Many people do not understand why
people become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster
compulsive drug abuse.
They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and
may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief
is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only
willing to change their behavior.
What people often underestimate
is the complexity of drug
addiction -- that it is a disease that impacts the brain,
and because of that, stopping drug abuse is not simply a matter of willpower. Through
scientific advances we now know much more about how exactly drugs work in the brain, and we
also know that drug addiction can be successfully treated to help people stop
abusing drugs and resume productive lives.
Drug addiction is a chronic,
often relapsing brain disease that
causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the
drug addict and those around them. Drug addiction is a brain disease because
the abuse of drugs leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain. Although it is true
that for most people the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary, over time
the changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person's
self-control and ability to make sound decisions, and at the same time create
an intense impulse to take drugs.
It is because of these changes in
the brain that it is so challenging for a person who is addicted to stop
abusing drugs. Fortunately, there are treatments that help people to counteract
addiction's powerful disruptive effects and regain control. Research shows that
combining addiction treatment medications, if available,
with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success for most patients.
Treatment approaches that are tailored to each patient's drug abuse patterns
and any concurrent medical, psychiatric, and social problems can lead to
sustained recovery and a life without drugs.
As with other chronic diseases,
such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, drug
addiction can be managed effectively.Yet, it is not uncommon for a person to
relapse and begin abusing drugs again. Relapse does not signal failure; rather,
it indicates that treatment should be reinstated or adjusted, or that alternate
treatment is needed to help the person regain control and recover.
Drugs are chemicals that tap into the brain's
communication system and disrupt the way nerve cells normally send, receive,
and process information. There are at least two ways that drugs are able to do
this: by imitating the brain's natural chemical messengers, and/or over stimulating
the "reward circuit" of the brain.
Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin,
have a similar structure to chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters,
which are naturally produced by the brain. Because of this similarity, these
drugs are able to "fool" the brain's receptors and activate nerve
cells to send abnormal messages.
Other drugs, such as cocaine or methamphetamine,
can cause the nerve cells to release abnormally large amounts of natural
neurotransmitters, or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals,
which is needed to shut off the signal between neurons. This disruption
produces a greatly amplified message that ultimately disrupts normal
communication patterns.
Nearly all drugs, directly or
indirectly, target the brain's reward system by flooding the circuit with
dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that
control movement, emotion, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The
overstimulation of this system, which normally responds to natural behaviors
that are linked to survival (eating, spending time with loved ones, etc),
produces euphoric effects in response to the drugs. This reaction sets in
motion a pattern that "teaches" people to repeat the behavior of
abusing drugs.
As a person continues to abuse drugs, the brain adapts to the dopamine surges
by producing less dopamine or reducing dopamine receptors. The user must
therefore keep abusing drugs to bring his or her dopamine function back to
''normal'' or use more drugs to achieve a dopamine high.
Long-term drug abuse causes changes in
other brain chemical systems and circuits, as well. Brain imaging studies of
drug-addicted individuals show changes in areas of the brain that are critical
to judgment, decision-making, learning and memory, and behavior control.
Together, these changes can drive an abuser to seek out and take drugs
compulsively -- in other words, to become addicted to drugs.
Drug addiction is a preventable
disease. Research has shown that prevention programs that involve the family,
schools, communities, and the media are effective in reducing drug abuse.
Although many events and cultural factors affect drug abuse trends, when youths
perceive drug abuse as harmful, they reduce their drug taking. It is necessary,
therefore, to help youth and the general public to understand the risks of drug
abuse and for teachers, parents, and health care professionals to keep sending the message
that drug addiction can be prevented if a person never abuses drugs.
-FATIMA NA'ANMIAP
KUW/U14/SLG/2022
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