Four Reasons Why Drug Addiction Only Leads To Destruction
We need to address a massive misconception about drug and alcohol addiction because some individuals don’t choose a life of addiction by choice. Like any other medical issue, you will have to jump through challenges and obstacles during your recovery journey, let’s take a look at what’s involved.
Addiction usually starts with either a glass of wine or a cigarette. Sometimes, you cannot find any other method to deal with the everyday stress of life’s issues.
While other times, addiction can also be a result of peer pressure. In most cases, it’s considered in vogue because celebrities are known for OD’ing on them frequently.
Regardless of your reason for drug addiction, it is a severe mental and physical issue that must be avoided.
In fact, every year, thousands, if not millions of people in the US, struggle to cope with alcohol and drug addiction while only a few manage to quit the habit. That is why substance abuse treatment is such an important topic today.
We need to address a massive misconception about drug and alcohol addiction because some individuals don’t choose a life of addiction by choice.
In this way, expecting anyone to give up a life full of drugs and alcohol is like asking someone with cancer to quit cancer or someone with diabetes to leave diabetes.
Like any other medical issue, you will have to jump through challenges and obstacles during your recovery journey.
With that established, let’s look at a few reasons why drug addiction only leads to destruction.
Drug Addiction Is A Severe Disease, Not A Choice
As stated before, just like with any chronic medical condition, you’ll find it challenging without getting professional help, despite solid determination.
Even if you want to stop, you won’t be able to, as your body becomes dependent on your choice of drug and won’t function if you don’t consume large amounts.
Again, like any other chronic illness, drug or alcohol addiction requires proper professional treatment, like targeted treatment programs The Palm Beach Institute offers.
But, when you quit an addiction, you will experience painful withdrawal symptoms, and if you’re unable to control and manage withdrawal, you’ll relapse.
Addiction Affects Your Brain’s Reward System
When you abuse drugs or alcohol, harmful chemicals enter your blood and travel throughout every organ inside your body.
When drug molecules enter your brain, they affect your brain’s reward system, critical to mental function as it reinforces positive behavior through feedback.
What’s more, our brain’s reward system enables us to feel good when we exercise or consume our favorite food items.
However, when drugs enter your bloodstream, they hijack your brain’s reward system by injecting a high dosage of chemically induced feelings of euphoria.
Our brains develop a high dependency on drugs with consistent use, meaning you will have to consume more drugs to feel normal again.
So, the more you consume, the more resistance you will have for that specific volume, making it even harder to overcome drug addiction.
In fact, even if you try to quit, chances are you will fall off the bandwagon and relapse eventually.
Drug Addiction Will Affect Your Motivation To See Through Your Addiction Treatment Plan
Your brain’s reward system is interconnected with your motivation levels. When we consume drugs, we inherently motivate ourselves to experience bursts of endorphins or the feel-good factor a specific drug has on our brain.
However, motivation is also linked to chemicals that introduce shame and guilt. As a result, drug addiction will often lead to depression and anxiety.
So, as addicts struggle with drug or alcohol abuse issues, they will find it challenging to commit to an addiction center or rehabilitation facility.
The addiction will introduce unwanted obstacles that will demotivate them, making them quit their recovery program halfway.
Addiction Decreases Your Dopamine Levels
When you use opioids or similar substances, your brain will secrete massive volumes of dopamine (the feel-good endorphin).
As you abuse drugs day in and day out, your brain will find it challenging to release the required amounts of this feel-good chemical. Due to this, you will start feeling depressed or flat when you’re not using.
But, when you quit drugs, your brain will try to pick up on dopamine production again, improving your mood and feelings in the process.
If you’ve been abusing drugs for a long time, your brain won’t regulate these dopamine levels because of the damage to the prefrontal cortex.
When this happens, it will become more challenging to understand the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse, which will entice you to start using again. You will have to use drugs again to feel normal.
Conclusion
Although not all drug addicts will develop an addiction to their choice of drug, some will become dependent on them to resume normal bodily functions.
This happens when alcohol or drugs alter the way your brain is wired, and over time, your resistance to them will increase, making it tough to stop using them altogether.
You must understand that drug addiction is like any other mental or physical condition and requires the same level of support and care. Therefore, if you or a loved one have fallen into a life of addiction, get the necessary support and help ASAP.