Addicts Need Help Too
Many people look at those who have substance abuse problems and do not understand why they can’t stop. The real reasoning behind each individual varies and often starts with childhood issues that were coped with by the use of drugs. The abuse starts with the environment and influences around them that may have negatively influenced their choice to start. After beginning the drug, the internal chemistries of the brain are able to activate neurons to mimic the regular process. The change in how neurons are fired without the drug actually have very substantial impacts on a person’s thought process. The basal ganglia that normally plays an important part in positive motivation in thought is disrupted. After too much abuse, a person is not motivated by normal activities like eating, talking, learning and instead is only motivated to use again. This is only one part of the brain chemistry that changes after intense drug use and is linked to what is more commonly known as the dopamine cycle. A person has now learned from their brain that the only positive reward is to use the drug again. The lack of pleasure from everyday life is just one way that further treatment could help an addict.
So how do we break this cycle and why should we be involved? Treatment offers therapy to address the buried reasons why a person may have begun to use drugs in the first place. By addressing these issues, we educate people on other means of coping. As they learn to cope and are abstinent from the drug, the brain chemistry can normalize. It may not go completely back to the way it was before, but if strong habits are broken, then a person has a fighting chance. In the cases of drug addiction, changing one’s behavior has been scientifically proven to change one’s mind. You can see the dopamine sensors in one’s brain changing their activity after a long period of remaining sober.
Substance abuse often occurs after emotional stress or trauma. Learning how to help those with extreme cases may help you learn about healthier ways to cope with your own mental state. Substance abuse is also closely tied to mental illness. Mental illness is a continually growing issue in the Unites States and must be addressed. Substance abusers are also people that spread diseases through dirty needles and other means. Organizations like the Multnomah County Syringe Exchange gives clean needles as well as a safe disposal site for dirty ones. The service may seem to enable drug use, when actually, it allows people to become more conscious of their health and the true dangers of their lifestyle. Behavioral thoughts and changes like this will help to make a greater impact in the community. Therapy centers are also good places for those that have created enough behavioral changes to want to change their entire lifestyle. Substance abusers are wanted to be overlooked by some community members, but if it is overlooked by everyone, then our health and mental wellness could be in jeopardy.
Links:
Syringe Exchange- https://multco.us/hiv-and-std-services/syringe-exchange-and-disposal
De Paul Treatment Centers- https://depaultreatmentcenters.org
Burnside Shelter for treating addiction and homelessness- https://www.portlandrescuemission.org/homeless-services/food-shelter-services/
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