Addiction definition

Millions of people all over the world suffer the consequences of addiction. But what exactly does the term addiction mean? Addiction is a compulsive searching for happiness outside of ourselves. Traditionally, the term addiction has been used to identify self-destructive behaviors that include a pharmacological component. Drug addiction is often defined by the pharmacological terms tolerance, sensitization, dependence, and withdrawal.

Although there is still debate about the definition of addiction, most professionals in the field seem to agree with the World Health Organization which defined addiction as a pathological relationship with a mood altering experience or thing that causes damage to the person and others.