4 Questions to Ask About Addiction

Addiction is complex. As such, the causes of addiction are diverse and sometimes unclear. While the physical cause of addiction involves processes and mechanisms of reward, motivation, and memory in your brain through dopamine release, it is not always clear why some individuals experience addiction and others do not.

In general, addiction occurs when a particular substance or behavior becomes associated in your brain with dopamine release. Dopamine release is your brain’s uniform response to any pleasure you experience, whether from a psychoactive substance, sexual activity, enjoying another’s company, or eating good food. With your memory, you recall the pleasure such substances or activities initiated, which motivates you to partake or pursue those substances or activities to achieve the reward of dopamine release. These processes are normal and integral to our ability to enjoy the world around us.

However, with addiction, dopamine release is exclusively or almost exclusively associated with one substance or activity. As a result, addiction causes a person to intensely crave and pursue a particular substance or activity in an uncontrolled way, often without regard for adverse consequences. In this way, the brain’s memory and motivation centers are harmfully subservient to its reward center rather than working with it in unison.

Several risk factors can increase one’s risk of experiencing addiction, which include the following:

• Genetics or family history of addiction
• Past traumatic experiences, including physical, sexual, or verbal abuse, neglect, death of a loved one, witnessing a traumatic event, parental divorce, and others
• Presence of mental illness, such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Various environmental factors, such as high drug use rates in one’s community, peer pressure, lack of parental guidance, parental drug use, and presence of drugs at home or school

The signs and symptoms of addiction vary with each individual dealing with addiction. At the same time, there are some signs and symptoms that commonly occur with such individuals, such as the following:

• Decreased trustworthiness, including an increase in lying, stealing, or secrecy
• Drug use equipment in their home
• Escalating use of or engagement in addictive behavior or substance
• Feeling an intense craving to engage in a behavior or consume a substance at all costs regardless of consequences
• Frequent unexplained things that seem urgent
• Lack of financial stability
• Most of the individual’s time is spent on both planning, engaging or partaking, and recovering from an addictive behavior or substance
• Tolerance, or the need to engage or partake in addictive behavior or substances more frequently to obtain the same high or desired effect
• Unusually small or large pupils
• Weight loss or weight gain
• Withdrawal, which are negative and unpleasant symptoms that occur when the addicted individual does not engage or partake in addictive behavior or substances

The four levels or stages of addiction involve experimentation, regular use, dependency and tolerance, and full-scale addiction.

With the first level, experimentation, an individual engages in a behavior or substance use for the first time out of curiosity without any intention of becoming addicted.

The second level—regular use—is a progression from the initial exposure to the behavior or substance, as it becomes commonplace in the individual’s life, and they may also find that their life is less enjoyable when they are not engaging in the behavior or using the substance.

The third level of dependency and tolerance involves a physical and psychological reliance on the behavior or substance. Not only does the individual depend on the substance or activity in increasing amounts to achieve a desired feeling or effect, but they also experience physical and psychological changes in their body.

Finally, full-scale addiction occurs when the individual adapts to the physical and psychological changes from the substance or activity and becomes exclusively or predominantly focused on satisfying their addictive cravings, regardless of any adverse effects it has on their personal and professional life.

While dependence is associated with addiction, it is not the same thing. Dependence refers to the physical symptoms of withdrawal and tolerance that someone experiences as their body adjusts to dependence upon a particular behavior or substance. In contrast, addiction refers to their behavior and uncontrolled need to engage in a specific behavior or use a specific substance. Ascension Solutions Treatment proudly provides addiction treatment and services to individuals dealing with addiction from Asheville NC and Peachtree Corners GA, and the surrounding area. For more information or an appointment, please call us or book an appointment on our website. We serve patients from Peachtree Corners GA, Asheville NC, Swannanoa NC, Johns Creek GA, Woodfin NC, Biltmore Forest NC, Fairview NC, Roswell GA, Dunwoody GA, Pittsburg GA, Western North Carolina and the surrounding areas.