Addiction Physiology and Changes in Addicts - Essay Example

Incidentally, it happens that addictive activities trigger the release of dopamine in the brain. All known usable drugs, sex, gaming, music cause the neurons to release dopamine in the brain reward site (Blum et al., 2012, p 136). Moreover, people with low dopamine levels are known to seek substances or actions that boost their dopamine levels.

However, since the event of a release of dopamine due to a stimulus is fleeting, people are naturally compelled to continue seeking the stimuli. In addition, the amount of dopamine released as a result of performing the addictive behavior is very high, meaning that the addict experiences intense pleasure compared to what the amount of dopamine that is normally released by the brain can trigger. Therefore, the affected person is hooked to doing the behavior to enjoy the pleasure. There is also a tendency of the addicts to indulge in the behavior more heavily as they seek more intense pleasure.

The physical development of the brain is impaired by addiction. The younger a person is when he engages in an addictive behavior the greater the damage caused. The use of drugs when one is aged between 5 and 20 years is very harmful since this is the time the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that performs the functions of assessing situations, making proper judgments, and maintaining emotions (Blum et al. 2012, p. 139). Unfortunately, young people are easily lured by the promise of the extant culture, where they may seek drugs to feel good, reduce disturbing emotions, cope with pressures of life, to gain acceptance in peer groups. However, once the young people get dependent on the drugs, their behaviors change in that they hardly concentrate, they have impaired memory, are paranoid and experience mood swings (Morrison 1990, p. 543). This is a dire situation since the young people are rendered unable to perform the important functions in economic and social progress.

At first, the addictive behavior may seem as manageable by reason on the part of the addict, but with time, it becomes difficult for the person to exercise self-control. According to Clark (2011, p. 62), dependency may be psychological where the addicts cease to depend on their faculties as they come to depend on the addictive activity or substance for some given rewards and they eventually come to regard this involvement as fundamental to their functioning. This implies an alteration of the functioning of the brain. In this state, low dopamine in the brain causes the affected people to crave the activity or substance. The irrational motivations and behaviors, and negative emotions that are witnessed among the addicts show a lack of control of the mental faculty.

New experiments and studies imply that addiction changes the motivation, emotions, behavior and personality of the addict. The motivational changes are always undesirable since the person is always motivated by the reward that is attained by indulging in the addiction. For instance, a person may prefer to take drugs for instantaneous pleasure instead of working for long-term well-being. This situation represents an inability to prioritize the important issues due to dependency. Behavioral changes occur according to the type of addiction the person suffers. Some of the behaviors observed among people who are addicted to the internet are escapism, impulsivity, behaviors related to loneliness, arousal, and attractive fantasy. The emotional changes that occur alongside the behavioral changes for internet addicts include emotional relief, craving, withdrawal, and emotional disturbance (Khazaal et al., 2012, p. 31).

The personalities of addicts are very different from what they would be if they abstained. For instance, a parent who is addicted to alcohol use may neglect his family and develop a hostile personality towards them. In general, the addicts become very irresponsible towards duties.

Addiction may be mistaken for a moral problem but it is a real medical problem, where the physiology of the brain is altered. Addictive behaviors trigger the release of dopamine, which creates pleasurable feelings in individuals. Resultantly, people engage more in the addictive behavior as they seek more pleasure, eventually becoming dependent on the activity or substance for pleasure. Eventually, become compulsive and cannot resist the behavior. With these facts, there is no probability of a cure for addiction at the present or in the future. Read More