By Alex Byanyiko
How does something responsible for pleasure result in addiction? How does such addiction turn to pain for the parties involved, their loved ones and the society in general? These were the questions raised in the previous article published here on the 2nd of December 2019, where we looked at how drugs and psychoactive substances change the brain and lead to addiction.
For anyone reading this piece for the first time, it will be good to check the previous articles before reading this.https://www.thenicheng.com/addiction-is-not-a-bad-habit-1/
While there is a certain level of dopamine (neurotransmitter responsible for pleasure) naturally released in our body for vital everyday life, researchers say some drugs and or psychoactive substances like nicotine (found in cigarettes) and tetrahydrocannabinol (found in marijuana) can release 2 to 10 times the amount of dopamine released into the body, having an exaggerated and lasting effects on the human brain.
This brings about the euphoria or ‘highness’ described by scientists as reinforcement which users experience that make them want to repeat such actions. So, drugs of addiction reinforce our desire or craving for more of such drugs till it gets to where our lives totally depends on them and we lose control over ourselves.
Another part of the brain that is affected by drugs is THE CEREBRAL CORTEX (an outer layer of cerebrum): It makes up about 40 percent of the human brain and it is said to be the most highly developed. This part of the human brain is the seat of intellect. In other words, the cortex enables us to think, plan, solve problems, make decisions and so forth`.
Describing the brain in graphical detail is beyond the scope of this article. However, this attempt is just to show how drugs change or alter our consciousness. How drugs interfere with the normal functioning of the brain in various ways, depending on the type of drugs or psychoactive substances used.
As mentioned earlier, for instance, when taken, some drugs stimulate the release of dopamine higher than the normal level. So users of such drugs get or feel euphoric. Some drugs also let loose of our inhibition (sense of what is right or appropriate). This is why some people who are shy can be boisterous after taking too much alcohol or marijuana.
While it is easy to feel euphoric, it takes some energy to engage in critical thinking or reasoning. So, while studying all these, I just pictured in my mind, how the overloaded dopamine dominates or subdues our capacity to think or reason responsibly. We get carried away by the highness or euphoria as a result of dopamine over-dose in our brain and our cerebral cortex get subdued, leading to dangerous and irresponsible engagements or behaviour.
There are other effects such as boosting of energy or calmness. So, someone who is working and should be tired, finds himself or herself going on long hours of tireless work because of drugs. And, others who maybe in situation where the fight or flight chemical (epinephrine or adrenaline) should be released in their brain so they can fight or run away for survival, would be unnaturally calm or fearless in the face of such danger.
As drug users continue to repeat their actions in order to experience the same pleasure or euphoria, their brains begin to adjust to the foreign substances in a way that more of such drugs are needed in more frequent succession and doses just to feel the same initial effect. And, if they don’t take such drugs, they suffer certain physical and or mental discomfort known as withdrawal symptoms.
At this stage, drug users or abusers have developed physical tolerance (they always have to take such substances just to feel okay). If, for instance one bottle of alcohol used to get a user drunk, such user graduates into taking three or more bottles to get the same level of drunkenness. Also smokers who start from taking a stick or two of cigarettes in a day, soon graduate into taking 10 or more otherwise, they suffer serious physical and or mental discomfort. Their lives soon become completely dependent on such substances despite the dangers it poses to them.
Just take a look at addicted smokers, cocaine sniffers and alcoholics, it will make this whole thing I’m trying to say here clearer. Nothing else matters to them. They risk everything, including their health, relationships, finances and ultimately their lives just for their cravings. They can hardly help themselves neither can their loved ones help them.
This is why it is more difficult, and more expensive to get drug addicts out of their addiction. At the point of such addiction, their brains have gone through certain chemical and structural changes that it is very difficult to reverse. Addiction has both health and spiritual implications.
Have you ever wondered why drug addicts cannot seem to quit, even when they finally realized that such thing is killing them? I hope after reading these series of articles, we will have a better knowledge and understanding that drug addiction is not a habit; it is a serious brain disease. It is not lack of will power that prevents addicts from quitting, it is something much more powerful than they can handle. If we want a drug free society, we have to put all our might and resources into prevention. And the preventive measures have to start from our primary and secondary schools.
Scientific findings have it that people who begin using drugs in their young age have much more difficulties quitting than those who begin in their adulthood. This is because in early years, our brains are still developing. So if substances are introduced, they become a part of the brain’s functioning mechanism and cannot do without the substances, eventually. This is why every parent needs to be educated about this, so they can start telling their children about the dangers of addiction early enough. Without adequate knowledge about addiction, it seems like a mystery to us. Sometimes some parents or guardians even think that their children or wards have been bewitched or something.
We cannot fight drug addiction effectively by chasing and arresting drug dealers and users or even by punishing them. If we can prevent our children from trying drugs in the first place by educating them, drug dealers will run out of business.
I’ll be sharing some personal stories here in my subsequent writings to address other issues concerning drug addiction. Please keep following. They shall be as entertaining as they are educating.
I also intend to use audio-visuals, the language of the youth these days, to spread the message of preventing drug addiction. If you’re burdened by this devastating problem as I am, please feel free to reach out with your partnership or support. Together we can do this. Together, we can have a society where our children are free to fulfill their purpose and contribute towards building a better society.
.Byanyiko, a filmmaker writes from Abuja
