Mental Health World Conference 2026

Abstract

Addiction is increasingly becoming one of the most pressing public health challenges facing the global community. Across diverse climes, the rising prevalence of substance use disorders, behavioural addictions, and associated mental health complications continues to exert immense pressure on healthcare systems, families, and public institutions. Against this backdrop, this paper seeks to examine global addiction trends and advocate for a decisive shift towards evidence-based treatment approaches and progressive policy frameworks that prioritise care over punishment. It further interrogates the evolving patterns of addiction worldwide, highlighting the limitations of criminalisation-centred responses and the growing need for treatment models grounded in scientific evidence and respect for human dignity. In doing so, the paper adopts a self developed theoretical framework, which posits that human behaviour is fundamentally shaped by a persistent underlying state of fear that evolves across developmental stages. According to this perspective, individuals are engaged in a continuous internal struggle to manage, regulate, and overcome emotionally driven fears. These fears are neither fixed nor uniform rather, they exist within a dynamic hierarchy aligned with an individual’s physiological and social development. At different stages of life, particular fears become more dominant, influencing behaviour in ways that prioritise emotional response over rational judgement. By viewing addiction partly as an attempt to manage, regulate or escape overwhelming emotional fears, this theory supports the paper’s argument that addiction should be addressed through compassionate, psychotherapeutic and evidence-based treatment. The paper concludes that a care-oriented and policy-sensitive approach provides a more sustainable pathway for prevention, treatment, recovery, and meaningful social reintegration.