How Do We Get Addicted?
When we talk about addicts and addictions, the consumption of drugs such as heroin, alcohol, drugs or tobacco surely comes to mind. But it is something else.
When we speak of addiction we are referring to a dependence on any substance, activity or relationship that causes pleasure. There is dependence on gambling, social networks, chocolate, shopping, even our partner.
It could be said, and so does the World Health Organization (WHO), that it is a disease that causes the sick or addict to feel an irrepressible desire to be close to that source of pleasure or satisfaction. Not only is it that you feel desires, it is that your brain needs that source of pleasure.
By needing it, the addicted person lacks control over his addiction. Moreover, even if the addicted person knows the negative consequences that can be derived from this dependence, he cannot avoid continuing to be hooked on it.
Two types of dependencies could be defined : the physical or purely biochemical and the psychological. Let’s move on to define them.
Addicts due to physical dependence
It is a state in which the brain has become used to receiving certain daily doses of a substance and can no longer do without it. Also, the more you consume, the more substance you need.
The brain can no longer do without this substance, since this would generate certain very unpleasant physiological reactions. The set of these sensations is known as withdrawal syndrome.
The withdrawal syndrome is perceived by addicts as something so aversive that they immediately need to suppress it, returning to use. It is a vicious cycle.
Psychological dependence
It occurs when the substance is associated with pleasure or positive reinforcement, or when it frees us from something unpleasant or negative, also constituting a reinforcement. In this sense, our body does not need the substance, but it does enjoy a lot with it or in the situations in which it is present.
But … How does a substance give us so much pleasure that it makes us hooked? The mechanism is quite curious. There is a region in the brain commonly called “the pleasure center.” Here a neurotransmitter called dopamine is released.
How does it work
When we consume a drug, make love or eat chocolate, our nucleus accumbens generates dopamine, which makes us have such pleasant sensations. When we feel that well-being, we will have the need to repeat, what could become a habit and later an addiction. At that time we will already be trapped.
Addiction will occur depending on the amount of dopamine released and its constancy of release. In the case of addictive drugs, they produce more dopamine in the pleasure region than normal and much faster.
Subsequently, it is the amygdala, the center of emotions, that creates the emotional response to the drug . For example, just seeing a friend I usually smoke with already makes me want to smoke.
After many repetitions of consumption of the substance, the brain gets used to and adapts to it, developing tolerance. Then another brain structure intervenes, much more developed. This is the prefrontal cortex.
The prefrontal cortex is involved in the planning and execution of tasks and will cause us to need the drug and also to go looking for it. That is, this structure is responsible for us to carry out certain behaviors to achieve what we want.
Addiction can wrap us in a very dangerous circle. It is very difficult to escape from him, but you can. Addicts must acknowledge their addiction and be motivated to get out of it. It is the first step. If you take care of your brain, it will take care of you.
Photo courtesy of Fisher Photostudio
