Addiction is a Disease - Inside the Brain

We already talked about addiction as a disease, but we just can’t stress it enough. In this article, we are going to go a little more into how addiction affects the brain and more. 

Addiction, for many, may classify as its own “thing”. One may not think of it as a sickness or a disease, it’s simply addiction.

Up until recently, the majority of people wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that addiction is independent of other illnesses and diseases. It really wasn’t until late 2016 that medical professionals decided to start thinking about addiction being a disease. 

Surgeon General Vivek Murphy was one of the first to identify addiction to be a disease, calling it “one of America’s most pressing public health concerns”.

Today, we’re going to talk about why addiction is a disease.

The Early Stages of Substance Use

When someone begins taking drugs or alcohol, they do so voluntarily. It could be just one drink or experimenting with a drug at a party. 

At that point, an individual believes that has complete control over their activity. After all, it was just that one time, what’s the true harm?

However, if the individual begins consuming alcohol or taking drugs on a more regular basis, control is eventually lost. It goes from being an occasional activity to something that is done on a much more frequent basis. 

It has quickly turned from “I’ll just do it once” to “I need it”.

A Change in Life Behavior

As we’ve discussed on our treatment pages, there are certain signs that an individual is struggling with abuse or addiction.

Before, partaking in drugs or alcohol may have only been during a social event. But then, the activity starts to interfere with social interactions. Calls go unanswered, events are missed, and interest is lost in regular activities.

From there, we start to see some clear signs of addiction.

Changes in the Brain

It’s important to remember that there are more than just life changes that make addiction a disease. 

Various studies have shown how a number of areas in the brain react when around a certain substance. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter that your nervous system uses to send messages between nerve cells, is often referred to as a “chemical messenger”. 

In short, dopamine plays a huge role in how we process emotion and feel pleasure. Without dopamine, we as humans wouldn’t be able to think and plan effectively. It also helps us realize that we like a certain activity. 

So when someone uses a substance, the brain releases dopamine and the rest of the body thinks that drug or alcohol use is related to pleasure. Drugs and alcohol are able to take over these dopamine pathways throughout the body and “retrain” them.

While the first uses of a certain substance may have had a neutral reaction, more regular use starts to teach our brain that a substance is good and we need it to feel pleasure. 

Drugs also release 2-10 times more dopamine than other, regular activities. So while you may have a dopamine release during exercise or enjoying a meal with a romantic partner, those events can be 2-10 times less than partaking in substance abuse.

The Reverse Effect

If drugs and alcohol release so much dopamine, then why do substance abusers often seem lethargic, lazy, or simply out of it?

After continued substance abuse, the brain starts producing less dopamine. Suddenly, dopamine doesn’t have the rewarding, pleasure-inducing feeling that it once had. Thus, one’s ability to feel pleasure also diminishes greatly.

Long-term substance abusers suffer from this effect and their brains can start picking up on “cues” to substance abuse in the future. That’s why it’s important that after recovery, individuals avoid certain social situations, locations, or even physical feelings. 

Drugs and alcohol can have a powerful effect on the brain. Even if an individual avoids these situations for 20 years, one moment can trigger a potential relapse.

Conclusion

It’s important to remember that addiction isn’t caused by someone with weak willpower or a lack of desire to change. There are real physical and physiological changes that occur in an individual when dealing with an addiction.

Here at The Walker Center, we’ve been helping individuals for over 40 years and are ready to help you or a loved one. Please reach out and contact us if you have any questions. 

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