About love, gluttony and other drugs
6 facts about addictions
Margarita Pecka, Copper News
Fact # 1
About how dependencies workThe American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as a chronic disease affecting the system of positive reinforcement (rewarding a sense of pleasure for "right" actions), motivation and memory.
As a result, a person's priorities and motivational hierarchy change, which directly affects behavior. When addiction is formed, neurotransmission changes – a cyclic process in which neurons receive and transmit information using a group of substances called neurotransmitters. Some drugs, such as opiates, mimic natural neurotransmitters, others, such as cocaine, disrupt the message transmission system, resulting in increased levels of dopamine. Dopamine also affects the processes associated with movement control, emotions, the ability to experience pain or pleasure. Third substances, such as benzodiazepines, alter neurotransmission by decreasing or increasing the number of stimulated receptors. Over time, the brain gets used to such changes and large doses of the drug in the broadest sense of the word are required to achieve the previous effect.
Scientists are investigating why some people are more prone to addiction than others. But at the moment it is impossible to identify a specific cause of addiction: these can be genetic factors (approximately 50 percent predisposition), socio-cultural environment, mental disorders and much more.
Fact # 2
About overeating as a manifestation of addictionOvereating is not a behavioral disorder, and it is not caused by hormonal imbalance, as previously thought.
In some cases, it is a drug-like addiction. The exact causes of its occurrence are unknown, but there are some assumptions. It is known that low blood sugar levels cause us to eat more carbohydrates. There is also an assumption that people with low serotonin levels are prone to overeating. This hormone reduces anxiety, stress and pain sensitivity. Researchers believe that in some cases, naturally reduced serotonin levels are the cause of overeating. The fact is that serotonin is formed from the amino acid tryptophan, which enters the brain only after consuming carbohydrates.
When we are hungry, various hormones are released in the body that enhance the reaction of the positive reinforcement system, which actively works during meals. That is why even tasteless food will seem delicious if a person is very hungry. After eating, the hormone leptin is released, which suppresses appetite. But modern food is excessively saturated with fats and sugars, these products overload the positive reinforcement system in the brain, a high amount of dopamine is released, causing a feeling of pleasure. This encourages a person to eat more.
Fact # 3
About what nicotine doesThe most common addiction is tobacco smoking, the consequences of which cause about 5 million deaths annually.
With each cigarette smoked, a person receives about 1-2 mg of nicotine. Like classic drugs, it changes the way the brain works. Nicotine, similar in structure to the natural neurotransmitter acetylcholine, acts on receptors susceptible to this substance. As a result, blood pressure rises, heart rate changes, and breathing becomes faster. But that's not all: due to this introduction, an increased amount of dopamine is released, which provides a sense of pleasure.
Although nicotine is the main addictive substance, it is not the only one. Scientists have found that smokers have a reduced level of the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO), which accelerates the breakdown of various neurotransmitters, including dopamine. Reduced levels of MAO lead to increased levels of dopamine. And in order to preserve the pleasure, people continue to smoke.
Nicotine itself is relatively harmless, but cigarettes contain a lot of extremely harmful substances. Approximately 35 million people try to quit smoking every year.
Fact # 4
About loveThe neurochemical processes that occur with drug addiction are similar to those that occur with romantic love and affection.
In the presence of a partner, the brain releases an increased amount of oxytocin, dopamine and vasopressin, resulting in a decrease in anxiety, a sense of security and satisfaction. The brain connects the positive reinforcement system, as in the case of drug addiction. When a person is separated from a loved one, he experiences the same as an addict during drug withdrawal.
In a study by American scientists, participants who recently experienced a breakup, but continued to love their former partner / partner, it was found that when looking at a photo of a loved one, the same neural connections in the brain are activated as with cocaine addiction.
According to psychologists, dependence on relationships and love is difficult to establish precisely, because in a sense, almost everyone is dependent on love, they are looking for it, and this is normal. But for some people, the search for a partner becomes a chronic obsession, outside of a romantic relationship they see their life as meaningless, and as soon as the feelings fade, they begin to search for a new love. The reasons for this, most likely, lie in the personal sphere and stretch from childhood: especially often those who experienced a lack of parental love in childhood are susceptible to such a disorder.
Fact #5
About Internet addictionThe American Psychiatric Association has not included Internet addiction in the new version of the Manual on the Diagnosis and Statistics of Mental Disorders (DSM-V).
However, this decision was preceded by active disputes. At the moment, no uniform diagnostic criteria have been defined, but it can be assumed that if a person thinks about how he will spend time on the Internet, if his mood deteriorates in the absence of access to the network, if he spends more and more time on the Internet, if he ceases to be interested in what he was interested in before, if he uses the Internet to improve his mood, it's about addiction.
In severe cases, drug therapy may be required to get rid of this disorder, and in simpler cases, cognitive behavioral therapy conducted by an experienced psychotherapist may be effective.
Fact # 6
About the treatment of love, alcoholism and other addictionsDespite the similarity of the mechanisms, there is no single, universal addiction therapy, and in each case it should be individual.
For example, drugs for drug substitution therapy, such as methadone, give good results in opiate addiction, but are absolutely useless in cocaine addiction. Therefore, the search for funds that can help is constantly going on.
The drugs used in substitution therapy affect the same brain systems as the drug itself. Such drugs are used in the treatment of heroin and codeine addictions. In the case of cocaine addiction, it is effective to use behavioral therapy, since there are no medications for the treatment of this type of addiction yet.
In the treatment of alcoholism, aversive therapy is resorted to, the essence of which is to increase the sensitivity of the body to alcohol. For this purpose, disulfiram is mainly used in Russia – it increases the concentration of acetaldehyde, which eventually leads to unpleasant effects (nausea, vomiting, heart pain, etc.) when taking alcohol.
Specialists roughly understand how to treat unrequited love with medications. For example, it is assumed that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (a group of antidepressants) can cope with this task. But so far, in particular, for ethical reasons, these methods are not used.
Experts note that successful treatment of various addictions requires not only drug therapy, but also serious work of psychologists. Attending meetings of various societies (alcoholics anonymous, drug addicts, gluttons, etc.) also gives positive results.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru15.07.2014