M.D. In order to explain the different types of addictions, neurobiologists study neurotransmitters, epidemiologists survey psychosocial causes, and psychoanalysts analyze conflicts in the unconscious.
Addiction is an inside job.
This may sound flippant or simplistic, but it is clinically sound. Actually, alcoholics and other addicts agree with the National Institute of Mental Health that addictions are a matter of brain chemistry, which is shaped by genetics, psychological strain and personal life events. But with our current limited knowledge, physicians in the trenches and addicts who are in treatment agree that the only things we can address clinically are the addicts' thoughts and addictive behaviors. The Problem Addicts are people who have learned how to give themselves a quick chemical fix or achieve an emotional high when they either want to or have to change how they feel, and when they want to ignore real-life problems. Most people do that, but the next morning, they feel sick or foolish.