Dual Diagnosis Treatment Center in White Center
The brain can be affected by long-term use of drugs. Long-term addiction can cause changes in other chemical systems or circuits. These effects can have a significant impact on cognitive and behavioural processes such as learning, judgements, decision-making and stress management. People who use drugs often continue to do so even though they know the possible negative consequences.
Why does some people become addicted to drugs while others can resist? There are many factors that will predict whether a person will develop an addiction to drugs. A variety of factors determine the likelihood that someone will develop an addiction. A person's predisposition to using drugs will increase the likelihood that they will become addicted.
Your brain's reward system is where drugs that can cause addiction may be directed. Your brain is constantly receiving large amounts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter. This can cause a feeling of pure bliss. In an effort to recreate this feeling, you continue to take the medication.
Dopamine will eventually adapt to your brain. To achieve the same effect, you may need to take more of the medication. You might also find that other pleasures, such as food and family time, are not as appealing to you now.
If you take drugs for a prolonged period of time, they can cause brain chemical changes and circuit alterations. These drugs can impair your judgment, ability to make choices, memory, and ability learn. Combining these brain alterations can make it hard to resist the temptation of using drugs in ways you cannot control.