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What makes people addicted?

Amethyst

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Obvious answer would be the chemicals in your brain being released to cause euphoric feelings are triggered by something which the person has found out makes them happy, so they keep doing it. Or addictive substances like nicotine etc.

But why? Why do people feel the need that something (alcohol, smoking, Rx drugs, other drugs etc.) excessively or fucking daily is the only way to enjoy life, even when you try to help them out of it?

I've been having troubles with my father. He's finally stopped drinking after 5 miserable years, but now he has somehow got a hold of muscle relaxers, and is stealing my brother's Adderal. A friend of mine just does drugs all the time, and I'm not completely against drugs, I just don't see why he's become such a loser in my eyes.

I really think my dad has co-dependency issues...but that could just be far reaching. I just hear him say all the time 'I can't live without 'this' (which can include drugs, alcohol, some activity, or my mother) and it drives me NUTS!

What makes people addicted to having to need something else to make them feel whole?
 

miss fortune

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hmm... I used to drink to try and make my brain shut up :blush:

I quit that though...

some things like nicotine are rather physically addictive as well... try to quit smoking if you were a regular smoker and you'll definitley understand that principle :shock:
 

Amethyst

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hmm... I used to drink to try and make my brain shut up :blush:

I quit that though...

some things like nicotine are rather physically addictive as well... try to quit smoking if you were a regular smoker and you'll definitley understand that principle :shock:

I used to think it was just that with him, because alcohol has physically addictive qualities to it, but I rather confused to what him quitting is doing to him, if it's making him want to be 'on' something or if he needs to fill some sort of void, or if he plain old just misses alcohol. I can sort of understand the concept, but I haven't truly, or for the most part, felt that need for a substance.
 

Halla74

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hmm... I used to drink to try and make my brain shut up :blush:

I quit that though...

I totally understand this, my brain NEVER TURNS OFF. :run:
It can get really ridiculous and oppressive. :rolli:

Alcohol eventually riles me up though, so it is ineffective in this capacity for me too. Two drinks, and I'm chilled out; three drinks and I'm bouncing off the fucking walls and stirring up trouble. :doh:

some things like nicotine are rather physically addictive as well... try to quit smoking if you were a regular smoker and you'll definitley understand that principle :shock:

Yeah, it's called WITHDRAWAL and I've never known anyone who enjoyed it, regardless of what they were hooked on. I saw a good friend of mine's ex-wife going through withdrawal from opiate painkillers, her eyes showed the early stages of jaundice, she was sweating profusely, and the pupils of her eyes were black and huge. Same goes for smoking, my brother was PISSED each time he quit smoking cigarrettes. Now he smokes two per day and he's done with it, and calls it equilibrium, go INTJ! :rofl1:
 

Thalassa

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Some people are just born with an addictive personality. There's no rhyme or reason to it. Actually, the search for "the rush" is part of the human experience...and even people who don't do drugs or whatever can still eat too much, be addicted to caffeine or sugar, or be "adrenaline junkies" and take risks or love roller coasters.

Many people who are as addicted as your father have problems with depression or other issues. Depression is horrible and many people attempt to self-medicate to get out of it, as well as people who have bipolar disorder, or even just childhood trauma.

I feel very lucky that I was not born with the same personality as my sister, who is an addict. While I certainly have self-medicated for various reasons, and have some co-dependency in my personality as well, I've never been able to get seriously addicted to anything wildly destructive because I always think of the bad parts...the hangover...the coming down...it's funny I was just talking about this with someone...apparently addicts remember the good stuff instead of the bad. I've read about this...they block out the negative consequences that keep other people from becoming addicted, and just concentrate on the high itself or how fun it is or how good it felt even when their life and their health is falling apart. Their mind works differently.
 

miss fortune

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I totally understand this, my brain NEVER TURNS OFF. :run:
It can get really ridiculous and oppressive. :rolli:

Alcohol eventually riles me up though, so it is ineffective in this capacity for me too. Two drinks, and I'm chilled out; three drinks and I'm bouncing off the fucking walls and stirring up trouble. :doh:

I totally understand that... there's plenty of times when I've had a bizzare desire to rip my brain out and give it a good beating to show it how to turn off... the damned thing is just unnervingly ACTIVE sometimes :thelook:

but yeah... it's getting the dosages right that I always tended to have the problem with... drinking to a certain point was relaxing, drinking past that ended up giving me MORE things to worry about when I sobered up :rofl1:
 

Lady_X

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Obvious answer would be the chemicals in your brain being released to cause euphoric feelings are triggered by something which the person has found out makes them happy, so they keep doing it. Or addictive substances like nicotine etc.

But why? Why do people feel the need that something (alcohol, smoking, Rx drugs, other drugs etc.) excessively or fucking daily is the only way to enjoy life, even when you try to help them out of it?

I've been having troubles with my father. He's finally stopped drinking after 5 miserable years, but now he has somehow got a hold of muscle relaxers, and is stealing my brother's Adderal. A friend of mine just does drugs all the time, and I'm not completely against drugs, I just don't see why he's become such a loser in my eyes.

I really think my dad has co-dependency issues...but that could just be far reaching. I just hear him say all the time 'I can't live without 'this' (which can include drugs, alcohol, some activity, or my mother) and it drives me NUTS!

What makes people addicted to having to need something else to make them feel whole?
well i think you said it perfectly there. it's about filling a hole i think...feeling incomplete and unbalanced...stressed...scared...lonely...no peace...wanting to just feel happy and peaceful...or a spark of life of some kind...unhealthy unwhole people really shouldn't experiment i don't think.
 

entropie

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In the end its a point of view, cause if you ask on a forum like this what makes people addictive, you have to set clear rules to what you are talking about
 

Unkindloving

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Various reasons. There's the addictive personality reason or the filling a void reason.. etc

I personally tend to see the "fear of introspection" or "quick fix" reasoning. A lot of people end up being so backed up on introspection and lengthy fixes that they lose the parts of themselves that can function normally without a substance or addiction.
They can't tend to their emotions properly, can't tend to their personal growth properly, and can't even enjoy themselves properly. You could say it's filling the void, but it's more so drowning out the void until the void swallows them whole while they're not looking.
 

Words of Ivory

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Dependency.

At the end of the day, I think all addictions are used in an attempt to fill some sort of gap, to numb some sort of pain, and to allow someone to ignore something of greater important that they are not willing to sort out through non dangerous means, normally because doing so may be a difficult and arduous process.
 

Synapse

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Addiction is an act of compulsion. Manifests from a thinning of myelin sheath. It is essential for the nervous system to function, the main purpose of a myelin layer is to increase the speed at which impulses propagate along the myelinated fiber. When its thinned then addiction and compulsion are higher.

This is why teenage addiction is worse than adult addiction as is the coordination. the proper functionality is yet to properly adjust in the forming body.



Myelination during adolescence

In addition to the winnowing of connections in the frontal lobes of the adolescent brain, another developmental factor is also at play. One of the final steps in developing an adult brain is the coating of nerves with a fatty material called myelin. This myelin sheath wraps around the axons of brain cells (neurons) and allows electrical impulses to travel faster and more efficiently. Before neurons receive their myelin sheath, they are considered immature and don't function well, but after myelination, the neurons are mature and ready to fulfill their designated functions more efficiently. This is one reason why a toddler is less coordinated than a 9-year-old. Myelin develops in the more primitive areas of the brain first, and then gradually moves to the higher level functioning areas. It is not surprising then to find that the frontal lobes mature last. Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles compared scans of young adults, 23 - 30, with those of teens, 12 - 16, looking for signs of myelin which would imply more mature, efficient connections. As expected, the frontal lobes in teens showed less myelination than in the young adults. This is the last part of the brain to mature: full myelination is probably not reached until around age 20.
 

Amethyst

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I've given him suggestions as to how to fill this 'void', because that's why I'm feeling like it is most...he likes running, so I say go running, then he takes muscle relaxers :dry:
I've given up. I've realized I've done everything that could be done, and he has to fix it himself, which I'm quite sure he won't.
 

Walking Tourist

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My brain has an off switch. It is very abrupt. Suddenly, I get this tremendous urge for sleep, and then I say, "I have to go to sleep now." When I say that, I am actually already asleep because I'll go into a deep sleep within seconds of getting into bed.
As for alcohol, it is a knockout drug for me. After one drink, I'm ready to go to sleep immediately. I never reach the three drink stage so I don't know if I would get riled up. By the way, caffeine also has the same effect on me.
I'm not interested in illegal drugs because they are toxic and not inspected by anyone! I react badly to regular medication that is inspected. I am fortunate, though, that I do not have an addictive personality so I try not to judge people who do have addiction problems.


I totally understand this, my brain NEVER TURNS OFF. :run:
It can get really ridiculous and oppressive. :rolli:

Alcohol eventually riles me up though, so it is ineffective in this capacity for me too. Two drinks, and I'm chilled out; three drinks and I'm bouncing off the fucking walls and stirring up trouble. :doh:
 

soft

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so... here's my little rant about my addictions

i smoke cigs because i am addicted to the routine. there have been times in the past where it was necessary for me to quit and i never really felt withdrawl or anything, though i did have mild cravings.

i'm addicted to caffeine.. i could probably become accustomed to living without it, but i really see no point in trying. i've been drinking coffee daily since i was like 15 or 16 and i don't really fell that it's had any negative effects on my life.

weed is something else, though. i guess i would say i am very dependent on it, despite it being such a mild drug. i've been smoking pot for about 3 years, and multiple times a day for maybe 8 months. i can go without it when it's necessary or when i run out, though i don't really like to. i can't really say why i smoke so much, i guess i like how it makes me feel. i like being stoned out of my mind and feeling content to just sit and enjoy simple pleasures like music and food. it helps me forget about the things that bum me out.
maybe this sounds stupid, but i really do believe i could quit smoking weed altogether if i wanted to. the thing is i see no need. i love it and i feel that the pros outweigh the cons.
it's almost like i knew i would love it. i was very interested in drugs since i learned about them in DARE. i actually started off hating all drugs, but as i learned more about them, i became increasingly interested in weed (and some hallucinogens). i knew long before i ever got high that weed was something i had been looking for my entire life.
some people might see my use as "running from my problems" or something like that, but i don't care. if one day i meet the girl of my dreams and she tells me the only way she'll date me is if i quit smoking pot, i'll do it, but for now i see no point in quitting. i am happier nowadays, and the source of my happiness is not a concern to me. as long as i am not stealing money and abandoning those close to me just to get high, i don't have a problem with my use.

i guess this is how i feel about it: i have always struggled with mild depression. i feel fortunate enough to have many close friends and family that i can depend on, but i always felt like there are things that i can't share with anyone. i am not comfortable opening up to most people.. i have been screwed over and seen people screwed over enough to know that there are very few people i can really trust. maybe some day i'll meet someone that's different from everyone else, but for now smoking weed helps me cope with problems that i keep personal. maybe i am an addict, but at this point in my life i actually enjoy it.
 

miss fortune

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:holy: I'm not the only one who spent DARE thinking... hmmm... that drug sounds FUN!

of course then I tried all of the ones I'd thought that about and DIDN'T have fun :dry:
 

angell_m

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Because the smaller enjoyments in life are more important than the bigger ones. You like coffee? Well then, you'll most likely drown yourself in coffee every day. Like cigarettes? Then you'll most likely puff the non-magical dragon untill you get COPD. Do you like to feel warm? Cold? Do you like to prance around nekkid in your apartment? It's the little things that keeps us going. It's not an addiction.
 

angelhair45

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Because the smaller enjoyments in life are more important than the bigger ones. You like coffee? Well then, you'll most likely drown yourself in coffee every day. Like cigarettes? Then you'll most likely puff the non-magical dragon untill you get COPD. Do you like to feel warm? Cold? Do you like to prance around nekkid in your apartment? It's the little things that keeps us going. It's not an addiction.

Interesting thoughts. I've often wondered the same thing.
 

Mole

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It's not an addiction.

We know it's an addiction when we suffer withdrawal symptoms.

And we know it's an addiction when we take more to ward off the withdrawal symptoms.

But alas, when we can stop, we don't want to.
And when we want to stop, we can't.
 
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