What is going on in my brain? What is the chemical mechanism? Why cant I just tell my brain to stop craving the substance? Why is the addiction removing all of my inhibitions?
This is hell.
In: Biology
When you do something you like, the brain releases a chemical called “Dopamine”- in this example, lets say that they are coins.
Your brain has dopamine receptors and in this example- lets say they are washing machines.
Normally, it would take $1.25 to run the washing machine. This can be an example of your day-to-day releasing of dopamine with normal activities.
If you start doing drugs or in this case- running the washing machine more often the person who owns the machine may think; “hey, we can run this for $2.00 instead of $1.25”
Now it costs $2.00 to run the machine. It takes more money to run the same cycle. That’s the same thinking your brain goes through.
You release a lot of dopamine for a set period of time- your brain’s receptors now think this is normal and tell the receptors to bind less to dopamine, requiring more dopamine to feel the same.
Thats the chemical response to it.
There is a psychological response to addiction as well but I’m not super well versed in that. For example, weed is chemically not addictive but people can get hooked on the high and we get stoners who get high every day.
Latest Answers