Dependence vs Addiction: What’s the Difference?

However, the latest edition, DSM-5, has included both conditions under the umbrella term of substance use disorder. Addiction is in its own category and is characterized as changes in behavior, which are caused by the biochemical changes in our brain due to prolonged substance abuse. Getting and using drugs become the main focal point in the person’s life, despite any and all consequences that may follow. For example, if a person is arrested for using drugs and leaves jail to pick up more, they’ve likely developed an addiction. Addiction causes individuals to act erratic or irrational when they cannot get more of their drug of choice.

Substance Dependence Treatment

• Whether it’s prescription medications, smoking, or illicit street drugs, it can be difficult to manage your substance use and to know whether you’re heading towards addiction.
• Despite being aware of these harmful outcomes, many people who use drugs continue to take them, which is the nature of addiction.

Most commonly, the cases are related to marijuana and prescription pain relievers. Addiction is considered “highly treatable.” But it can take a few tries for the therapy to be fully effective. For individuals who are seeking intensive treatment but still prefer to live at home, partial hospitalization (PHP) or day treatment programs are also available. PHP typically consists of hospital treatment 5 to 7 days a week, for 4 to 8 hours per day.

Health Categories to Explore

Zubsolv and Suboxone are both considered Schedule III controlled substances, which means they have a low to moderate potential for dependence. Your healthcare provider will determine whether your symptoms match the criteria for substance use disorder listed in the DSM-5. Depending on how many symptoms you have, your condition may be classified as mild, moderate, or severe. This article explores the symptoms, causes, stages, and treatment of substance dependence, also known as substance use disorder. Dependence on a drug can certainly lead to a substance abuse disorder (SUD). According to the latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), there’s not really a distinction between dependence and abuse anymore.

• If you were to suddenly stop using it, you would likely experience some harsh symptoms.
• Treatment approaches tailored to each patient’s drug use patterns and any co-occurring medical, mental, and social problems can lead to continued recovery.
• At the same time, the distinction between addiction and dependence is not trivial.
• When you’re ready to recover, it may help to differentiate between the physiological and psychological aspects of what you’re going through.
• We provide our readers with factual, evidence-based content concerning the causes and nature of addiction, as well as available treatment options.
• We know opioids, for example, can be highly addictive, and that addiction can develop quickly.

Dependence treatment

For one, depending on a substance to avoid physical withdrawal symptoms is neither necessary nor sufficient to define addiction. Many drugs cause dependence but not addiction, for example, paroxetine [10] and clonidine [11]. But when people withdraw from these medications, they do not crave them and once successfully tapered, they do not have recurrent use. In contrast, craving and recurrent use are common symptoms of addiction, particularly during early stages of recovery.

• ICD codes have not been updated to reflect current understanding of addiction, unlike those in the DSM-5.
• The term substance use disorder (SUD) is the preferred way of saying it in the scientific community.
• Detoxing from certain substances—like alcohol, opioids, and benzodiazepines—can even be fatal.
• The intention was to simplify the phrasing by grouping substance abuse and substance dependence into one category.
• It is no secret that misinformation about addiction is rampant in popular media.

Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP)

Zubsolv and Suboxone decrease the risk of overdose and treat opioid addiction in adults. While they play an important role in treatment, they are part of a complete treatment program. Naloxone works by binding to the opioid receptors in the body without activating them. By preventing the activation of these opioid receptors, it provides an anti-overdose effect. This alleviates withdrawal symptoms, helping you feel more comfortable after stopping the use of opioids.

According to the DSM-5, it is possible to meet diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder without having tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. That said, for many, but not all, substances, tolerance and withdrawal are often part of the package of symptoms of a substance use disorder. Physiological dependence is very common and can occur with many different kinds of substances, including those considered to be medications.

• Clear Recovery Center’s Virtual IOP provides clients with therapeutic support for burnout, depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue and stress.
• As a result, the generalized results might overlook specific challenges that are specific to those areas.
• Results from NIDA-funded research have shown that prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media are effective for preventing or reducing drug use and addiction.
• Someone who’s dependent on a substance may or may not be addicted to it, but someone who’s addicted to a drug has always become dependent on it.

Is the issue physical or mental?

This is why recent evidence-based literature clearly defines the difference between addiction and physical dependence in drug use. The solution in the DSM-5 was to combine the categories of “substance dependence” and “substance abuse” into one category called “substance use disorder” under a chapter heading called Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders. The purposeful use of the term “Addictive Disorders” in the naming of this chapter was primarily due to the addition of “gambling disorder” to the DSM, a non-substance-related disorder. And here, too, among the committee members, the decision to introduce the term “addictive” into the DSM-5 was arrived at through disagreements and non-consensus. Detoxification treatment may need to be administered to those with substance dependence due to the dangerous nature of some withdrawal symptoms. Research suggests that no treatment method is superior, but that social support is very important and that organizations such as AA and NA have better than average success rates in reducing relapse.

It can be viewed as a chronic brain disorder that alters the reward system, leading to the prioritization of the addictive substance or behavior over other aspects of life. Addiction is a chronic condition, meaning it tends to persist over time and requires ongoing management. Hence, debunking common misconceptions about addiction can be helpful in understanding the condition better and addressing it effectively.

Substance Addiction

It is important to keep in mind that physical dependence can occur without the patient developing a SUD. Like all chronic illness, a family history puts people at higher risk for developing the illness. He also sees people who have taken heroin without developing addiction vs dependence an addiction, yet they can’t seem to stop smoking and give up nicotine. Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp. So why do some organizations scrap the word “addiction” from their vocabulary?