Oh I need you bad..

"This place can't do nothing for me"
"I dont know why I keep coming back, but I'm back. Again"
"I really hope I can go back to who I was when I get discharged."
"Things will be different."
"Oh, I'm not gonna use anymore. Its different this time."


What does it take for an addict to stay sober?
Why cant' they just stop?

Using drugs and alcohol repeatedly over time alters brain chemistry and function.

When's the last time you said, "Hey brain chemistry, lets go ahead and reverse all the damage I've done. I'm done with this phase of my life." I dont know about you, but I've never heard the voice of brain chemistry to know what it sounds like.

Addiction is a brain disease, not a moral issue. Call him a drunk. But don't call him a lazy drunk. If you had cancer and it was in its final stages, do you think you'd be going to work everyday and have energy to eat right and excercise? Will anyone condemn you if you were no longer in remission and the cancer return? No. Addiction is a disease the same way cancer and diabetes is a disease. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital and not have insurance? A soror of mine had her appendix [sp?] removed and her hospital bill for THREE days was $30, 000. A treatment center is staffed with psychiatirst, social workers, nurses, mental health assistants, a board of directors, certified addiction therapists.. who can afford that? Addiction is a disease that tells you you don't have a disease. Why go to the ER if you think you're fine?

Addiction is a disease that impacts 1 in 4 familie. One in four? And I'm only talking about a drug addiction. One in four does not include addictions to porn, gambling, shopping, food.

Drugs and alcohol change the brain-- they change its structure and how it works. Addicts find it difficult to stop because their brain chemistry has changed. It usually takes 3-4 false starts to really begin a sober lifestyle. The brain is "plastic", it has a tremendous capacity to recover, but as we grow older we lose some of the plasticity of the brain necessary for recovery.

So what exactly do drugs to do the brain? It activates the same circuits as do behaviors linked to survival, such as eating, bonding, and sex. The drug causes a surge in levels of of a brain chemical called dopamine, which results in feelings of pleasure. The brain remembers this pelasure and wants it repeated. Dopamine is the reason why a chik-fi-la breakfast chicken bisquit tastes so damn good, why I love platanos, lasagna, and white chunk chocolote macadamia nut cookie. Dopamine is why roller coastesr are so much fun, why we love being around people that make us laugh. However, alcohol-crack- heroin- special k- crystal meth- coke- etc etc.. they lower you baseline dopamine so you now physically need it to even feel "normal".

The same way food, sex, water, is linked to survival in day to day living, drugs begin to take over and become more important in survival than those basic needs. Its no longer taken for pleasure, but for survival and the need to relieve distress. The drive is all that matters, control and choice and everything of that person's morals become compromised, the addiction has taken over, aka, the cancer has spread throughout the entire body. We feel grief for a cancer patient that is dying, we look down on addicts that are dying.

If addiction affects 1in 4, and I have 5 suscribers, to that one person: educate yourself, do not judge, and do not stop loving him or her. Recovery is possible, but being isolated by friends and family doesnt give them a reason to be sober. Support your family though thick and thin, but do not enable them. Words are priceless.

The above facts were taken from Addiction: HBO documentary. Here is the teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrutvEFwaFA

Another preview of the documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoIfSJJBh0E