Guest blog by Pamela Roberts
Tel: 07825 653556
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.act-therapy.co.uk
What comes first, the chicken or the egg? It’s physical. Neurologists have established the changes that occur with the“pleasure pathway” in the brain. We then associate what makes us feel good with the alcohol, drugs, food, work, internet and online gaming, exercise, shopping, use of relationships or sex, gambling. We learn that we feel “high”.But some of lose any sense of balance and are compelled to have more and more and more. Over time we lose sight of what balance could even be. The suggestion is that this is genetic, and therefore there is a predisposition towards addiction. So what triggers it? Unpleasant emotions resultfrom unpleasant experiences. Bearing in mind that what may be unpleasant for one person may be very different for someone else. Fundamentally though, when something is unpleasant, to whatever degree is normal to want to feel better. Equally there is a desire to be emotionally high and stay high. The addictive person will resort to the “feel good factor” but has this propensity to keep going and going and going. And then there is the social side. Social environments have a part to play; our family, friends, co-workers are identified as considerable influences. And when considering ceasing using alcohol, drugs, food, internet, work, shopping, exercise, relationships, changing relationships is an important consideration. Relapse is often triggered by a crisis in a social relationship, the loss of a loved one, friction in a relationship, or a return to “using” social groups as examples. Social experiences and influences are important factors when attempting to understand what addiction is.