Addiction

About Addiction

Addiction is a chronic, complex brain disease and spectrum disorder characterized by the continued, compulsive pursuit and use of a substance or behavior despite negative consequences to oneself or others. At its core, it fundamentally alters the brain’s reward, motivation, and memory circuits by hijacking how dopamine, pleasure, and pain are processed. Over time, repeated exposure tips the brain's delicate balance toward a chronic "dopamine deficit state," eroding an individual's self-control and voluntary decision-making abilities. Consequently, the brain becomes conditioned to prioritize the vice above basic survival needs, driving individuals to seek the substance or behavior not for pleasure, but simply to escape withdrawal and "feel normal."

An estimated 17% of Americans aged 12 and older—approximately 48 million people—have faced a substance use disorder (SUD) in the past year. According to the latest data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this means roughly 1 in 6 people in the United States actively meet the clinical criteria for addiction.

Age Distribution: Addiction rates are highest among young adults. Approximately 39% of individuals aged 18 to 25 report using illicit drugs or misusing prescription medications, compared to 24% of adults aged 26 and older.

Sex Distribution: Men exhibit a higher frequency of addiction across nearly all substances. On average, 19% of males report past-month drug misuse or illicit use compared to 15% of females.

Mental Health Connection: Co-occurring disorders are standard rather than the exception. Among adults experiencing a mental illness, 32% also meet the clinical criteria for a substance use disorder.

The Care Deficit: Addiction remains one of the least treated medical conditions in America. Of the tens of millions of individuals who meet the clinical threshold of needing professional substance use intervention, only 19.3% (about 10.2 million people) actually receive treatment.

Types and classifications

• Traditional Western medicine views addiction as a primary, incurable—yet highly manageable—chronic disease. Under this "broken brain" model, substance abuse or compulsive behaviors chronically alter brain circuitry, reward pathways, and impulse control. Consequently, diagnostic frameworks classify addiction by the specific substance or behavior and gauge its severity based on standardized criteria.
• Substance Use Disorders (SUD): Classified by the specific chemical substance being abused (e.g., Alcohol Use Disorder, Opioid Use Disorder, Stimulant Use Disorder). Diagnosis ranges from mild to severe based on how many diagnostic criteria (such as tolerance, withdrawal, and failed attempts to quit) are met.
• Behavioral (Process) Addictions: Compulsive engagement in non-substance rewards, such as gambling, internet gaming, or shopping. These share identical neurological pathways and behavioral patterns with chemical addictions, though no physical chemical is consumed.
• Functional medicine practitioners also recognize the Substance Use and Behavioral Addiction types and further define addiction disorders as chronic, whole-body dysregulations rooted in brain circuit changes, metabolic imbalances, and impaired self-regulation, categorizing them into root cause imbalances:
• Neurotransmitter Imbalances: Addiction stemming from naturally low dopamine receptors or serotonin levels, causing patients to self-medicate.
• Hormonal & Metabolic Dysregulation: Addictions driven by chronic stress (elevated cortisol), insulin resistance, or thyroid imbalances that affect mood and energy.
• Neurological Imbalance: Functional neurologists specifically evaluate hemispheric brain imbalances (overactivity in one side of the brain versus the other) and a weakened prefrontal cortex, which limits impulse control.
• Gut-Brain Axis Disruption: Addiction fueled by chronic inflammation, microbiome imbalances, or nutrient malabsorption (such as B-vitamin or zinc deficiencies commonly seen in alcoholism) that degrade mental health and cognitive function. Chemical dependencies (such as alcohol, nicotine, or opioids) alter neurochemistry, deplete key nutrients, and disrupt the gut-brain axis.
• Functional neurologists recognize the following types:
• Prefrontal Cortex Failure: Characterized by a breakdown in executive control, judgment, and the brain's ability to suppress primitive, impulsive drives.
• Reward Circuit Overdrive: Defined by hyper-reactivity in the basal ganglia and dopamine pathways, which hijack motivation and habit loops.
• Stress Circuit Activation: Driven by dysregulation in the extended amygdala, causing negative emotional states and compulsive relief-seeking behavior

Symptoms associated in the NPA database

The NPA Treatment Database groups the following symptom information with Addiction. This list is educational and is not a diagnostic checklist.

Treatment information in the database

The NPA Treatment Database lists 8 treatment records in connection with Addiction. A database relationship does not establish that a treatment is effective, safe, or appropriate for any individual.

• Amen Clinics
• Breathwork
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Havening Therapy
• Ibogaine
• Ketamine / Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
• Meditation / Mindfulness

Related questions

These controlled question pages use the same stored condition and treatment relationships.

• What treatments are listed for Addiction in the NPA database?

Recommended reading listed by NPA

These titles come from the current NPA condition record. Structured citation details are not yet available.

• Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke, M.D. — Explores how modern dopamine overload drives compulsive behaviors and offers practical ways to restore balance.
• In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Gabor Maté, M.D. — A compassionate, trauma-informed examination of addiction as a response to pain rather than a moral failing.
• The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease by Marc Lewis, PhD — Argues that addiction is a form of learning driven by neuroplasticity and that recovery involves directed brain change.
• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. — Explains how trauma reshapes the brain and body and presents body-based and neuroplastic approaches to healing.
• The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge — Landmark exploration of neuroplasticity featuring dramatic recoveries from stroke, brain injury, and other neurological challenges.