Quitting drugs is difficult because of the addictive effects it has on the mind and the body. Fortunately, there are treatment protocols that can make the recovery process easier. Here we break down why quitting drugs is so challenging so that you can gain an understanding of what will need to be accomplished when you’re ready to stop using.
The Root Causes
Once you manage to detox, the battle becomes psychological. There is a reason you decided to start using drugs in the first place, and these are the areas to focus on to prevent relapse. Many people with drug challenges also endure mental health challenges. If this is the case for you, you may need to consider counseling to work through the issues that led to drug use. The psychological components of drug use are a significant reason why quitting drugs can be difficult. If you don’t know healthier ways to cope, it’s only a matter of time before you return to self-destructive habits. Working through emotional issues is a complicated thing for anyone. Avoiding relapse will require you to work through these issues, and you will need to learn skills to prevent relapse as you work through them. Emotional therapy work is triggering in and of itself, but it is a necessary evil in preventing further drug use. If you’re looking for a way to turn your life around, you probably want to learn more about helpful drug addiction treatment centers such as The Edge Treatment.
Tolerance, Withdrawal, and drug addiction treatment
A major reason why quitting drugs is so challenging is the impact of tolerance. When people take drugs, large amounts of dopamine are released, and over time, this causes the body to run low on supply. When this occurs, people feel depressed and are even more motivated to use drugs. To avoid symptoms of depletion, people start to use drugs to feel normal. This feeling of normalness is tolerance. Avoiding withdrawal is a significant reason why people continue to use drugs. Withdrawal is incredibly uncomfortable both psychologically and physically. The overwhelming impact of detoxing is why individuals must seek to regain sobriety in competent drug addiction treatment centers.
Neurotransmitters and Reinforcement
A huge reason that quitting drugs is so difficult is that the neurochemical aspects make addiction insidious. Drugs work by increasing or decreasing neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline, and they also impact how long a specific neurotransmitter stays active. Drugs significantly impact dopamine, the neurotransmitter that plays a role in emotional regulation and pleasure. When we get the sense that we’ve done something enjoyable, dopamine is released, which signals to the brain that we should be doing something again. While this is a normal reaction to pleasurable activities such as eating and sex, when one consumes drugs, the amount of dopamine released is much greater, making it that much harder to resist the urge to do it again.
There are very strong physical and psychological ties to drug addiction. Thankfully, human beings are resilient, and they are capable of overcoming drug addiction and emotional challenges with the right protocols and level of patience in place.