Neuroscience Made Easy: Here ’s Why Your Brain Makes Quitting Drugs/Alcohol So Hard

Neuroscience Made Easy: Here’s Why Your Brain Makes Quitting Drugs/Alcohol So Hard There’s little more tempting than a quick and easy solution to our problems. That’s one of the ways addiction begins to take hold of us. Initially, drugs and alcohol ease difficult feelings about intractable problems. But this evolves over time as the drugs used, and the drug-seeking behavior that seeks them out, changes the way the brain works. Addiction becomes not a choice, but a hard-wired reality of brain function. It is these brain changes that make recovering from addiction so hard. Traditionally, as a community, we have failed to understand the hold the brain has on an individual’s behavior. For most of history, addiction has been seen as a moral failing. Yet, over time, the failure of many social programs and political efforts to eradicate addiction through moral reeducation and religious fervor has galvanized the scientific community and public health officials to explore new ways we can address addiction. We have learned that addictive behavior can grow out of traumatic experiences. People don’t generally “party” themselves into addiction. We all knew the kid in college who seemed to drink more than go to school, and yet, even with some minor negative consequences, a couple of years out of school, that person often has a career, perhaps a home, and maybe even a spouse and children. It is those who use drugs and alcohol to deal with insoluble issues who are likely to kee...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Richard Taite addiction Addiction Recovery addiction treatment drug treatment prescription drug abuse prescription drug addiction substance abuse Source Type: blogs