Thread by @ZenConqueror

Why addicts are willing to give up everything for another hit:

We've all seen the effects addiction has on people.

Slowly & methodically everything in their life begins to fall apart as nothing seems quite as important as their drug of choice.

Jobs never last
Relationships fail
Money disappears

If you're not careful this could become you.

Because addiction isn't always obvious to the one addicted.

Think about your day-to-day life,

How often do you find yourself choosing something you "want" to do vs something you need to do?

How often do you find yourself putting off important things for something more "fun"?

Now obviously this doesn't mean you're 100% becoming addicted.

But this is how a lot of addictions do end up starting.

But why does this happen?

And how does it end up as life-ruining as it does in severe addiction?

Here's how:

To make sense of this we need to understand what is called "reward prediction error" and its relation to dopamine-induced learning.

When we're going about our daily lives,

Our brain is trying to predict what will happen based on models it's made from previous experiences.

During the moments that everything is going relatively according to plan, dopamine is at baseline and not very excited.

That's until something unexpected happens.

Back when we didn't know for sure whether we'd live to see tomorrow, Unexpected could be a matter of life or death.

So what happens in our brain when the unexpected happens?

A huge dopamine rush is released and we become acutely aware of what set it off.

It's essentially a big red flag telling our brain "Remember this, it could be important"

During this time, new connections are made and our brain readjusts its expectations.

This is the essence of the reward prediction error.

So how does this play into addiction?

In naturally occurring situations dopamine sort of shoots itself in the foot when it causes our brain to readjust its expectations.

Because while that initial surprise may cause a spike in dopamine, each subsequent time it becomes less and less of a surprise.

This is a natural checks-and-balance system in our brain to keep us alive and preserve energy.

We wouldn't want to be bombarded with excitement every time we take a walk, would we?

But addictive substances/behaviors throw this system out of the window.

These addictive drugs are so powerful that they bypass these natural systems in our brains and artificially ignite the dopamine system.

They release dopamine no matter what situation the user is in.

The brain can't readjust its expectations the way it can with natural stimuli.

It begins to associate the addictive drug with everything.

After awhile it becomes convinced that the drug is the answer to all aspects of life.

Because all it can think is "We keep getting a huge dopamine spike so this must be extremely important."

Sad? Use drugs.
Bored? Use drugs.
Happy? Use drugs.
Seeing friends? Use drugs.
Feeling relaxed? Use drugs.

Drugs become the answer for everything.

Over time the rewiring of the brain can become so deeply rooted that nothing else can hold a candle to the dopamine release of the person's addiction.

Certainly not any natural releases.

Everything else becomes nothing more than a distraction in dopamine's pursuit of "more".

It's not just a matter of willpower or discipline.

The addict's brain reaches the point where the cravings of the addiction are so strong that it will see them as life-or-death.

This is how they end up willing to trade everything to feed their addiction.

The road to recovery for these people is hard and requires more than just telling them to "get their sh*t together".

They'll often need help, with plenty of systems and support to get them back on track and to make sure they stay on track.

But there is hope,

If these people are able to stay consistent and break free they can begin to make new connections in the brain that bypasses the old connections made by addiction.

Systems always remain important to prevent relapse though.

Done.

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