Defining Addiction:
The Standard Dictionary notes it as - the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary articulates it as a strong inclination to do, use, or indulge in something repeatedly or a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behaviour, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms (such as anxiety, irritability, tremors, or nausea) upon withdrawal or abstinence.
The Medical Dictionary states: Addiction to certain mood-altering behaviours, such as eating disorders, gambling, sexual activity, overwork, and shopping.
One could add additional activities to this category of mood-altering behaviours, even drinking coffee or exercise.
No doubt you are thinking of something that you do, and if you were to go without it for any length of time, it would cause you to become distressed in some way. The altering of mood can be to shift us toward something pleasurable or avoidance, to shift us away from something causing mental or emotional pain.
Brain Reward System:
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain, a chemical released by neurons or nerve cells, and the major player in motivation and reward-motivated behaviours.
The one thing that addictions all have in common, no matter what they are, is they act on the dopamine reward system of the brain, which impacts other regions of the brain. Put simply, the ‘wanting’ of the thing we are addicted to, triggers an upsurge of dopamine in the brain – or an upsurge of wanting. Wanting a thing/activity becomes embedded when the brain associates past outcomes of wanting that thing/activity as having been pleasurable or successful in maintaining avoidance.
Example of avoidance: I have trauma memories, to avoid those memories when they project in my daily life, I resort to substance use or a risk-taking activity. While I’m affected by substances or engage in a risk-taking activity, my mood is positively altered - dopamine levels spike. During that window of time, I feel great and traumatic memories abate. The more often I do this, my brain associates these dopamine spikes with increased positive mood, therefore I seek out more substances or risk-taking activities. My brain identifies this as healthy, despite that not being the truth. Addictions are thus born and sustained.
Example pleasure reinforcement: I see an image or engage in some activity, and these bring me pleasure - dopamine levels spike. In turn, I seek out more of the activity that brought me pleasure, which stimulated my sense gates, be that auditory, visual or taste. Now l can’t derive pleasure in life without it and l need my daily fix of that activity because I’m addicted to the dopamine spike associated with it.
Increasing Distress Tolerance:
The brain is very pliable and open to learning new things, which is fantastic news. Increasing distress tolerance is a way to diminish the stranglehold of various behaviours hooked into the dopamine reward system. The concept of distress tolerance is not a popular one. The reason we have an addiction is because we want to experience pleasure or avoid pain; we are trying to escape an uncomfortable emotion or want to hold onto something that offers us a degree of pleasure.
Strategies toward increasing distress tolerance see Part 2.
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