Understanding Addiction
Addiction is one of the most talked-about and least honestly explained subjects there is. This section is the foundation of the Atlas: what addiction actually is, what causes it, what's happening in the brain, and what the evidence really says about recovery — told without the shame, the scare tactics, or the false certainty that dominate most of what's written on the topic. If you read one cluster to understand the rest, read this one.
The through-line here is simple and evidence-based: addiction makes sense once you understand what the behavior is doing for the person. That reframe changes everything downstream — including what recovery has to address to last.
Start here
- What is addiction? (A1-01) — the definitional page that anchors everything else
- Is addiction a disease? (A1-02) — the honest disagreement, fairly represented
- Why do people relapse? (A1-07) — lapse vs. relapse, and why setbacks are data
- Why doesn't shame work in addiction recovery? (A1-10) — a core thesis, with the self-compassion evidence
Every question in this section
| Question | ID | Wave | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is addiction? | A1-01 | 1 | queued |
| Is addiction a disease? | A1-02 | 1 | queued |
| What causes addiction? | A1-03 | 1 | queued |
| Is addiction genetic? | A1-04 | 2 | queued |
| Can addiction be cured? | A1-05 | 2 | queued |
| What happens in the brain during addiction? | A1-06 | 2 | queued |
| Why do people relapse? | A1-07 | 1 | queued |
| Does rock bottom exist? | A1-08 | 2 | queued |
| Can people recover from addiction naturally? | A1-09 | 2 | queued |
| Why doesn't shame work in addiction recovery? | A1-10 | 1 | queued |
Link up: The Behavior Change Atlas Curated by Dr. Adi Jaffe, PhD (UCLA), author of The Abstinence Myth and Unhooked.