If you have ever encountered any form of addiction, you know that it often starts innocently. No one has the intention of becoming addicted to substances but when it occurs, it is never easy to step away. However, did you know that some people are more prone to addiction than others? We have all heard the term addictive personality, but what exactly does it mean?
Drugs, whether legal or illegal, all affect one’s brain chemistry and unless you are aware of how it works, addiction can take hold quickly and sometimes even permanently. Understanding how drugs affect the brain and give people a sense of euphoria is an important step to understanding and overcoming addiction.
In this book summary readers will discover:
- Discovering Addiction
- What makes marijuana special
- The problem with opiates
- How cocaine works
- Tranquillizers and the nervous system
- Addiction, genetics and the risks of early exposure
Key lesson one: Discovering Addiction
In 1954, two psychologists names James Olds and Peter Milner began experiments on rats to try to understand how their brains respond to stimuli. The rats had an electrode implanted in their brains and once they regained consciousness, an electrical current was used to stimulate an area of the brain known as the nucleus accumbens. They only used the electrical current when the rat was in a particular corner of its cage. Over time, they noticed the rat return to the corner over and over again in order to experience the electrical current once more. This made them conclude that the nucleus accumbens was the brain’s reward centre.
Research continued based on this finding and it was eventually discovered that drugs have the same effect on human brains as the electrical current had on rat brains. Drugs stimulate the nucleus accumbens and trigger the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is what is responsible for pleasurable feelings and humans will continually try to get that feeling again. This is one part of addiction. The other part is habituation. Once you take a drug, the brain releases neurotransmitters that have the opposite effect of dopamine in an attempt to keep the body’s internal systems in equilibrium. Therefore, once you become accustomed to a certain drug, it becomes harder to stay without it.
Thus, it is a combination of habituation and how the brain works that makes addiction what it is.
Key lesson two: What makes marijuana special
Marijuana is often the drug of choice for many people and it is not hard to understand why. Its active ingredient THC has the unique ability to stimulate multiple regions across the entire brain. This makes it different to other drugs that only have an effect on a single region of the brain or a specific receptor. They result in only a few outcomes because of this but with marijuana, because of multiple regions being affected, the effects are somewhat entertaining, to say the least. THC intensifies all the inputs you receive from your environment. This is why jokes seem funnier or music seems more fascinating.
Taking a closer look at how THC works, it attaches to receptors that are normally stimulated by anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. These neurotransmitters are naturally produced by the brain and the fact that THC can activate their receptors is what gives it such a strong effect. Anandamide’s precise function as a neurotransmitter is still being researched but it is thought that it lets us know what is important in our immediate surroundings. It acts to stimulate multiple regions across the brain to ensure that we observe and recognize what is necessary. THC thus takes the place of this neurotransmitter and works across the brain making everything we come across seem incredible.
This is what makes marijuana addictive. It transforms practically everything around us into something amazing. Thus people want to keep on seeing what THC makes them see.
Key lesson three: The problem with opiates
Our brains produce natural painkilling hormones called endorphins. Opiates tend to imitate these endorphins. Unfortunately, opiates have a downside that you can’t escape from. Once you take them and the effects begin to wear off, the body begins to produce anti-opiates which enhance any suffering you experience. This makes sense because endorphins are normally released when you are facing danger like running away from a wild animal or when you are trying to get out of the wreckage of a car. Once you are clear of danger, you need to know how badly you are hurt.
In the same way, when opiates wear off, the person becomes more aware of their pain and suffering. This leaves them with only one option – more opiates. It is also why you find people addicted to heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone put themselves in extreme situations or hurt themselves just to get more drugs.
Key lesson four: How cocaine works
To understand why cocaine is so addictive, you have to know how it works. Under normal circumstances, neurons communicate with each other through synapses or the gaps between them. Neurotransmitters are released into these gaps before latching on to receptors on the next cell. In this way, messages are transferred between neurons. To put this into an example, if dopamine is released by the first cell, it will attach to the receptors in the neural circuit conveying a message of pleasure or reward. Once this task is completed, the dopamine travels back to the original cell it was sent from and is recycled.
Cocaine messes with this circuit. It hinders the dopamine from getting back to the cell and keeps it in the synaptic gap for a longer period. Because of this delay, the dopamine continues to stimulate the next cells pleasure receptors eliciting feelings of intense pleasure. This feeling does not last forever though and that is why addicts seek more cocaine.
Pharmacologists estimate the effects of cocaine to last 30 minutes. According to addicts though, the real high only lasts about a tenth of that and when it passes anxiety creeps in along with sadness leaving them craving their next hit.
Key lesson five: Tranquillizers and the nervous system
Tranquillizers are used as sedatives and have been involved in the unexpected deaths of many a celebrity. They work to slow and relax the nervous system by imitating the neurotransmitter known as gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA. Tranquillizers target the GABA receptor located on the membrane of the neuron. This receptor is made up of proteins and functions as a gate that opens and closes. When GABA activates the receptor, it opens allowing chloride ions into the cell. The chloride ions work to slow down neural transmission between cells and give the body a sense of calm.
Tranquillizers work in the same way since they work with GABA receptors too. They are used to treat patients with anxiety, epilepsy and insomnia for this very reason. However, like any other drug, they have the potential to become addictive. The more you use them, the body begins to decrease the number of GABA receptors available for them to latch on to. Due to these fewer receptors, it takes a larger amount of the drug to be effective. This, of course, leads to addiction and in extreme cases, overdose. Patients who use it to treat insomnia find it almost impossible to sleep without it and it is even harder to give it up because of this. To make matters worse, despite the high risk of addiction, these drugs are still prescribed by doctors without caution.
Key lesson six: Addiction, genetics and the risks of early exposure
Some people are just more prone to addiction than others. It does not come down to personality though, but instead, it is a matter of genetics. A group of scientists conducted a study on addiction and alcoholism in identical twins. They chose identical twins as their genetic material is almost identical as well. The study found that twins are twice as likely to both be addicts or have addictive habits compared to other siblings who share less genetic material. This hints at a link between genetic material and addiction. Further studies found that children born to parents with histories of addiction are also at high risk of becoming addicts themselves. This was true even when they were raised in adoptive families from birth. This further strengthens the theory that genetics have an impact on addiction.
Another factor to consider which has a huge impact on addiction is early exposure to drugs and addiction. Children and teenagers who grow up in an environment filled with drugs are at risk of becoming addicts as well. A study conducted in 2015 also found that embryos, children and adolescents that had exposure to drugs such as THC experienced less rewarding feelings as adults even when stimulated by drugs. This implies that these individuals would need higher doses of drugs if they start using them in order to feel their effects.
Then there is the environmental factor known as the gateway effect. This refers to trying one drug leading you to others. Cannabis usage before adulthood, for example, resulted in a higher chance of drug addiction in adult life. In addition, children and teenagers have greater neuroplasticity. This refers to the brain’s ability to change and make new connections. This means that drug use in the early years leads to larger imprints in the brain making them more susceptible to drug addiction.
The key takeaway from Never Enough is:
Drugs have been around for centuries. The effects they have on us varies depending on our brain chemistry as well as our genetic make-up. However, one thing remains true – they are highly addictive because of the feelings they elicit. Drugs work to make one feel pleasure, relaxed or even numb to the outside world but once it has done its job, it leaves them feeling worse than before and thus craving more. This cycle of addiction is tough to get out of once you are stuck in it. However, knowing how it affects the brain can help in escaping its hold.
How can I implement the lessons learned in Never Enough:
Knowing how tranquillizers work is the first step in understanding its risk. We live in a world filled with anxiety and restlessness making it harder to sleep and rest. Insomnia is not as uncommon as it was before and sedatives may seem like an easy fix. However, overuse of these drugs leaves you dependent on them for sleep and at higher doses which is not healthy. Speak to your doctor about alternative methods to help you sleep and use sedatives as the last resort.
