The terms “addiction” and “dependence” can seem similar, but they are different. Dependence occurs when the body physically relies on a drug. Addiction involves changes in behavior. A person with an ...

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 ...

The term "medicalization" was popularized by the Catholic philosopher and social critic Ivan Illich. Illich was troubled by the way in which what was formerly regarded as deviant behavior had come to ...