Addictive
drugs activate the brains reward systems. The promise of reward is very
intense, causing the individual to crave the drug and to focus his or her activities
around taking the drug. The ability of addictive drugs to strongly activate
the brain reward mechanisms and their ability to chemically alter the normal
functioning of these systems can produce an addiction. Drugs also reduce a persons
level of consciousness, harming their ability to think or be fully aware of
present surroundings.
The
Cycle of Addiction
What
Is A Drug?
In medical terms, a drug is any substance that when taken into a living organism
may modify one or more of its functions. Drugs can provide temporary relief from
unhealthy symptoms and/or permanently supply the body with a necessary substance
the body can no longer make. Some drugs produce unwanted side affects. Some drugs
lead to an unhealthy dependency that has both physiological and behavioral roots.
Why
People Use Drugs
No one wants to be a drug addict or alcoholic, but that doesnt stop people
from getting addicted. The most commonly asked question is simply - how? How
could my son, daughter, father, sister, or brother become a liar, a thief, someone
who cannot be trusted? How could this happen? And why wont they stop?
The first thing you must understand about addiction, is that alcohol and addictive
drugs are basically painkillers. They chemically kill physical or emotional
pain and alter the minds perception of reality. They make people numb.
For drugs to be attractive to a person there must first be some underlying unhappiness,
sense of hopelessness, or physical pain that they wish to escape.
Drug Addiction Follows A Cycle Like This:
The life cycle of addiction begins with a problem, discomfort, or some form
of emotional or physical pain a person is experiencing. They find this very
difficult to deal with.
We start off with an individual who, like most people in our society, is basically
good. This person encounters a problem or discomfort that they do not know how
to resolve or cannot confront. This could include problems such as difficulty
fitting in as a child or teenager, anxiety due to peer pressure
or work expectations, identity problems or divorce as an adult. It can also
include physical discomfort, such as an injury or chronic pain. The person experiencing
the discomfort has a real problem and feels their present situation is unendurable,
yet sees no good solution to the problem.
Everyone has experienced this in life to a greater or lesser degree. The difference
between an addict and the non-addict is that the addict chooses drugs or alcohol
as a solution to the unwanted problem or discomfort.
The
Addiction Progresses
Analogous to an adolescent child in his first love affair, the use of drugs
or alcohol becomes obsessive. The addicted person is trapped. Whatever problem
he was initially trying to solve by using drugs or alcohol fades from memory.
At this point, all they can think about is getting and using drugs. They lose
the ability to control their usage and disregard the horrible consequences of
thier actions.
Alcohol
And Drug Tolerance
In addition to the mental stress created by thier unethical behavior, the addicts
body has also adapted to the presence of the drugs. He will experience an overwhelming
obsession with getting and using his drugs, and will do anything to avoid the
pain of withdrawing from them. This is when the newly-created addict begins
to experience drug cravings.
The individual now seeks drugs both for the reward of the pleasure
they give him, and also to avoid the mental and physical horrors of withdrawal.
Ironically, the addicts ability to get high from the alcohol
or drug gradually decreases as thier body adapts to the presence of foreign
chemicals. He must take more and more, not just to get an effect but often just
to function at all.
At this point, the addict is stuck in a vicious dwindling spiral. The drugs
being abused have changed him both physically and mentally. He has crossed an
invisible and intangible line. He is now a drug addict or alcoholic.
Drugs
and Problems
A person tries drugs or alcohol. The drugs APPEAR to solve his problem. He feels
better. Because he now SEEMS better able to deal with life, the drugs become
valuable to him. The person looks at drugs or alcohol as a cure for unwanted
feelings. The painkilling effects of drugs or alcohol become a solution to their
discomfort. Inadvertently the drug or alcohol now becomes valuable because it
helped them feel better. This release is the main reason a person uses drugs
or drinks a second or third time. It is just a matter of time before he becomes
fully addicted and loses the ability to control his drug usage. Drug addiction
results from excessive or continued use of physiologically habit-forming drugs
in an attempt to resolve the underlying symptoms of discomfort or unhappiness.
How
Drugs Affect Behavior
The addict will now attempt to withhold the fact of thier drug use from friends
and family members. They will begin to suffer the effects of their own dishonesty
and guilt. They may become withdrawn, difficult to reason with, and possibly
develop strange behavior.
The more they use drugs and alcohol, the guiltier they will feel, and the more
depressed they will become. They will sacrifice their personal integrity, relationships
with friends and family, thiers job, savings, and anything else they may possess
in an attempt to get more drugs. The drugs are now the most important things
in their life. Their relationships and job performance will go drastically downhill.
There is such a thing as a drug personality, which is artificially
created by drugs. Drugs can change the attitude of a person from his original
personality to one secretly harboring hostilities and hatreds he does not permit
to show on the surface.
This establishes a link between drugs and increasing
difficulties with crime, production and the modern breakdown of social and industrial
culture.
The
drug personality includes such characteristics as:
- Mood
swings.
- Unreliable.
Unable to finish projects.
- Unexpressed
resentment and secret hatreds.
- Dishonesty.
Lies to family, friends, employers.
- Withdraws
from those who love him. Isolates self.
- May
appear chronically depressed.
- May
begin stealing from family and friends.
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Drug
Metabolites
Drugs and alcohol are broken down in the liver. When a person drinks or uses
drugs over a period of time, the body becomes unable to completely eliminate
them all. These metabolites, (the substances the body converts the drugs or
alcohol into) although removed rapidly from the blood stream, become trapped
in the fatty tissues. The problem that needs to be addressed is that these drug
residues remain for years.There are various types of tissues that are high in
fat content, and these tissues are turned over very slowly. When they are turned
over, the stored drug metabolites are released into the blood stream and reactivate
the same brain centers as if the person actually took the drug. The former addict
now experiences a drug restimulation (or flashback) and drug craving.
This is common in the months after an addict quits and can continue to occur
for years, or even decades.
The Cycle Of Quitting, Withdrawal, Craving And Relapse
When the addict initially
tries to quit, cells in the brain that have become used to large amounts of
these metabolites are now forced to deal with much decreased amounts. Even as
the withdrawal symptoms subside, the brain demands that the addict
give it more of the drug. This is called drug craving. Craving is an extremely
powerful urge and can cause a person to create all kinds of reasons
they should begin using drugs or drinking again. He is now trapped in an endless
cycle of trying to quit, craving, relapse and fear of withdrawal. Eventually,
the brain cells will again become used to having lowered drug metabolites. However,
because deposits of drug or alcohol metabolites release back into the bloodstream
from fatty tissues for years, craving and relapse remain a cause for concern.
Left unhandled, the presence of metabolites, even in microscopic amounts, cause
the brain to react as if the addict had actually taken the drug again, and can
set up craving and relapse even after years of sobriety.