A nice friend just sent me a link to this article:
Addiction is a brain disease, experts declare
(Source: L.A. Times, August 16, 2011)
But wait: addiction is now ‘a brain disease‘?!
Well, be warned – here comes a therapist’s viewpoint on that! 😉
The scientific community in the US and Europe is highly influenced (or corrupted?) by the money invested into neuronal and neurochemical research (especially by the pharma and the genetic research industry, but also the American government and the EU for various reasons).
As a result, there are only comparably little funds available for more research on utilizing psychotherapy or even neuroplasticity, because with those becoming more effective, these huge money-maker industries would lose cash and stock value.
That’s why a huge part of this particular scientific community is still seeing us as machines (just like in the 18th and 19th century!), which just need the correct surgery or pill in order to work ‘as intended’ (whatever that is..) again.
The simplified claim that the brain is ‘responsible’ for addiction is actually ridiculous and just possible if such a scientist is wearing blinders, completely blinding out all other research fields related to human behavior. If these theories were right, it would not be possible for patients to successfully stop taking drugs, gambling, over-eating etc. within just 2-3 months during a successful psychotherapy.
But it is.
It would be as if I would announce that I have found prove that ants are only able to crawl because they have legs. Yeah right, but there is a little bit more to ants than just legs.
And even though I would agree that our consciousness, our psyche is at least to a large extent -if not completely- a product of our brain, it would still be incorrect to blank out all the other means this ‘computer’ has to repair itself apart from pills or a scalpel.
