Addiction: Understanding What is Happening in the Brain

How is it that intelligent, talented and caring individuals can make poor decisions that negatively impact both their lives and the lives of others when addicted? This blog is to help you understand the biological changes that take place in the brain of an addicted person. In reviewing this blog, you will be able to identify the brain basics of addiction and better understand the character changes often witnessed in an addicted individual.

For the sake of simplicity, there are two parts of the brain that are “arguing” when someone is addicted. These two parts of the brain, in very simple terms, are the Survival Brain and the Sophisticated Brain.

Your Sophisticated Brain iis located at the front of your brain. This area of the brain is known as the Pre-Frontal Cortex and is located where your forehead is. The Sophisticated Brain is responsible for higher level thinking and reasoning such as: impulse control, predicting consequences for behavior, intelligence and introspection (i.e.: inward reflection).

The Survival Brain is located at the base of the brain. The Survival Brain is very simple and does not use higher level thinking. The Survival Brain is very primal and reactive. It’s primary focus is food, sex, water, stay alive and pleasure.

Extra Insight: This part of the brain is not fully developed until the mid 20’s and is slowed down and/or stopped by the habitual use of drugs and/or alcohol. Therefore, someone that begins to abuse substances in their teenage years has significant developmental delays and issues into adulthood. It is literally as if a grown adult has the biological brain development of a teenager. This may present in lack of impulse control, explosive anger and poor decision making. Remarkably, the brain has the ability to “catch up” in development if an individual seeks treatment and remains abstinent from all substances.

The basic issue in an addicted brain is that the brain is receiving messages from both the Survival Brain and the Sophisticated Brain at the same time. The Survival Brain is saying, “Keep pursuing what feels good.” It is unable to think about consequences and delayed gratification. The Sophisticated Brain is reminding the individual about the consequences of their addiction and about the pain it brings to them and others. Think about this though, the brain can only take in one message. It cannot entertain messages from the Survival Brain and the Sophisticated Brain at the same time. Which message do you think is hard-wired to win? The message of the Survival Brain will always trump that of the Sophisticated Brain because we are hard-wired to survive. This is precisely why intelligent, talented and caring individuals make poor decisions that negatively impact both their lives and the lives of others.

When they are in “active addiction” their Survival Brain is “calling all of the shots” and the Sophisticated Brain is “offline.”

Extra Insight: An addicted brain will seek the substance and it’s euphoria before ALL other basic survival needs. The need for the substance becomes more important than food, sex, water etc.

Remember, the Survival Brain is about basic needs (food, sex, water) and pleasure. Whenever you experience something pleasurable, you get a natural release of “feel good” chemicals called Dopamine and Serotonin. These “feel good” chemicals are natural and healthy. You experience releases of Dopamine and Serotonin when you enjoy some of your favorite foods, spend time with a loved one, or do anything enjoyable.

Drugs and alcohol (along with any other addictions such as: video games, shopping, sex, food) “trick” the brain into releasing extremely high levels of Dopamine and Serotonin. The brain experiences intense euphoria as “feel good” chemical levels rise.

After a while, however, the brain is unable to keep up with the demand of “feel good” chemicals being churned out. The brain begins to need more of the substance to get the desired effect (i.e.: tolerance) and eventually plateaus. When this happens the brain is now unable to produce enough Dopamine and Serotonin and the brain bio-chemically becomes depressed.

This means that an addicted brain, in the long run, will lose its ability to experience pleasure outside of a substance. It will take 12-18 months of total abstinence in order to restore the brain and the “feel good” chemicals back to their normal level of functioning. As an individual is sober and in treatment, both the “feel good” chemicals will return to natural balance and the Sophisticated Brain will be able return to it’s rightful place as the “captain of the ship” in a person’s life. As these two things happen, the person begins to experience true balanced pleasure and begins to make good decisions and delay impulse.

Extra Insight: It is important to note that there is no cure for addiction. Although the brain has the ability to return to a balanced and healthy state, it can quickly return to operating from Survival Brain and become addicted to the rush of “feel good” chemicals if a person begins drinking and using drugs again.