Biologia dorinței

Marc Lewis argues that addiction is a learned habit, not a disease. To seek a strong reward time after time can form deep patterns. He sees quitting as more growth, not healing from illness. This nonfiction book draws on the science of the brain and mind. It also uses true accounts of addiction.

Lewis shows how strong urges make these habits take root fast. He tracks this through several parts of the brain. Pain in childhood or the teen years can spark a search for relief. The rewards of addiction may soothe at first. Then they can grow hard to resist. Lewis stresses how life events and the world around us shape this. He disputes views that focus on brain chemistry alone. He also disputes those based just on genes or choice. The same holds for self-medication: using a drug to ease distress.

Stories of people who have faced addiction show how change can unfold. Lewis links their lives to brain plasticity, the brain’s power to change. He says this helps explain addiction and escape from it. He looks at how people think about their lives and grow. He also explores the role of close bonds. A person’s readiness to change matters. Support can help once they start to picture change.

Lewis is a neuroscientist, a scientist who studies the brain. He has lived through addiction himself. He stresses the need to understand and care for those who struggle with it. Madalina Gane translated this edition from English. Its original title is The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease. It forms part of the Psihoterapia series.