Behavioral Addictions: A Basic Understanding
In 2012 the American Society of Addiction Medicine smartly set forth a definition of addiction that encompasses both substance abuse and certain compulsive behaviors. Using ASAM's definition it is easy to see and understand that Jane is every bit the …
Read more on PsychCentral.com (blog)

No real surprises in this year's Hall of Fame balloting
The Big Hurt was never implicated in performance enhancing drug abuse. And, while I am surprised he gets a free pass when so many … By definition, I think that makes him an incomplete player. I'm not going to jump up and down about it because Thomas …
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They're not just anti-democratic riff-raff
To their credit, however, the protesters show a genuine desire for tougher laws against corruption, abuse of power, and for devolution of centralised administrative control, among other sensible demands. The major sticking point is that as they try …
Read more on Bangkok Post

Treating Opioid Addiction
Re “Addiction Treatment With a Dark Side” (“The Double-Edged Drug” series, front page, Nov. 17): Medications used to treat opioid addiction save lives. And they can be misused. The American Society of Addiction Medicine agrees that all providers are …
Read more on New York Times

Britain's Gaming Addiction Gets The NMA Treatment
While the above may be in jest, any kind of addiction is no laughing matter. I have stared into the abyss of gaming addiction and it isn't pretty. This isn't to say that you should give up on your current gaming habits, but sprinkling in other …
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Question by Evan: What are your opinions on internet “addiction” being declared a medical problem?
I don’t know how recently or exactly who is doing this, but internet “addiction” is being classified as an actual medical problem. I dont know if it already is or if people are just trying to make it so, but i recently heard about it.

What are your thoughts on this?
I personally think that the people calling it a medical problem and the people that will claim to be addicted to the internet are just looking for some way to justify extensive use of the internet. people are looking for mroe and more ways to put blame on something other than themselves for what they do. its rather pathetic.

Best answer:

Answer by J C
Well, they have to label everything so why not say it is a medical problem? I don’t buy it.

Answer by Dimmu B
Its not a problem,Its stupidity and it cannot be helped.

.5M awarded to help inmates with mental health, addiction problems
Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services awarded $ 1.5 million in November to 12 groups covering 24 counties. Another 23 proposals were rejected, showing the need for services among incarcerated individuals, said Chris Nicastro, chief of …
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Seek help if you suspect drug addiction (with video)
“There are a vast number of symptoms, including major changes in behavior, less participation in family activities and possessions starting to disappear,'' said Kim Fraser, executive director of Lake County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health …
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Treatment can help addicts regain lives
I respond to the New York Times article “Addiction treatment with a dark side” in the Nov. 17 Dispatch. I am the president of the Ohio chapter of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, which represents a group of physicians dedicated to increasing …
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Question by Michael Brian: What addictions does the APA recognize as actual addiction disorders?
I know technically anything can be an “addiction” but I’m trying to find a list that the APA has put out that lists the actual addictions someone can be diagnosed with.

Best answer:

Answer by Peachy Perfect
Depends on what you count as an addiction. The DSM-IV (current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) doesn’t have a definition for the word “addiction” and doesn’t use it.

As far as what *you* might classify as an “addiction”, you can be diagnosed with either Substance Abuse or Substance Dependence, depending on the severity of the addiction. This involves either the dependence on or abuse of substances, like alcohol, heroin, caffeine –yes, I said caffeine–, cocaine, nicotine, etc.

As far as other “addictions” to non-substances go, the ones found under the “Impulse Control Disorders” category include:
– Pathological Gambling (people addicted to gambling)
– Kleptomania (people addicted to stealing)
– Pyromania (people addicted to setting fires)
– Trichotillomania (people addicted to pulling their hair out — yes, I’m serious)

There are lots of other disorders, including but definitely not limited to pedophilia and hypochondriasis, which you might consider addictions (pedophilia being when you are “addicted” to sexual endeavors with children, hypochondriasis being when you are “addicted” to being sick), but I don’t really count those under the “addictions” category, personally.

However, in the DSM-5, which is set to come out in May 2013, they are going to add a ton more disorders involving addictions under the category “Substance Use and Addictive Disorders”. But mostly the only change that will be made is specifying the type of substance that one is abusing, dependent on, and/or suffering withdrawals from. For example, instead of being diagnosed with plain “Substance Abuse” with alcohol listed as a side note, an alcoholic would be diagnosed with “Alcohol Use Disorder”, “Alcohol Intoxication”, and/or “Alcohol Withdrawal”.

Addiction definition in flux
In September, Yale professor of psychiatry Marc Potenza published a letter in the journal “Addictive Behaviors” on how the definition of “addiction” had broadened in the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) …
Read more on Yale Daily News (blog)

You can't treat addiction with willpower and denial
These phenomena have been incorporated into the definition of addiction as a chronic relapsing brain disorder by the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the symptoms include cravings and withdrawal with observable consequences such as loss of …
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Sugar as addictive as Cocaine
If we look at the above definition, then no, sugar is definitely NOT an addiction and using the term is highly erroneous. My view though is that "addiction" is much more complicated to define. Firstly we aren't all tempted by the same vices. I will …
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Monteith's Death Shows Rehab Alone Won't Cure Addiction
"People have the impression that treatment is complete when the person is sober. They're not using the drug anymore, so they're all better," said Dr. Stuart Gitlow, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. "In chronic lifelong disease …
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Canada's patchwork of drug treatment: Where do you turn when you've hit rock …
A high-tech experimental treatment developed out of Duke University uses video software to expose drug-addicted individuals to a virtual world that might simulate a crack den, for example, and then aims to help them control their cravings. Following an …
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Motivational Enhancement Therapy: Treatment For Substance Abuse & More
Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “is a counseling approach that helps individuals resolve their ambivalence about engaging in treatment and stopping their drug use.” It is a method offering more …
Read more on PsychCentral.com (blog)

Painkiller addicts hit Medicaid limits
A report commissioned by the American Society of Addiction Medicine found that Medicaid agencies in just 28 states cover all three of medications that the Food and Drug Administration has approved for opioid addiction treatment: methadone …
Read more on Mansfield News Journal

Judith Munaker: Website offers parents insight into drug addiction, treatment …
Housed on the Safe Communities of Madison-Dane County website, the new Parent Addiction Network is for parents, families and friends who have loved ones affected by drug addiction. This site can help people find answers to the many questions that …
Read more on Wisconsin State Journal