What do you know about addiction?

What do any of us really know about it?

In America, more than 21 million people have some kind of addiction; some have several.

Shockingly, only about 11% ever get treatment. That means almost 19 million people never get the help they need.

With so many people never getting help, we can’t help but wonder why this is the case. It could be because current treatments don’t seem as effective or because there are worries about relapse.

It begs the questions:

What are the causes of addiction?

Why do we keep treating it the same way despite knowing the current treatments don’t work?

Why aren’t we trying alternative approaches?

Alternative Ideas About Addiction 

We aren’t the first people to question the traditional approaches to overcoming addiction. Many other people have done so before.

In a TED Talk, Johann Hari explores how drug addiction affected his family and uncovers alternative approaches to treatment. Let’s have a look at some of the highlights from this talk.

Drug Water

To understand the current thinking about addiction, Hari took a step back and got information from Professor Bruce Alexander, a psychologist.

Professor Alexander’s prior research indicated that traditional ideas about addiction came about at the start of the 20th century.

Researchers at the time placed rats in an empty cage and gave them two bottles of drinking water. The first was plain water, and the second was laced with drugs. The rats constantly chose the drug water, became addicted, and many overdosed.

Professor Alexander found this experiment flawed. He did his own experiment but gave the rats a much larger case, food, toys, and friends. These rats didn’t choose the drug water.

Why? They had companionship, activity, and fulfillment during the experiment. They didn’t require drug water to cope.

A Human Experiment

Professor Alexander understood there is a difference between humans and rats, so he explored the research further. He didn’t have to look far because there was a similar experiment done with humans. More specifically, it was the Vietnam War.

At the time, about 20% of troops were addicted to heroin. It frightened Americans who thought that these Veterans would return home and continued their drug usage, so they kept a close eye on them.

The results were astonishing. Most of the Veterans using heroin in Vietnam never went to rehab, didn’t experience withdrawals, and just… stopped.

It came down to being able to fit in again. They weren’t in the Vietnam “cage” anymore and had more ways to cope.

Creating Bonds

The observations of Professor Alexander explain quite a bit about addiction. It gives a why to the behavior—people need ways to cope and form bonds. If that doesn’t happen, they look elsewhere for support.

Professor Peter Cohen from the Netherlands shares this sentiment. He considers addiction as a way of bonding—even if it is with an inanimate substance.

What we can learn from these professors is that addiction is more about social cohesion, and belonging than it is about substance dependence.

The focus has to move to social recovery because most people with addictions have to reconnect with society; they are struggling to be present currently. It causes social tension and pushes people away.

It creates the idea that social connections can break the cycle of addiction.

Connect With Yourself First

Social connections can be daunting—they could even cause you anxiety. It’s the reason some people turn to substances.

Before you can connect to other people confidently, you have to work on your relationship with yourself. You need to be comfortable in your own mind.

At the Brain-A-Thon, we help you with both your internal and external relationships. Book your space today.

What You Need to Know About Addiction

Since we have now established that the traditional thinking about addiction is slightly warped, we turn our attention to what we need to know. It’s all about what’s going on in the mind.

Your brain deals with all aspects of your life—the good, bad, and everything in between. It’s an internal tool that helps you to cope externally.

Addiction Is a Recurring Problem

When you have addictive patterns, your brain has been programmed to work in a certain way.

Your brain is full of neural networks which are the pathways in the brain that information travels along to prompt action. In addition, these neural networks consider some kind of substance—be it alcohol, drugs, pornography, or even sugar—as necessary to survive.

Essentially, your mental programming asks for something because it likes how it feels when it gets the substance. You give it to your brain, so the neural network becomes strengthened.

Cravings During Addiction Are a Symptom

Cravings always accompany addiction. It’s the trigger from your brain to let you know that it needs its “fix” sooner rather than later.

What is your craving trying to tell you? You need to answer this question because every craving is a symptom of something else.

You could be craving a substance to help you forget a traumatic event; that might indicate you need counseling.

You could be craving a substance to help dull the ache of loneliness; that could show you need companionship.

These two examples of cravings show that if you delve deeper into the “why,” you can uncover the real trigger and need.

You Can Change the Neural Networks

The neural networks of the brain aren’t set in stone. They can change.

It’s life-changing to know that’s the case because it means you can alter addictive neural networks. You can even wipe them out completely, and that’s freedom from addiction.

Just like you can wipe out neural networks, you can also build new ones. It’s an opportunity to create constructive networks that are positive and add value to your life.

Getting to Know the Brain

Neural networks are a big part of the brain, but there’s so much more you should know about it.

Even though the brain is complex, you can still learn loads about it. Get all the information you need and learn the strategies to use your brain better at the Brain-A-Thon.

How to Break Addictive Patterns

Addiction is nothing more than a neural pattern that’s become ingrained into your mind. You have to break it if you want to move on.

It’s all about how you think and what you do.

Take Your Time

When you commit to breaking the habit of addiction, you have to know that it’s a long-term commitment.

It won’t happen overnight. You might relapse, and it could even feel like you aren’t getting anywhere. Slipping up is possible, but you can’t beat yourself up about it—that won’t help your neural networks.

To create a new habit, one that isn’t soul-destroying, it will take at least 60 days. It could even take up to 180 days. Similarly, it takes time to break old habits.

Keep this in mind as you approach this change in your life.

Change Your Approach

Breaking the bonds of addiction requires that you think differently about it. You need to stop focusing on the havoc it wreaks and start concentrating on what you want from life.

Imagine what you want your addiction-free life to be like. Think about it carefully. What will you lose? What will you gain? What are your goals? What will you do when you no longer have an addiction?

Spend some time on those thoughts. You need to construct a mental picture of the future. Close your eyes and see that image come to life—immerse yourself in it.

When you visualize the future as you want it, you allow your brain to create new neural networks. You start thinking about what you want, and it motivates you to break old patterns.

Foster New Connections

As you work toward a better you, you will face changes. The cravings during addiction will still pop up. You need to decide how you will address them.

Every time a craving hits, ask yourself what you really want. Do not give in to the addiction.

If your craving is trying to silence loneliness, then call a friend. If that seems too scary, then watch your favorite show or read a book to help you socialize.

If your craving for sugar is your body telling you it wants self-love, then go for a walk, put on a face mask, or dress up in your favorite outfit.

If your craving is saying you are stressed at work, then search for a new job where you can be happier.

Do something that creates a positive connection in your brain, and it will help break your addiction.

Reprogram Your Brain

It’s entirely possible to break bad habits and create better ones. It comes down to how your brain works, and as we’ve come to learn, the brain can change—that’s what you have to tap into.

Join us at the Brain-A-Thon to find out all the techniques to change your mindset. It’s a one-day event but has a lifetime impact!