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Hooked: Why bad habits are hard to break

April 29, 2012 4:00 PM

Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has revolutionized how science and medicine view addiction: as a disease, not a character defect. Morley Safer reports.

Hooked: Why bad habits are hard to break

60 Minutes OverTimeAre you addicted to food?

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by AddictionMyth August 1, 2012 7:28 AM EDT
So a person brain lights up when they see cocaine? So perhaps they like cocaine. This doesn't mean they are addicted. I'm sure my brain lights up when I see a cheeseburger, but I'm not addicted to food.

Of course people develop tolerance to drugs, and need more to feel normal. But people have free will. They can choose to feel bad for a while to get off the drug. Withdrawal symptoms can be reduced medically.

Addiction is still very much a choice, not a compulsion or disease. Dr. Volkow is leaping to conclusions and this is bad science.
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by lgirish May 3, 2012 12:02 PM EDT
I suffered tremendously when I came off Oxycontin. I had a broken neck and it took six surgeries to repair it. I never illegally sought the drug but doctors prescribed it to me for over 10 years.
This segment helped explain why my life spiraled so out of control when I got off the drugs. I did not understand what was happening to me. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who suffered coming off of this horrible drug that doctors overly prescribe, yet pay no consequences for their actions.
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by MrLanders May 2, 2012 1:56 PM EDT
Why in $#%^ will CBS not change their streaming system so when the inevitable happens, and the videos freeze mid-stream, you can refresh your browser and have the video start WHERE IT FROZE, and not go all the way back to the beginning! Come on! You're CBS - you should know how to do this.
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by Rustydog44 May 1, 2012 9:48 AM EDT
No surprise that brain chemistry has so much to do with wants and desires. I hope that the most serious and destructive types of addiction can be minimized, but one must be careful of unforeseen consequences. If there was a drug available to treat a politicians unbridled ambitions; I am all for it.
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by 1955nb April 30, 2012 10:23 PM EDT
I'm sorry; I don't know where else to post this question. I don't often blog. With apologies to the 60 minutes blog editor, would you be able to explain to me in an email why my earlier post was deleted? If my entry was inappropriate or broke any rules, I would like to know for future reference. Thank you for your consideration, if you are able to reply.
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by SmoothCrim58 April 30, 2012 8:32 PM EDT
Its simple, its mind over matter, its not the physical change in the brain that causes the addiction, its the other way around, the thought, the belief, this causes the change in the brain, which then I guess stays in the brain, making it harder to break the addiction.. its burning a cd, it can still be erased, but the thought, the belief has to be there first, and then the data will be erased causing the addiction to disappear also...
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by Where_is_the_Good_News April 30, 2012 8:24 PM EDT
Gotta be careful attempting to neutralize the effects of narcotics with other narcotics. The processes and behavior can become as addictive as the drugs itself.
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by sringram24 April 30, 2012 10:54 AM EDT
Dr. Volkow mentions meth as one of the most toxic drugs. There is very interesting info about why that is on this website: www.methproject.org.
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by craigharkey April 30, 2012 10:30 AM EDT
There are all natural dopamine agonists on the market now that will replenish the imbalance in dopamine levels. It isn't a drug which only up regulates or down regulates. The science behind it is a neuroadaptagen amino acid acting as a medical food. The clinicals have been very encouraging the past few years which supports Mrs. Volkow's research.
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by wolfmann4u-2009 April 30, 2012 9:32 AM EDT
A perscription makes a drug legal ? A perscription should also make sex workers legal
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