What Addiction Looks Like To The Brain (And How To Break Free)

Addiction simply means craving for and engaging with something so intensely that it has a negative affect on important areas of your life such as your relationships or achieving personal goals.

Whether it’s drugs, alcohol, tobacco, video gaming, social media or even shopping …. Addiction to anything can often cause people to lose control of themselves.

They lose control over how they use a substance, and therefore unwanted consequences are experienced like depression and anxiety.

Addicts want their craved experience even despite the possible unfavorable consequences that those actions could bring about.

Addiction changes the brain. And while it may seem hopeless and is tough to break free, it is possible. And anyone can do it with the right motivation and support.

What Addiction Does To The Brain

For the longest time, scientists believed that only alcohol and powerful drugs can cause addiction.

But recent studies show that certain pleasurable activities such as gambling, social media, shopping, or gaming actually has the same effect on the brain.

While addictions can present itself in different forms, they’re basically all the same to a degree.

The brain registers pleasure the same way, whether it’s a nice meal, a monetary reward, or a drug. In the brain, this means releasing the neurotransmitter called dopamine.

Dopamine release is consistently tied in with the feeling of immense pleasure. All addictive activities and substances release dopamine in the brain powerfully, consistently, reliably, and quickly.

This faster and more powerful dopamine release will more likely lead to an addiction.

How do you know if you’re addicted?

Three things:

1. you’re intensely craving for that substance or activity on a regular basis
2. you’re losing control
3. you’re disregarding the possible adverse consequences

Need some help in ending your addiction?

Check this out: End Addiction Self-Hypnosis Program: Put an End to Addiction for Good and Live Each Day with Maximum Health, Clarity, and Joy!

Tolerance

Because these addictive activities can release such a high amount of dopamine repeatedly, the brain gets overwhelmed. And what the brain will do is start to produce less dopamine with each experience.

As the user takes more of the substance or does more of the activity, the dopamine hit lessens. And in time, the addict will need to take more of it to feel the same level of dopamine hit, or the ‘high’.

This will be a downward spiral from here on, until the addict steps up and regains controls using conscious awareness.

How to Break Free from Addiction:

This can be a focus of another article on its own. The process can be difficult, not just for the users or the addict, but those who are being affected by his/her behavior.

But to simply put … Addictions begin with triggers. Either stress, anxiety, or any unpleasurable experience. These can cause someone to look for ways to deal with challenges in life and escape/numb their problems.

Someone can play video games for 15 hours a day just to avoid problems.

Another person can go to a casino just to avoid problems.

Whatever the activity, or the substance is, it’s rewarding for the user. And the experience becomes an escape for someone who is not willing to face the real issues of real life.

After some trigger-reward cycle, the addictive craving can be easily triggered.

Ring the bell, feed the dog.

An alcoholic can be triggered by seeing bottles of liquor, same as a video game addict can be triggered by the latest new game that just launched.

So, to put an end to this cycle of trigger-reward. Addicts need to tackle whatever problems or issues are gnawing at their mind, instead of running away from them.

The only thing that addicts need to run away from is their addiction.

This might be easier said than done. But I’m here to help you with it.

If you’re an addict, or someone you care about is an addict, then you need to know that help is available. I’ll tell you more about this later.

The answer is to take your mind off your addictions and do something productive instead. Your cravings for the substance or the activity can be ‘translated’ into something productive and even equally as exciting.

First, be aware that you’re feeling the urge. But don’t give in. Instead, do something empowering and productive.

I’ll say this again. This is easier said than done, especially if you’re an addict. It takes a lot of power, and it still might not be enough. Relapses can happen, and can trigger the cycle again.

Another path is to get help from a professional that has the credibility and proven track-record to help you.

The addict needs a community, an accountability partner, and a blueprint or a path to recovery.

The problem is that traditional therapists are expensive and they’re time consuming. But I’m here to provide you a shortcut.

My friend and mentor Dr. Steve G. Jones, a licensed clinical hypnotherapist, developed a program that can help you, or someone you love.

Self-hypnosis might be the answer you’re looking for. These self-hypnosis tracks can speak directly to your sub-conscious mind and rewire it to your benefit.

If you’re addicted to one of these:

• Smoking
• Sugar
• Drugs
• Alcohol
• Shopping
• Video Gaming
• Social Media
• Gambling
• TV
• Binge Eating
• Or any others…

Then Dr. Steve G. Jones can help you. You only need 21 days for these soothing hypnotic audio tracks to do their magic. I can tell you more about how the program works but I know Dr. Steve can explain it better.

More details about Dr. Steve and the program can be found here: End Addiction Self-Hypnosis Program: Put an End to Addiction for Good and Live Each Day with Maximum Health, Clarity, and Joy!

I wish you happiness and fulfillment!