In my blog entry, What Are The Causes of Addiction?, I wrote about an article that discussed four different theories. I decided to write about the first cause and my interpretation of that since I found the information to be so pertinent.
The first cause this article identifies is "the traditional view that drugs are taken first because they are pleasant, but with repeated drug use homeostatic neuroadaptations lead to tolerance and dependence, such that unpleasant withdrawal symptoms ensue upon the cessation of use". This statement seems aligned with what I discussed in my most recent blog about addicts initially choosing to use, but eventually their brains are damaged in such a way that it is no longer a choice. The withdrawal symptoms that occur following prolonged use can be both physical and mental torture, causing the addict to want or need to use again. Once a person becomes an addict, they are no longer using to feel good, they are using to stop feeling bad. There is an old adage that comes to mind to describe this phenomenon: "the person takes the drug and then the drug takes the person."
While this theory makes sense, there is a major flaw with it. If addicts are using primarily to escape withdrawal symptoms, then why would an addict relapse after they were already through the withdrawals. Relapse amongst addicts is common, even for those who have many years of sobriety.
The article does not offer an explanation for this shortcoming in the theory, but I think there are likely multiple causes. While this cause affects a person who is in active addiction, there are clearly other factors that would cause a person with substantial time sober to relapse. In addition, there might be other factors related to why an individual would take addictive substances to begin with.
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