Drug dependence occurs when you need one or more drugs to function. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) used to distinguish between dependence and abuse. Abuse was considered the mild or early phase of inappropriate drug use that led to dependence. People viewed dependence as a more severe problem than abuse.
The difference between physical dependence versus psychological dependence is physical dependence affects your body and psychological dependence affects your behavior. Depending on the addiction, it was previously thought to be either one or the other. In actuality, addiction is both physical and psychological.
Drug dependence means to me how much I rely on something outside of my body, instead of my body. The difference to me is when your physically dependent on something you feel different when your off it. I'm not talking about mentally, I am talking about your hands will be shaking, you will sometimes have muscle pain , blurred vision, and other physically noticeable symptoms. When you depend on a drug physiologically you need the drug to help you think straight or to help you focus. Without the drug in your system you will notice a sometimes drastic change in your thought pattern and more.
