Nowadays we have a lot of options in any area, some that are not harmful, others that are. As far as substance use is concerned, it makes no difference.
Some are allowed in different countries, such as alcohol, which is widely consumed around the world, but there are others that are frowned upon because of the consequences they bring to those who consume them, but still continue to do so, and this is due to the fact that it has created a dependency, it has become a vice, it is this particular issue that I want to talk about in this publication.
Unfortunately the rates of people who incur in practices that end up being a vice for life is increasing, and what many people do not understand is why if it is highly harmful for those who consume a certain type of drug (alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine, marijuana) continue to do so. Next let's understand what happens in the brain of people with a vice.
The first thing we must keep in mind to understand how addiction is generated is that we need to understand that our brain, in fact our nervous system in general works with substances that are called "Neurotransmitters", when these are released will cause a certain effect that translates into a mood, for example, when adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol are released, we will have a feeling of stress, we will be predisposed to fight or flight, which translates into anxiety, fear, among others.
But when Dopamine is released, what we feel is pleasure, a feeling of satisfaction. This is the one that is released in moments that please us, like when we eat, or when we have a great achievement in our lives, this is how our organism responds and floods practically all our body.
To a great extent what happens with addictive substances is that they generate an exaggerated liberation of dopamine, the pleasure invades the people who consume it, and generates that extreme dependency.
It is not only the release of dopamine, *which according to some studies has been shown to increase its concentration in the blood between 2 and 10%, that makes the person want to permanently consume the substance, but also some important changes occur at the level of the central nervous system.
Some parts of the brain are profoundly altered with prolonged exposure to an addictive substance, which causes the person to always need it. The main problem is that there is a process of brain adaptation to very high levels of dopamine that make you need more and more to feel good.
It is the same process that occurs when we first perceive a smell that seems unpleasant, but with the permanence of our sense of smell this smell ends up going unnoticed.
There is something called Reward System that all human beings have, this is what implies feeling satisfaction at a low level of dopamine once we are exposed to something that triggers its release, which in natural conditions is low, but it is enough to feel pleasure.
In the case of an addicted person, this reward system has a very diminished capacity to perceive, which makes him/her need large amounts to be satisfied, and this is what leads a person to want more and more of the substance he/she consumes.
But what happens is at the molecular level, since substances such as alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, nicotine, among many others, have a high penetration to the central nervous system, where they can compete with the real neurotransmitters and take their place completely.
It is at this point where I must say that while it is true that most people who fall into a particular vice have most of the blame, I must also say that it is not enough just to have the desire to quit a vice, because they have established through a complex process, changes at the brain level that make the detoxification process is very complicated.
We must stay away from what are highly addictive substances, although logically many are available to anyone, but it is best to stay away to avoid then have even bigger problems.
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