What is Addiction?

Everyone is addicted to something. Usually the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of addiction is drugs. Drugs ranging from legal substances such as cigarettes and alcohol to illegal substances such as crack and heroin come to mind when thinking about addiction. In the United States, we are persistently reminded of the power of addiction by the large drug culture. It is estimated that sixty percent of the world's production of illegal drugs are consumed in the United States. Television and movies constantly bombard us with stereotypical images of crack-heads begging for a little piece, gutter punks seeking nirvana in a needle, and potheads with the munches.

The celebrity drug addict has become an iconic symbol: the modern rebel. The tragic stories of Celebrity drug addicts such as Chris Farley (died from overdose of heroine and cocaine), Kurt Cobain (committed suicide) Janis Joplin (died from heroin overdose), and Elvis Presley (died from heart attack) remind us of the dark side of addiction.

The American obsession with the celebrity drug-addict has led to the glorification of drug culture and drug addiction.

Movies such as "Friday (1995)," "Half Baked (1998)," "Killer Bud (2000)," and "Traffic (2001)" exemplify the American film industries glorification of drug use in movies. Drug uses is associated with freedom, experimentation, and adventure in regard to the celebrity drug user. The American conception of the modern rebel is tied to the iconic image of the celebrity drug addict. The stereotypical images of the celebrity gangster, punk, hippy, and metal-head all coincide with images of drug use. As a result, drug addiction is repeatedly glorified in the works of modern celebrities such as in the song, "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton:

If you wanna hang out, you've gotta take her out: Cocaine
If you wanna get down, get down on the ground: Cocaine
She's alright,
She's alright,
She's alright,
Cocaine!

Addiction is a force capable of overcoming reason and logic. For example, I know I should not smoke. I know that it causes lung cancer, bronchitis, emphysema, and heart disease. However, I am addicted to them. When I don't have them, I become ill, nervous, and fidgety. I'll start searching aimlessly. Then, I'll realize that what I'm looking for is a cigarette. The craving is both physical and mental. When I attempt to quit, the withdraw symptoms include headaches, irritability, frustration, and anger. In this sense, addiction can be defined as a mental and physical craving for a habit forming substance.

Addiction continues to smoke cigarettes after it has found out that is allergic to tobacco. It claims it smokes to relieve stress when it knows that smoking increases the heart rate, and induces stress. It ignores its own knowledge in favor of fulfilling its destructively decadent desires. It blames not quitting on external factors, "I can't quit because it makes me lash out at those I care about" when it knows that the key to quitting is internal, "I control my temper." Addiction breeds illogical excuses for guilt ridden excesses.

Addiction disregards medical advice and logic. Addiction is the need for a cup of coffee in the morning or a smoke after dinner. It is nightly cravings for French fries and chocolate bars. Addiction exercises till it passes out due to its craving for calorie burning exertion. After a Bulimia binge, Addiction purges guilt with a spoon. It is the girl craving both food and skinny. Determined, and unrelenting, addiction overpowers logic's call for moderation and consideration.

However, not all addiction is negative. Addiction inspires the artist, writer, singer, and musician. According to Phillip Adams, "The book can produce an addiction as fierce as heroin or nicotine, forcing us to spend much of our lives, like junkies, in book shops and libraries, those literary counterparts to the opium den." Often, it is one's addictions that define them. A person addicted to reading is inspired by their craving for literature. Consider that the painter addicted to the feel of the brush in her hand and the writer addicted to the clicking of computer keys, are both defined by their addictions. The painter would not be a painter if she were not addicted to the act of painting. Likewise, the writer is defined by her addiction to the act of writing. In this sense, addiction creates and supplies demand for music, media, art, and literature.

Whether positive or negative, addiction consumes the life of the addict. Our addictions control our behaviors, emotions, and thought processes. Addiction is universal. Most people would consider themselves some kind of addict. A person can be addicted to just about anything. From the middle aged computer geek who says, "I'm a science addict" to the teenage girl who refers to herself as a "shopping addict", addiction feeds all people.

One can be addicted to substances, activities, behaviors, and emotions. Addiction steals from its mother to obtain craving conquering chemicals. Addiction spends three hours a day lifting weights. It buys twelve boxes of Peanut Butter Girl Scout cookies when it's on a diet. Addiction drives fifteen miles over the speed limit to make it home in time to watch the newest episode of "That 70's Show." It reads every "Superman" comic book. Addiction feeds both our positive and negative desires. It is a state of being consistently and compulsively involved in fulfilling mental, physical, or emotional cravings.