Don't people choose to drink or do drugs? How can addiction be a disease?Addiction is much more than a few bad choices. It disrupts the areas of the brain that are involved in reward, motivation, learning, judgement, and memory. Not only can it damage brain and body functions, but it can also damage relationships, families, and workplaces.
The first three parts of this series focused on our brains – how we start to heal them in recovery. Equally important are the ways we can take care of our bodies in recovery, ways that also support our efforts to heal our brains and maintain their neuroplasticity.
In a nutshell, we create new neuropathways by establishing and practicing new habits. The more we repeat them, the more ingrained those neuropathways become. Here are four key elements of the process.
Neuroplasticity is how we learn to speak a new language or play a new instrument – and it’s also what recovery from opioids depends on. It's hard, but it's possible.
Your brain on opioids is more complicated than the egg in the frying pan. And as the opioid epidemic grows and treatment modalities evolve, it’s more important than ever to understand what, exactly, opioids do to our brains–and the long-term effects of opioid use.
What does the latest research on addiction tell us about treatment?
It may come as no surprise that opioid use and depression often come together as a package. In this article we will examine why opioid use and depression are likely to co-occur and what that means for your addiction care.
Gambling addiction is a commonly known, but little discussed, process addiction. At Workit, we often focus on addictions to substances (we are in an opioid crisis, after all), but there’s another world of addictions, to processes or behaviors. Today, you can gamble without leaving the comfort of your own screen, as online casinos and games make it easy to win or lose from your couch.
Once upon a time, I trusted my brain implicitly. Why wouldn’t I? It had kept me alive, after all, and no one had ever told me that this cerebral cortex of mine was unreliable. When my brain told me certain things—say, that I didn’t have feelings for someone anymore, that a friend had wronged me or that my boss deserved to get an earful about how dissatisfied I was—I assumed it was correct and acted on those thoughts.
It’s a big, boozey world out there. From mimosas at brunch to cocktail hours, it can be hard to imagine living alcohol-free. But for some folks, unclenching that glass is like taking off a winter coat they didn’t know they were wearing. They can feel the sun on their shoulders for the first time. Before you decide if a liquor-free life (or day, week, or month) is for you, let’s explore the awesome things that could happen when you stop drinking.
This site uses cookies to improve your experience. By using this site, you consent to our use of cookies.