Why does a person become addicted? Is addiction only valid for drugs? Why is addiction a troublesome process?
Many plants and artificial substances that affect mental processes have been discovered throughout human history. In ancient times, people experimented and found that some plants affected mental processes. Sometimes people who find it have become addicted to these substances. These substances have always existed throughout the historical process and will continue to exist. So, what are the problematic aspects of these substances for us? Does a drug or any factor that may cause addiction create a pleasurable effect for the person using it? Yes, it creates. So why don't we all use it? Let me explain why: Imagine a reward given to you that gives you tens, hundreds, thousands of times more pleasure and satisfaction than the activity you enjoy most in your life, the person you love the most, or the best memories of your life. So what do you do when you don't get this award again? Everything to get it again... So what do you do when you constantly receive this reward and become immune to this situation and it no longer gives you as much pleasure as before? From now on, there will be no substance, no person, no way of life that can give you pleasure. What will you do when none of your friends, family, loved ones, or those you care about can replace such a powerful pleasure mechanism? You will remove them from your life. And now your whole life will be this reward, that is, the substance, of which you will have to gradually increase the dose.
Addictive substances act through the chemical 'Dopamine', which is a kind of reward system in the brain. Any pleasurable situation in human life (receiving a gift, being loved, receiving attention, falling in love, etc.) causes the neurotransmitter 'Dopamine' to increase in the brain. Thus, the reward system is activated and the enjoyment, pleasure and pleasure systems work. All kinds of drugs, natural or chemical, increase the amount of 'Dopamine' in the brain to a level much higher than normal levels. Since no good event in our lives can provide such a 'Dopamine' increase, the addict will no longer be able to enjoy any life event as much as before and will only live his life with drugs. It will live in the focus of matter. So, would a person whose life is all right and who has no problems turn to such a substance? The answer to this question is; There are no problem-free people in life, but people who are missing some of the basic building blocks of life may turn to such substances. If a drug activates the reward and pleasure system in the brain, then the person who needs it must be missing situations that will provide such pleasure in his life, so that he will turn to substance use. People who did not have a good childhood, who were not taught the feelings of love and compassion, who could not experience a sufficient feeling of satisfaction, who had emotions far below the attention they needed, and who could not fill their EGO circle sufficiently, can easily turn to such substances.
Addiction psychology is not just about addiction psychology. It does not apply to alcohol, cigarettes or drugs. Addiction can also develop towards another person or object. Such situations create effects similar to drugs, and in the absence of that person or object, symptoms occur just like substance withdrawal. For example, suffering from long-term love pain could be an example of such a situation. Relationships involving physical or psychological violence, where there is no love or respect, may be another example of this situation.
So what should be done in the treatment of addiction? The first and most important step of this treatment is to completely remove the addictive situation and all the factors that remind us of this situation from our lives. Addiction treatment lasts a lifetime. I'm not talking about taking medication for a lifetime. I'm talking about a lifetime of psychological struggle. I'm talking about getting all the support and help needed in this struggle. Yes, it is a difficult process, but no struggle to quit is harder than using the substance and struggling with its effects. There is an easier and more effective way to combat drug abuse than treating it. That is, developing methods to prevent drug use. What I mean by preventing is not to ban, but to raise awareness of the society and each individual, to improve education levels, to create a society based on love and respect, and to reach a healthy level of social psychology.
The fight against drugs is also an individual fight. Rather, a social struggle occupies a more important place. For a more beautiful and healthy future, we must move forward together, hand in hand, with love and respect. The path to the future of our existence passes first through our personal happiness and then through our social happiness.
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