to a dismissal of addiction’s social causes, rooted in alienation and ...

Addiction is a condition that has long baffled physicians and philosophers, to say nothing of those struggling with it and those around them. People have long debated whether addiction is a habit or a ...

Mental health experts are nearly unanimous in endorsing the disease model of addiction. Alcoholism (now alcohol use disorder) was declared a disease in 1956 by the American Medical Association, and ...

More than 48 million Americans are battling substance use disorder. Many are deteriorating in plain sight — on sidewalks, in ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American Over the past year and a half, Scientific ...

Classifying addiction as a disease can allow for better outcomes for patients. Classifying addiction as a disease can allow for better outcomes for patients. James Murphy, MD, discusses the treatment ...