Understanding how addiction happens may be important to you. You may be unsure why addiction has affected your life but did not impact your sibling or the close friend who did the same drugs you did. It’s frustrating to know you’re on this path. It may be downright angering to know you have a life-long problem ahead of you. Here’s the good news: at Ethan Crossing Recovery, we can give you insight and the tools you need to thrive.
Table of Contents
Why Addiction Occurs – What Is the Science Behind It?
To learn how addiction happens, we need to understand the brain. The brain is wired to communicate with your body to tell it what to do (that’s a simple version). When we do something that is pleasurable, the pleasure center (or reward center) of the brain is triggered. For example, being around people we love is a good thing, and it triggers this same area.
When a person uses drugs, it does the same thing. It triggers the reward center of the brain. Just like any other type of scenario, the brain reacts by wanting to do that same thing over and over again. Over time, your brain tries to adjust to this by minimizing the impact of the drugs. That makes you want to use more of the drugs to get the same sensation. You become dependent – which means you need to use the drugs to feel okay or to get the same high you had.
How Addiction Happens in Daily Life
If you step outside of the brain to determine why addiction occurs, there are more complex reasons. You know drugs are bad for you and that they have numerous types of potential conflicts. You still use them and are various reasons you may do this:
- Using them helps you hide emotions
- Drugs can help you deal with symptoms of depression
- Past trauma gets forgotten when you’re drinking
- Stress is easier to manage with drugs
- Disappointment and heartbreak are easier to stop thinking about when you take drugs
No matter which way you look at it, addiction is linked to pain. In many people, underlying mental health disorders are very real and common reasons for how addiction happens and explains why you may need a dual diagnosis treatment program. This, linked with what is happening in your brain when you use, makes it hard to say no and to walk away.
What Can Be Done to Treat Addiction?
What we know about why addiction occurs is also what we know about how to fix it. We know that we can break those connections between drugs and the dependency you have. We can stop tolerance from occurring through the detox process. Additionally, we can work through the mental health concerns that you have to find a better way of dealing with these struggles. You do not have to feel as though there are no options for you.
Our team at Ethan Crossing works with many men and women struggling with this same thought- why addiction occurs. During our treatments, you’ll learn more about your addiction, the physical toll, and the opportunities for healing available to you. We encourage you to learn more through our programs, including:
- Anxiety treatment programs
- Depression treatment programs
- Alcohol addiction program
- Prescription drug treatment
- Heroin addiction treatment
Contact us today to learn more.
Find Help at Ethan Crossing
When you try to learn why addiction occurs, it can become frustrating. You may never know why it happened to you or how addiction happens to you if it does not impact your friends or family. However, you can learn about how to take control and reclaim your life. Our team at Ethan Crossing is dedicated to providing you with the tools you need to achieve a better outcome. Call our compassionate counselors at 833.691.0736 to learn how.