"Out of the frying pan: A neuroscientist and former addict explains what a brain on drugs is really experiencing" From NPR
An NPR interview opens the door to the science of addiction and if the interview tells even one tenth of what is in the book, then we are in for a bold awakening!
Open Your Mind:
Judith Grisel, both neuroscientist and recovering addict, is well-placed to study and tell the story of what drugs do to our brains, and indeed she does.
I found myself devouring the content of this interview precisely because it was so specific. Judith outlined in no uncertain terms exactly how pot, alcohol, cocaine and opiates affect the neuroreceptors of our brains, replace the normal functions, and unfortunately, leave them hurting and craving more. Each drug affects the brain in specific and very different ways. Each leaves behind it's own different hole. And despite what you may have experienced in your own life, none has the power to permanently be helpful to your brain or life...especially if you are an addict.
Each Drug Has Its Own Special Effect
Take marijuana, which all who have tried know makes everything so attractive and interesting. It exaggerates the communication between the cells in the brain and makes everything more highly tuned. This is so much more than what is natural, that when we come down from the drug, everything lags behind. So after a while, cells will de-regulate to compensate for the effect of the drug. But this is not the effect of all drugs. Alcohol and cocaine and opiates each have their own different effect, affect different cells and neuroreceptors in the brain, some regulating very specific centers, some more general, but all causing long term changes in the communication between cells if used regularly.
One Main Message
"Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction" is the title of Judith Grisel's book because as she learned from her personal experience and confirmed in her research, this is the language of the brain, and it is played out in our culture and in our society. I am really excited to read this book. I am curious to see is she holds an opinion about which feeds which. I have learned in my own experience how hard it is to live counter-culturally, seeking peace and serenity. Our culture drives the Never Enough mentality. Addiction feeds on it. Even once sober, there are a host of co-occurring behaviors one fights in the daily work of living sober that run counter-cultural. Do you struggle with them too?
#Addiction #neuroreceptors #Neverenough #NeuroscienceandAddiction #AddictionvsPeace #ScienceandAddiction