What Causes A Person To Become Addicted To A Substance?
24 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in Alcohol and Other Drugs, Questions & Answers, Recovery, Treatment
The details vary, but in general:
- The presence of the substance in the brain mimics or alters the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and especially dopamine.
- Physical changes occur in the brain that adapt it to the altered levels of those substances.
- At that point, it is necessary to continue the substance in order to feel normal, even if we do not use enough to get high. Sometimes we reach a point where it is no longer possible to get high.
Recovery from addiction is largely a matter of sustaining the body and mind, physically and otherwise, until the brain has regained as close to normal functioning as it is able. This may take from months to years, depending on the drug, the amount used, how long the addiction continued before abstinence, and other health issues.
From the above, you can see that the absolute prerequisite for recovery from any addiction is total abstinence from substances or activities that create the same extreme chemical changes as the drug of choice.
Shel
Bill
