Addiction Rehab Help

From User to Addict

Many times the question is asked: How many times do you have to take a drug before you become addicted to it? There are no easy answers, but understanding how substance abuse affects the brain may help you to make wise decisions to avoid any and all casual drug use.

Illicit drugs change the way your brain functions. The number of times a person has to “get high” before the brain becomes damaged varies between individuals but the sad outcome is still the same. What started out as casual use becomes a constant craving that cannot be subdued unless the brain is fed more and more doses of the drug. You are now an addict with a haywire brain.

Here’s how it works. You ingest, smoke, and snort the drug. The brain responds with elevated levels of dopamine—the hormone that regulates pleasure sensory. When you come down from being high the dopamine levels even out again. But at some point after repeated drug use, the limbic system kicks in and the dopamine levels don’t even out—they plummet below normal. Now your brain craves the drug the same way it craves air or food.

The addicted brain feels depressed, lethargic and the user’s life seems hopeless. Now he needs more of the drug to bring the dopamine level up to normal again. The longer he uses, the more tolerant his brain becomes. He has to take more and more of the drug to reach the same effects and he has to take it more frequently as well.

In effect, the drug abuser, by repeated uses has completely changed the way his brain works. He has developed an addiction that can only be cured through long hard work. A quality rehabilitation center is the first step.

Addiction can be cured, but not over night, nor by just going through a short term detox program. Addicts can make a recovery through programs that combine counseling, behavior changes and learning how to take responsibility for the decisions they make in life.

For more information please contact “Addiction Rehab Help” we can help you find the best rehabilitation center for the needs of your loved one.

Addiction Rehab Help 1-877-744-3536