Dependence vs. Addiction

[AgentNein]

Hey guys, I was thinking about it today and I thought to myself you know, bunnies and rabbits are really too very different things. And how I define bunnies is rabbits but with bigger feet and laser eyes.

DISCUSS.

 

[MaltaElvoret]

My simplistic view. Addiction is destructive, but dependence is not. Also it's hard to be dependent on something you are addicted to (not not impossible as there are food addicts.)

Also, Bunnies are cuter.

 

[4173]

I think you're redefining terms here. In a clinical sense, addiction = dependence.

Actually, no, that's not correct. Addiction is defined as the mental neccessity for a drug or other object. An addiction would be something like not having the willpower to resist taking a drink. I'm sorry if I'm defining it poorly- it's a rather hard subject to define.

However, Dependence is easier. Dependence is the physical need for a drug or object. This is best shown with cocaine, which physically restructures the human brain so that the human body will literally stop functioning and die. This can also happen with alcohol, if the addiction becomes severe enough.

It's more like Addiction->Dependency.

Medically, paraphrased from wikipedia

Addiction -> disease with certain behaviors relating to use and craving

Dependence -> will experience withdrawal without substance use

The DSM-IV-TR (psychology) doesn't use the word addiction at all

again, paraphrasing

substance abuse - substance use leading to clinical impairment or distress (failure to fufill major obligations, reckless use [ex. while driving], recurrent related legal or interpersonal [ex. fighting] problems

substance dependence - continued abuse, leading to one or more of: tolerance*, need for ever increasing amounts of the substance*, withdrawal symptoms*, using longer or more than intended, desire or attempts to stop using substance, lots of time spent in substance related activities, important activities replaced with substance use, use continues despite known physical symptoms or harm


*if 1 or more present, it is an element of physiological dependence
*if none are present, there is no physiological dependence