What Addicts Need

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  Posted By: MichaelX @ 03/05/2009 3:27:46 PM

  Addiction=$$$$$$. Our wonderful medical professions could not function without problems created by their own medications. Man made substances do more harm than good, or else why are there so many disclaimers in drug ads?
  Feel worse, and/or have other symptoms that require more treatment? What a shyster game.
  As was said above, people like drugs. It's the moderation of them that is an issue. How many heroin/cocain/meth addicts would start smoking just pot if legal? Most every one.

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  Posted By: Enigmamcr @ 08/01/2008 9:10:20 PM

  Well very well thought out and backed by numerous psychiatric institutions and research centres , who gain funding for looking for complex answers to simple questions. Addiction is an ethical issue, not a medical one. People use drugs because they like them. This is illustrated by the famous philosopher / scientist Occam (Occam???s razor) The principle states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory . Alternatively, put more simply the simplest explanation is normally the correct one.
  My own experience validates this. In 2006, I initiated a self-induced withdrawal off 195 mg methadone of which 150mg was in injectable form. I had been on this maintenance regime for 16 years and the dose and type of opiate prescribed altered over the years, the only consistency was the escalation of the prescription. In addition I smoked over half an ounce on cannabis and drank in excess of 12 bottles of strong larger a day. I did not reduce or taper off any of the named substances, this detox was done alone and without medical or family support. It is now over 22 months and I am still opiate free do not smoke cannabis, but drink socially on occasions. I hope to share this experience and the strategies employed, to give others the hope and belief that addiction is not a disease and the only power it has over you is the power you give it.
  

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  Posted By: tangledsynapses. @ 07/25/2008 6:50:41 PM

  
  
  ¨From a neurological viewpoint, addictions are the result of the brain chemistry dysfunction that came about as a result of unbalanced excitatory and inhibitory processing in the neurons. Neurons communicate with each other by firing electrical signals which are then translated into chemical signals called neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitter of addiction is dopamine, which is designed to maintain pleasant mood states. When dopamine falls below acceptable levels this causes the individual to experience sensations of 'withdrawal' as it is called in the psychiatric field. Withdrawal charges the addict to find ways to increase dopamine levels perhaps by taking illegal substances to compensate for the shortfall. As the substance wears off a new cycle of withdrawal and addiction begins....¨ taken from the book tangledsynapses, by Ignacio Sanabria, Neuroscience researcher, www.tangledsynapses.com
  
  However, there is hope for the addicts, beside drug therapy, that in some cases is warranted, as the brain pleasure centers must, somehow be balanced again.
  
  The latest research points out that a GRUELING EXERCISE REGIME is the best therapy there is for addiction. The exact mechanism as to why exercise helps with brain chemistry dysfunction is under research, but it points out to the release of endorphins, adrenaline, among others, that in turn triggers the brain pleasure centers such as the LAPX axis, dopamine, serotonin and other neurotransmitters to secrete the necessary chemical compounds to contribute to balance brain dysfunction.