As researchers learn more and more about the physiology of addiction, they more fully understand how damaging this disease is to the actual structure and function of the brain. It can be disheartening to see the changes addiction causes in the brain, but it offers some hopeful treatment ideas as well. After all, if the brain is flexible enough to make way for addiction, then it is also flexible enough to heal from this disease.
Addiction is a Change in the Brain
Addiction is a disease that alters the chemistry and function of the brain. As dependency on a drug forms, the actual nerve pathways in the brain are changed to place the importance of obtaining access to drugs above anything else, even eating or sleeping. These new neurological pathways are part of a phenomenon known as brain plasticity, which means that the brain is able to create new nervous tissue, function in new ways, and generate new cells in response to habits and stimuli. New pathways that support dependence on a substance are part of what allows addiction to set in, but brain plasticity can be what reverses addiction as well.
Making New Connections
Just like new connections are formed within the brain to facilitate addiction, they can be formed to bypass it as well. Abstaining from drugs or alcohol, and engaging in healing thoughts and practices will encourage the brain to form new, healthy pathways. The old pathways that are left behind by addiction can be triggered by various situations, especially in early recovery, but these triggers will occur less frequently as the new, healthy pathways are used and prioritized over time. In this way, we see that the same brain plasticity that allowed addiction to take root in the first place, it can be the thing that saves us as we establish new habits and practices.
Changes in Recovery
A well-rounded addiction recovery program is designed to stimulate the brain in ways that allow new neurological pathways and activity to develop. Healthy stimulation comes in the form of everything from positive thinking to rewarding physical activity. Breaking through emotional barriers, and establishing new life patterns strengthens the brain and channels its flexibility into healing and health. Retraining the brain takes careful planning and continual effort. The intensity and support needed to accomplish these changes can be found in medically based addiction recovery and you can retrain your brain to leave addiction behind.
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