Understanding the way an addict thinks.... Why they need the excessive amounts of drugs/alcohol all the time...

Essay by matb43College, UndergraduateA+, February 2005

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Understanding how an addict thinks and what addiction really is, will explain why most addicts can not quit merely on will power. Knowing what stress is and how to reduce it, will lead to a healthier lifestyle. Understanding the opposite sex will not only allow you to realize that you partner is not crazy, it will show you how to cope with their emotions. All of these scenarios are prime examples why we have to study psychology.

Addiction is a disease, which effects the brain. Misused drugs disrupt the process of the message transmission. Chemicals that look like something else fools the brain. As a result drugs take over the person and they become addicted. The addictive behavior is due to the fact that drugs will change a person. The need for the drug causes a normal person to do abnormal things.

The pleasure chamber in the brain releases neurotransmitters, which in turn give you pleasure.

The problem is that the specific drug blocks reuptake. This causes the brain to release neurotransmitters and not replenish them. Without any neurotransmitters, the addict is depressed all the time and never happy when they are not using the drug. The addict is no longer feeling good and is never happy. This is one reason why they go back to the drug of choice, so they can feel good again.

To understand how psychoactive drugs work and the cause of addiction, the brain can be broken down into major parts, the old brain and the new brain. The old brain that consists of; the brain stem, cerebellum, and mesocorbex, which contains the limbic systems or emotional center. The old brain is in every animal from reptile, to fish, to humans. The old brain has two functions it regulates physiological functions of the body like...