The Difficult Task of Understanding Addiction

The principle of addiction is relatively simple, but understanding why and how someone becomes addicted to something is entirely different. So, when you feel like that you can’t live without something, you need it all the time and you frequently give in to that feeling despite the consequences; that is addiction. But, if someone knows they are addicted to something, why can’t they just stop doing it?

 

Well, addiction doesn’t just revolve around your desires; it changes the chemical balance in your brain and it alters the way you acknowledge pleasure. This means that while your conscious mind may realise it is wrong or it is a cycle that needs to be broken, your subconscious mind is still seeing it as pleasure which gives you an overwhelming urge to do it. This is why so many people seek help, because the urge is so strong and it begins to ruin their lives.

 

However, addiction is something that can be overcome, and millions of people do it every single day. Although, there are still plenty of people developing and suffering from addictions. The US government reported that almost one in ten Americans are addicted to alcohol or other drugs, and more than two-thirds of addicts have a problem with alcohol.

 

If we go back to the basics and try to understand the brain’s role in addiction, then we need to look at the nucleus accumbens, also known as the brain’s pleasure centre. Irrelevant of what it is, pleasure is registered through a release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. But, this release is particularly intense when it comes to drug abuse such as alcohol, heroin and marijuana. This is why the things that have the worst consequences are the ones that are most likely to result in an addiction.

 

What makes it worse is the fact that regular usage of an addictive substance combines dopamine with the brain’s department for learning and memory. This is disastrous, as this then takes pleasure from just liking it, to wanting it, needing it, and doing anything to source it. Moreover, this pleasure doesn’t last forever though, and after time people who are abuse substances develop a significant tolerance for it.

 

For example, take an alcoholic – they’re addicted to alcohol, but in their first week of drinking heavily they’ll have much more fun and enjoyment than they will after six months. At the six-month stage, signs will begin to show that alcohol is actually a depressant, and then that person will need to drink more alcohol to try and source that same pleasure due to their brain’s higher tolerance.

 

This is because dopamine won’t release as freely and easily, and this is when compulsion begins to kick in. You see, just because the pleasure levels drop doesn’t mean the addiction will be eradicated. Their memory of the pleasure and what they want to happen when they indulge in that addiction will still be there, so their brain will continue to try and find that same effect. Why do you think so many alcoholics stay out of the site of alcohol even if they’re in sobriety?

 

Ultimately, addiction is incredibly complex and involves the person, the environment and the brain, which makes it extremely hard to treat. But, there is a multitude of help nowadays, and addiction can be removed from your life!