Addiction Education
Learn More About Substance Use And Addiction
Substance use and addiction are different but often linked. Addiction is a disease with a chemical dependency that affects nearly every part of a person’s life, while substance use may not involve clinical addiction. Recognizing the difference helps in supporting those struggling.
Signs and Symptoms of Substance Use
Recognizing early signs of substance abuse is essential for intervention:
Signs and Symptoms of Addiction
Answering “yes” to the following questions may indicate addiction
Understanding The Difference Between Substance Use And Addiction
The main difference between substance use and addiction is that addiction is a disease that hurts nearly every area of a person’s life.
A person struggling with addiction can often make tragic choices that continue to endanger themselves, their families, and other loved ones. It’s important to understand that someone with an addiction has a chemical dependency that keeps them from changing their behavior on their own.
How Substance Use Affects the Brain
Some drugs are more addictive than others because they alter the way neurons in the brain function, particularly in areas tied to pleasure. Scientific brain imaging shows that drug abuse impacts memory, judgment, decision-making, and perception of pleasure. Over time, the brain begins to see the drug as a primary source of pleasure, leading individuals to engage in risky behavior to obtain it.
As drug use progresses, activities that once brought enjoyment no longer create the same feelings, while the drug itself becomes the brain’s focus. Drugs also affect judgment and decision-making, which can lead to increasingly reckless behavior. These brain changes help explain why drug abusers often take greater risks as their addiction deepens.
The Brain Reward System
Addictive substances hijack the brain’s natural reward system, which is designed to reinforce beneficial behaviors for survival. When we drink water or eat when hungry, the brain rewards us with feelings of pleasure to encourage these actions. However, drugs overstimulate this system, creating far stronger feelings of pleasure for harmful behaviors.
Repeated activation of the brain reward system with drugs can lead to addiction. As the brain begins associating the substance with survival, the individual becomes more driven to seek the drug, often at the expense of healthy behaviors and sound decision-making.
