Drug Rehab Program

In this article we look at what drugs do to your brain and the importance of a reputable drug rehab program.

Chemicals that transmit information in your brain are called neurotransmitters. These chemicals have a natural and normal way of communicating that will function for a lifetime, absent the introduction of a drug or a disease. Drugs alter communication in your brain either by becoming an imitation of a chemical transmitter or by over stimulating the brains reward circuitry.

Some drugs, such a heroin and marijuana, imitate neurotransmitters and send false or abnormal messages to receptors in the brain. Other drugs like methamphetamine or cocaine, flood the receptors with extreme amounts of neurotransmitters, causing an over stimulation of the communication network. Normal brain communication is disrupted until the drugs are removed.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter responsible for “feeling good”. Nearly all drugs increase dopamine by flooding the dopamine receptors in the brain. Dopamine is in the portion of the brain responsible for pleasure, motivation and movement. Normal brain activity produces dopamine when associated with survival instincts, such as eating, sex, and helping others. These activities naturally produce a slight euphoric feeling. The introduction of drugs in the brain produces an extreme euphoric feeling regardless of the activities, environment or emotions. People feel euphoric regardless of what is going on in their life. Using drugs produces a feeling that most will want to duplicate, thus reinforcing the desire to use and abuse substances.

When a person uses drugs for a period of time, the brain adjusts to the levels of dopamine by decreasing the number or effectiveness of dopamine receptors. The result of this alteration in brain chemistry is an inability to enjoy simple pleasure and the need for increased amounts of the drugs to feel any pleasure. More dopamine is needed to bring the previous level of pleasure, thereby producing what is called tolerance.

When users abuse drugs for long periods of time, chemicals in the brain become altered, or re-wired. This alteration is known as addiction. The brain’s normal, unconscious reward and learning circuitry becomes altered, producing impaired learning and, as a result, impaired rewards become a focus. Cravings arise where there were previously none. The addict will crave people, places and things that are familiar with drug usage. The addict cannot control this craving once it has become part of the brain’s circuitry. Behavior, decision-making, memory and impulse control are all impaired, causing the addict to act compulsively despite knowing the adverse consequences that will certainly come with using again or using additional drugs. The cravings arise from the limbic system, or the “ancient” brain. The area of higher learning in the brain, the cerebral cortex, cannot reason with or control the limbic system. An addict cannot reason his way out of using substances once the addiction has set in.

Not all persons using drugs will become addicted. There is no single factor that determines who will become addicted or when. Some factors that do consistently appear in research studies as having some impact are the onset of the age of use, the genetic makeup of the person and the person’s environment.
The earlier a person uses the drugs the more likely he or she is to become addicted. The most critical age is from 14 to 22. The addiction rate drops drastically after 22. If an adolescent can be encouraged to refrain from drug use until at least 22 years old, their chances of addiction are significantly decreased.
Research on genetics is consistently showing a definite link between addiction and heredity. If one parent is an addict, the likelihood of a child being an addict is near 60%. Ethnicity, gender and other mental disorders may also play a role in addiction.

A person’s environment plays a huge role in addiction, almost equal with age and genetics. Family stability, spiritual and religious settings, economics, peer groups, parental support and stress all play a large part of determining whether and how much a person will use or abuse drugs.

For more information on Hawaii Island Recovery’s drug rehab program please contact us at 1-866-515-5032 or through our online form.

Drug and Alcohol

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