Comments on: Addiction–The Hijacked Brain

By: Addiction to Drugs and Alcohol: Self-hatred, cravings, and therapy | Psychotherapy in NYC | Thoughts on Therapy

Sat, 14 May 2011 19:44:46 +0000

[...] Just what leads to addiction is a complex and highly-debated question. Some see addiction as a genetic or biochemical issue; others see it as a spiritual malady; some believe it is situational and reactive; and many see it as being due to historical psychological factors. In fact, addiction and alcoholism are multi-determined and include a number of interactive factors. The critical question in terms of helping people, at least early in their recovery, is not what caused it but what helps them change it. Once you take a substance into your body, it will change your biochemistry. At least from that point on, the addiction takes on a life of its own. One point of view is that the brain has been hijacked by the drug. [...]

By: Mat

Mat — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:30:39 +0000

Great little summary of the Hijacked Brain Hypothesis. I have only one issue. A hijacked brain, in my opinion, is not a “disease.” It’s more a function of an atavistic evolutionary processes. From an evolutionary psychological perspective, human addictive behaviors are the result of how our brains evolved complex neurocircuitries that reward us for certain activities because those activities were advantageous for our survival. (Chemical addictions exist only inasmuch as they fire up the reward centers of the brain, as your article states.) Our brains are hijacked by certain behaviors (or chemicals) because certain behaviors were once advantageous to us or our species back in the Stone-age: promiscuity, sugar, salt, risk, sleep, etc. We may drive around in cars, play on computers, and enjoy reading philosophy, but underneath our modern skulls are stone-age brains. That’s why certain behaviors are almost irresistible to almost all of us, and a few of us find them so irresistible that we become addicts: Fight or Flight, Sex , Eating, Sleeping. It’s also why addictions are born, not made. Addiction in and of itself ain’t got much to do with trauma, spirituality, morals, or “feelings.” It’s just a function of a rather primitive brain system that hasn’t yet caught up with our “civilized” world. Nevertheless, addictions wreak havoc on our lives, and in the midst of that chaos there is trauma, betrayal, immorality, spiritual vacuity, and feelings of darkness and hopelessness. We can’t be happy living like cavemen and cave women in our modern world. The good news is that, with lots of support, and perhaps some antidepressants, we can learn to listen to our prefrontal cortex and tell our addict brain to go jump in a lake. But, again, calling this system a “disease” is not helpful. It’s not a disease. All of our brains are wired to seek out certain things as rewards–it could be work, another person, sex, food, risk, money, violence. But, these ancient instinctual impulses can, for some of us, in certain areas, become obsessive, excessive, and compulsive. Like your article points out, we have to cool things down in our brains, lower the dopamine levels, and start thinking in new ways. AA works for a lot of folks, because it does all these things, not because it’s etiology of addiction is based in fact. Thanks for the great article.

By: 10 Myths of Addiction

10 Myths of Addiction — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:53:11 +0000

[...] FACT: Drug addiction is a brain disease. Changes in the brain range from changes in the molecules and cells that make up the brain, to mood changes, to changes in memory processes and in such motor skills as walking and talking. And these changes have a huge influence on all aspects of a person’s behavior. The drug becomes the single most powerful motivator in a drug abuser’s life. He or will do almost anything for the drug. This happens because drug use has changed the person’s brain and its functioning in critical ways. (See Addiction–The Hijacked Brain) [...]