When do you say that someone is addicted?

It has been said that addiction is the result of key changes in the brain. An example of this is that all drugs of abuse affect the dopamine pathway in the brain. Dopamine is a kind of neurotransmitter (a chemical produced by nerve cells that process and transmit information in the brain). Dopamine’s job is to produce feelings of pleasure so this pathway is commonly called the “pleasure pathway.” According to Dr. Kathleen Brady, an addiction researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina, “When people develop a substance use disorder, they tax the ability of their dopamine system to keep up. The amount of dopamine a person has in their brain is limited by the substances that the brain uses to make dopamine. And if they release it too often, by drug abuse, they get into a situation where the brain has less dopamine. Which means that the individual who has depleted their dopamine sourced in their brain will have a difficult time feeling pleasure from even the normal events that would make someone happy such as parents hearing the first words uttered by their baby, of enjoying a tasty dessert.”

Drugs of abuse affect the parts of the brain that control pleasure, motivation, emotion and memory, these changes can lead to the disease of drug addiction. Alcohol and drugs can profoundly affect different neurobiological circuits.  Prolonged excessive use of alcohol is believed to cause severe pervasive alterations in the brains stress and anti-stress systems. These changes, in and of themselves, may lead to additional compulsive drinking. Using drugs repeatedly over time changes brain structure and function in fundamental and long lasting ways that can persist long after a person stops using them.  Different types of drugs affect the brain in different ways, altering different aspects of the brain chemistry. However with prolonged abstinence, some of the brain changes caused by specific drugs (ex. Methamphetamines) may be reversible, which is one reason why treatment is essential.

So, when is someone addicted?

The American Psychiatric Association says that a person is dependent if their pattern of substance use leads to clinically significant impairment or distress shown by three or more of the following in a 12-month period.

1. Tolerance as defined by any of the following:

• A need for markedly increased amounts of the substance to achieve intoxication or desired effect,

• Markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of the substance.

2. Withdrawal, as manifested by either of the following:

• The characteristic withdrawal symptom of the substance (ex methamphetamine: excessive sleep; rapid mood swings; cold sweats; and shaking body, to name a few)

• The same or a closely related substance is taken to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.

3. The substance is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended (loss of control).

4. There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control substance use (loss of control).

5. A great deal of time is spent in activities necessary to obtain the substance, use the substance, or recover from its effects (preoccupation).

6. Important social, occupational or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of substance use (continuation despite adverse consequences).

7. The substance use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by the substance (adverse consequences).

For more information, please contact us at The Recovery House, 63-32-2331881 or 63-32-2315229. Or visit us at Sanson Road Extension, Lahug for free consultation and assessment.