Addiction

The idea that addiction is a disease is an article of faith in the study of drug and alcohol dependence, providing the foundation for much of the treatment and public policy related to addiction since the early 1900s. In [Addiction], psychologist Gene Heyman dismantles this time-honored assumption, arguing that addiction is first and foremost governed by personal choice, and does not therefore fit clinical conceptions of behavioral illness. -- Charlie Gillis Maclean's 20090526 We have a justice system that treats drug use as a malevolent act of will (to be punished) and a medical profession that treats it as an unfortunate disease (to be cured). Who is right? In a magnificent new book, Addiction: A Disorder of Choice, Gene M. Heyman, a lecturer in psychology at Harvard Medical School, argues that it is not his fellow medical professionals...Heyman shows that the ordinary dynamics of human decision-making are sufficient to bring addiction into line with what we know about other, non-addictive behaviors... No one chooses to be an addict, as the saying goes. Mr Heyman shows that this is wrong--or at least that this is the wrong way of getting at the problem...Maybe nobody would choose to be an addict. But being an addict is not what substance abusers are choosing. They are choosing a momentary action, not a lifetime identity. This is a rich book that reverberates far beyond the field of addiction studies. Attentive readers will find in it lessons about debt-financed consumerism, environmental spoliation and the whole, vast range of self-destructive behavior that we engage in out of self-interest. -- Christopher Caldwell Financial Times 20090612 Psychologist Heyman argues that addiction involves no involuntariness or compulsiveness, but that addicts tend to use local book-keeping instead of aiming at a global equilibrium. So for them, the (rationally) anticipated pleasure of the next dose weighs more than the (rationally) anticipated pleasure of a drug-free week, or month, or life. (Compare a dieter who scoffs a chocolate cake.) This generalizes to the slightly terrifying proposition: It is possible to continue to make the best choice from a local perspective and end up at the worst possible outcome. Luckily, Heyman concludes, what is voluntary can be changed--but only if it is recognized as voluntary. -- Steven Poole The Guardian 20090620 Heyman's main target is the conception of addiction as a form of compulsion which leaves people with no choice: he points out that people not only have a choice, but that they regularly exercise that choice in response to their circumstances. He spends a good deal of time explaining how it is possible that people can make bad self-destructive choices voluntarily...In addition to its helpful but brief survey of the history, experience, and science of addiction and its treatment, the main value of Heyman's book lies in its setting out of evidence for his view using relapse rates from large scientific surveys that include those who are not in treatment. The book will be of interest to most researchers in addiction, those who work in mental health treatment and policy, people with addictions and their families and friends. -- Christian Perring Metapsychology 20090623 Drawing from behavioral economics, Heyman shows how the failure to sacrifice short-term gains (getting high) for long-term gains (sobriety-aided productivity) is endemic to a consumer culture, and how important a person's social context is to reining in the penchant for pleasure...His approach is refreshing, avoiding false dilemmas about free will and biological determinism. -- Gary Greenberg New Scientist 20090725 Provocative and engaging...What Heyman is offering, in effect, is a global theory of addiction, with elegant and seemingly irrefutable answers for all the great imponderables in the field: why people start abusing substances, why most of them stop by the age of 30 and why a smaller percentage end up relapsing...How you will react to this book depends very much on what you think about free will and personal responsibility. There is, however, one point on which all readers will agree: Heyman's challenge to the disease concept of addiction is both coherent and provocative. The result is a readable book that will have you thinking about the choices people make and the choices societies make for them. -- Jessica Warner Globe and Mail 20090815 Heyman's book is interesting and controversial...There's lots of good sense about drug addiction in Heyman's book, and it can be read with profit by general readers and specialists. -- Bruce Alexander Times Higher Education 20091119 An important and provocative book...Heyman mounts a devastating assault on the brain-based model of addiction. Not that he views addiction as independent of the brain--no serious person could even entertain such a claim. What he rejects, however, is the notion that excessive drug or alcohol consumption is an irresistible act wholly beyond the user's control, as the term addiction, commonly understood, implies...Addiction: A Disorder of Choice is an invaluable tutorial in how to think about drug addiction...Addiction should be required reading for anyone who treats patients, researches addiction, or devises policy surrounding drug-related crime. -- Sally Satel New Republic online 20100315