The Little Blue Book

NO-ONE IS IMMUNE Because we are all essentially the same beneath the skin, with the same brain chemistry, it will surprise no-one that addiction is an ‘equal opportunity’ disorder and no-one is immune. Doctors, lawyers, bricklayers, nurses, teachers, builders, business leaders and shop assistants – anyone can become addicted. And just as certain is the damage to health and well-being, and the damage to family and relationships, it brings. If experimenting with any of the psychoactive drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine, or heroin, or drinking heavily, pause a moment and think about it. The dragon hard-wired into the primitive parts of our brain, is lurking at the gate. Once addicted, there is no easy path to recovery, and, for the user, a long hard road ahead. But, equally, although breaking an addiction is tough and never ‘cured’, given the right support and treatment, the addicted user can break free. And begin rebuilding all those parts of their lives – their relationships, self-respect and capabilities – that have been damaged by the addiction. While there is much still to be understood about addiction – the role of our genes and family history, what part ‘loss of connection’, depression, and mental health and resilience plays, and why some individuals are more at-risk of addictive behaviours – the chemistry of addiction is known. It is rooted in the ‘primitive’ part of the brain that provides life-affirming surges of pleasure. Like when we engage in sex, or with the birth of a child, or when we share the companionship of family or friends, and even when we laugh. It is designed to keep us doing these life-affirming things by rewarding us with pleasurable feelings and emotional connection. Psychoactive drugs trigger a flood in the brain of dopamine, one of the neurochemicals behind these pleasurable feelings. And the desire to continue to use them is driven by this powerful and most primitive of urges. This creates the compulsion that rapidly overcomes the moderating influence of the ‘higher thought’ centres of the brain controlling impulse, behavioural inhibition, notions of cause and effect, decision- making and organisation. THE CHEMISTRY OF ADDICTION RECOGNISING DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND OTHER DISORDERS 98