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The Brain and Addiction – The Problem of Relapse

Posted on November 16th, 2011

So many people beat themselves up about being weak or deficient – or feel life is just hopeless – when they cannot stay on their desired path – when they fall back into old habits that keep them from accomplishing their goals.

Fortunately, there is so much research being done on the addicted brain [whether the addiction is to sugar, alcohol, etc.], and we can use that research to help us avoid a relapse.  Just understanding what's happening in our brain is so very empowering and liberating.  Just understanding can help us (a) pause before acting on the unhealthy desire long enough for the brain to observe itself and (b) change direction – literally and figuratively.

This is Dr. Nora Volkow's description of Relapse 

Relapse: Part of Addiction as a Chronic Disease

Despite the availability of many forms of effective treatment for addiction, the problem of relapse remains the major challenge to achieving sustained recovery.

People trying to recover from drug abuse and addiction are often doing so with altered brains, strong drug-related memories and diminished impulse control.

Accompanied by intense drug cravings, these brain changes can leave people vulnerable to relapse even after years of being abstinent. Relapse happens at rates similar to the relapse rates for other well-known chronic medical illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and asthma.

How is relapse to drug abuse similar to what happens with other chronic diseases?

  • Just as an asthma attack can be triggered by smoke, or a person with diabetes can have a reaction if they eat too much sugar, a drug addict can be triggered to return to drug abuse.
  • With other chronic diseases, relapse serves as a signal for returning to treatment. The same response is just as necessary with drug addiction.
  • As a chronic, recurring illness, addiction may require repeated treatments until abstinence is achieved. Like other diseases, drug addiction can be effectively treated and managed, leading to a healthy and productive life.

To achieve long-term recovery, treatment must address specific, individual patient needs and must take the whole person into account.

For it is not enough simply to get a person off drugs; rather, the many changes that have occurred – physical, social, psychological – must also be addressed to help people stay off drugs, for good.

http://www.hbo.com/addiction/understanding_addiction/12_pleasure_pathway.html

 


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