Addiction changes the brain, first by
subverting the way it registers pleasure and then by corrupting other normal
drives such as learning and motivation. Although breaking an addiction is tough
hence it can be done.
Addiction
extracts a long and powerful influence on the brain that manifests in three
distinct ways.
·
Craving for the object of
Addiction.
·
Loss of Control over its use.
·
Continuing involvement with it
despite Adverse Consequences.
For
many years, experts believed that only Alcohol and powerful Drugs could cause Addiction.
Neuroimaging technologies and more recent researches, have shown that certain
pleasurable Activities, such as Gambling, Shopping, and Sex, can also co-opt
the brain.
Although
multiple addictions, each tied to a specific substance or activity, consensus
is emerging that these may represent multiple expressions of a common
underlying brain process.
Nobody
starts out intending to develop an Addiction, but many people get caught in its
Snare.
In
the 1930s, when researchers first began to investigate what caused addictive
behavior, they believed that people who developed addictions were somehow
morally flawed or lacking in willpower.
Overcoming
addiction, they thought, involved punishing miscreants or, alternately,
encouraging them to muster the will to break a habit.
Today
we recognize addiction as a chronic disease that changes both brain structure
and function. Just like.
·
Cardiovascular disease damages
the heart.
·
Diabetes impairs the pancreas.
·
Addiction hijacks the brain.
This
happens as the brain goes through a series of changes, beginning with
recognition of pleasure and ending with a drive toward compulsive behavior.
The
brain registers all pleasures in the same way, whether they originate with a
psychoactive drug, a monetary reward, a sexual encounter, or a satisfying meal.
In the brain, pleasure has a distinct signature: the release of the
neurotransmitter dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, a cluster of nerve cells
lying underneath the cerebral cortex,
All
drugs of abuse, from Alcohol to heroin, cause a particularly powerful surge of
dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.
The
likelihood that the use of a drug or participation in a rewarding activity will
lead to addiction is directly linked to the speed with which it promotes
dopamine release, the intensity of that release, and the reliability of that
release.
Even
taking the same drug through different methods of administration can influence
how likely it is to lead to addiction.
Addictive
drugs provide a shortcut to the brain’s reward system by flooding the nucleus
accumbens with dopamine. The hippocampus lays down memories of this rapid sense
of satisfaction, and the amygdala creates a conditioned response to certain
stimuli.
Scientists
once believed that the experience of pleasure alone was enough to prompt people
to continue seeking an addictive substance or activity. But more recent
research suggests that the situation is more complicated. Dopamine not only
contributes to the experience of pleasure, but also plays a role in learning
and memory — two key elements in the transition from liking something to
becoming addicted to it.
The
reward circuit in the brain includes areas involved with motivation and memory
as well as with pleasure. Addictive substances and behaviors stimulate the same
circuit, and then overload it.
Determining
whether you have addiction isn’t completely straightforward. And admitting it
isn’t easy, largely because of the stigma and shame associated with addiction.
But acknowledging the problem is the first step toward recovery.
A
“yes” answer to any of the following three questions suggests you might have a
problem with addiction and should be at the very least stage consult a health
care provider for further evaluation and guidance.
1. Do
you use more of the substance or engage in the behavior more often than in the
past?
2.
Do you have
withdrawal symptoms when you don’t have the substance or engage in the
behavior?
3.
Have you ever lied
to anyone about your use of the substance or extent of your behavior?
Over
time, the brain adapts in a way that actually makes the sought-after substance
or activity less pleasurable.
In
nature, rewards usually come only with time and effort. Addictive drugs and
behaviors provide a shortcut, flooding the brain with dopamine and other
neurotransmitters. Our brains do not have an easy way to withstand the
onslaught.
Addictive
drugs, can release two to 10 times the amount of dopamine that natural rewards
do, and they do it more quickly and more reliably. In a person who becomes
addicted, brain receptors become overwhelmed. The brain responds by producing
less dopamine or eliminating dopamine receptors — an adaptation similar to
turning the volume down on a loudspeaker when noise becomes too loud.
As
a result of these adaptations, dopamine has less impact on the brain’s reward
center. People who develop an addiction typically find that, in time, the
desired substance no longer gives them as much pleasure. They have to take more
of it to obtain the same dopamine “high” because their brains have adapted — an
effect known as tolerance.
Cravings
contribute not only to addiction but to relapse after a hard-won sobriety.
A
person addicted to heroin may be in danger of relapse when he sees a hypodermic
needle, for example, while another person might start to drink again after
seeing a bottle of whiskey. Conditioned learning helps explain why people who
develop an addiction risk relapse even after years of abstinence.
It
is not enough to “just say no” — as the 1980s slogan suggested. Instead, you
can protect and heal (by the help of an ex-problem addict or Alcoholic) from
addiction by saying “yes” to other things. Cultivate diverse interests that
provide meaning to your life.
Understand that your problems usually are
transient, and perhaps most importantly, acknowledge that life is not always
supposed to be pleasurable.
