A person with an addiction uses a substance, or engages in a behavior, for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeat the activity, despite detrimental consequences ...

Dec 22, 2025 · These are the 15 most compelling addiction research studies describing 2025's insights, innovations, and opportunities improving prevention, theory, treatment, and outcomes.

Calling addiction a brain disorder means, for one thing, that the machinery of addiction is complex and subtle, because the brain is complex and often subtle.

There are many theories about the causes of addiction, the use and abuse of legal and illegal psychoactive substances. Biology, psychology, and social and cultural elements all play a role in the ...

View the latest from the world of psychology: from behavioral research to practical guidance on relationships, mental health and addiction. Find help from our directory of therapists ...

Addiction is a condition marked by behavior that is difficult to control and continues despite adverse consequences. The behavior stimulates reward centers of the brain, and the intensely ...

Jul 10, 2025 · Addiction involves insatiable desire, compulsions, obsessive thoughts, impulsiveness, and withdrawal pain when trying to break the habit.

Jan 20, 2026 · Experts agree that addiction is a disease, yet the disease model doesn't capture addiction's harmful effects on others. Downplaying the effects paradoxically increases stigma.

Shifting patterns of illicit drug use and prescription drug abuse indicate that addiction reflects social and cultural conditions at least as much as it does the powers of any substances or of ...

Mar 5, 2025 · Addiction is rooted in disconnection. We seek relief when we lack purpose, battle self-doubt, or feel physically tense. In that void, addiction can take hold.