Addiction can be a loaded term. The word originated in the 16th century to denote an abnormal attachment, typically to ...

William White wrote a brilliant essay proposing a definition of recovery from serious addiction to alcohol and/or other drugs following a Betty Ford Center meeting in 2006. Each word in his ...

Path dependency can also be a result of an inability or a reluctance to commit to change because of the cost implications. A town that is built around a factory is a good example of path dependence.

Kirsten E. Smith, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, disputes the definition of addiction as a chronic brain disease. “I am not in recovery,” she said.