![\"aids-1886383_1280\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2018\/03\/aids-1886383_1280-300x200.jpg\")
“It was my friend’s choice to have an addiction problem.\u00a0No one forced him to put those pills in his mouth. He is an addict because he chose to use drugs. Don’t tell me this is a disease. He started. He can stop.”<\/p>\n“It was my friend’s choice to have an addiction problem.\u00a0No one forced him to put those pills in his mouth. He is an addict because he chose to use drugs. Don’t tell me this is a disease. He started. He can stop.”<\/p>\n
Does this resonate with you? Is there someone in your life who is addicted and you feel brought it on themselves? Addiction is much more complex than boiling it down to choice and willpower.\u00a0The complex brain changes caused by addiction are pervasive and long-lasting and help explain why someone doesn\u2019t will his way out of the disease.\u00a0Addiction involves\u00a0complex maladaptive learning patterns related to\u00a0genetics, environment, psychosocial, behavioral and other factors that significantly change the brain. And once addicted, the brain changes and has to be rewired.<\/p>\n
People do begin by taking drugs, most often by there own choice. But then taking drugs turns into dependence, a stage of physical and psychological withdrawal that makes it difficult to stop using. This dependence then become addiction–a\u00a0<\/em>compulsive drug seeking behavior, despite aversive consequences, loss of control over intake, and is associated with negative emotional states, especially when access to the drug is blocked.<\/p>\n Drugs stimulate the dopamine pathway in the brain involved in reward perception and learning. It is one of the main pathways (not the only) involved in repeated drug use. Drug use creates a surge of euphoria and keeps people coming back for more of the drug. When drugs like an opioid are used, the amount of dopamine released in a part of the brain\u00a0is the basis for the reward or euphoria. \u00a0A rush is experienced (positive reinforcement). With repeated use, brain\u00a0receptors become less sensitized to drug\u00a0stimulation, thus more dopamine is needed to achieve pleasure. This means you need to keep taking drugs and more of them to get the sense of pleasure. Now, the drug becomes\u00a0a compulsive behavior.<\/p>\n Based on this knowledge of the brain, one of the most significant shifts in addiction work is recognizing that addiction is a disease, not a moral failure.\u00a0Yes, people use drugs for a variety of reasons\u2014to feel good, to get high, to fit in, to feel relaxed, to increase energy, to feel powerful, to numb or escape internal pain, and to increase self-confidence. Others use drugs because they are curious or to deal with emotional distress like a divorce.<\/p>\n However, the pleasurable escape\u00a0ends because the initial sense of control leads to a lack of control.\u00a0Problems develop, negative consequences occur, denial sets in, abuse becomes compulsive. \u00a0It is more and more difficult to get high\u00a0as\u00a0people develop tolerance and need more. Drug use may begin \u00a0voluntarily for the purpose of physical or emotional pain relief, but eventually the drug is doing the choosing for survival. So what begins as a choice, ends in\u00a0bondage. Thankfully, there is freedom when a person chooses to get help. But because of the brain changes, the road to recovery is not easy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “It was my friend’s choice to have an addiction problem.\u00a0No one forced him to put those pills in his mouth. He is an addict because he chose to use drugs. Don’t tell me this is a disease. He started. He can stop.” Does this resonate with you? Is there someone in your life who is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914,917],"tags":[166,4182,4183,723,768,4181],"class_list":["post-10031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","category-friend-relationships","tag-addiction","tag-addiction-disease","tag-brain-and-addiction","tag-brain-changes","tag-drug-addiction","tag-drugs"],"yoast_head":"\n