Can You Retrain the Brain After Addiction?
Guest post by Dr. Harshi Dhingra
Pathologist, Assistant professor, Pathology | Adesh institute of medical sciences and research, Bathinda
Addiction is not just a physical problem but an emotional challenge that can seriously impact your life and development. It literally reprograms your brain and makes it feel nearly impossible to overcome. Thankfully, that doesn't have to be the case if you understand how to retrain your brain.
How Addiction Affects the Brain
Substance abuse will inevitably change the way that your brain operates. That's because it changes the chemistry in your mind and causes changes in how it works. This process is a multi-faceted one and impacts even people who try a few drugs:
The Production of the High – When you get high, your brain is forced to release artificially high levels of dopamine. This release can acclimate your brain to this higher level and make life without drugs seem duller or less happy. But, unfortunately, your brain may also release fewer endorphin chemicals without drugs.
A Decrease in Potency – You probably noticed that you get less of a higher and a shorter one the longer you use drugs. That's because your brain is retrained to tolerate higher doses, meaning you have to increase your levels (and increase your addiction) to get the same types of effects.
The Rewarding of Adverse Patterns of Behavior – As you abuse drugs and experience higher highs, your brain becomes reprogrammed. It starts recognizing negative patterns of behavior as rewarding. As a result, it unconsciously triggers more elevated rates of substance abuse.
A Loss of Self-Control – People who abuse substances often claim that they can’t control their actions. This perception is accurate to an extent. While they are still accountable for their behaviors, their brain pushes them harder towards frequent drug abuse.
This type of reprogramming can be hard to fight. Some people argue that addiction trains the brain in such a way that retraining is impossible. But is that the case? Let's take a look at two different arguments to get an idea of what is possible in this situation.
Brains Can't Be Retrained?
Brain plasticity is the measurement of how easy it is for your mind to adapt to new situations. Plasticity is at its peak when you're about 5-8 years old and rapidly decreases as you age. By the time you reach your 20s, it’s nowhere near what it was when you were a teen. Unfortunately, this may make retraining very difficult.
Some even argue that retraining at this point is impossible, particularly when your brain is affected by addiction. The unconscious mind has been crafted to suit specific situations and react in particular ways. As a result, adaptation can feel nearly impossible for many people, making addiction tough to fight.
That said, it is unfair to say that the brain cannot be retrained at all. Even older adults learn hobbies like painting, music, and much more. And while addiction is more complex than learning how to play guitar, you can still retrain your brain if you take the time and energy to learn how to do it.
Brains CAN Be Retrained
While retraining your brain after addiction is challenging due to decreased brain plasticity, you can retrain yourself given enough time. These steps require you to pay close attention to your behaviors and your thoughts and to condition yourself to avoid them. A few ways you can take this approach include:
Work Towards Personal Awareness – Pay attention to your thoughts as they happen and try to understand where they originate. If they are negative, correct them with positive statements. Your brain plasticity may slow down your retraining, but consistency minimizes any confusion.
Understand Your Triggers – Your drug addiction operates on a pattern that is unique to you. Your triggers initiate this pattern. Learning to avoid your triggers can retrain your brain. For example, if boredom pushes you towards regular drug abuse, find a way to keep yourself engaged.
Stay Consistent – The most challenging part about retraining your brain is staying consistent. It is only through repeated and constant retraining that you can improve your mental health and fight drug addiction. You may also need a specialist or friend who can keep you engaged with this process.
Know What You Want – The brain needs direction during retraining and an understanding of what you want. Fighting for your sobriety gives you the kind of insight that you need to stay focused and happy within your recovery effort.
These steps seem simple on the surface but can be challenging to execute correctly. You may find yourself falling away from these steps or even relapsing. Even a relapse, however, can be a powerful learning tool for retraining. Use every resource available to keep your drug addiction at bay.
Help is Available for You
Retraining your brain after addiction isn’t going to be easy. You need to work constantly at keeping yourself engaged with your growth and must recognize and actively fight negative thoughts. The mind is a very stubborn and tricky beast to battle as we age. Thankfully, it’s still possible to get help if you fully understand the different suggestions for your needs.
Just as importantly, you need to take the time to work with professionals who fully understand your needs and your emotional situation. These experts will guide you through this period, teaching you various coping mechanisms, recognizing signs of relapse, and ensure that you stay focused on the path towards recovery. While challenging, you can retrain your brain and stay sober for good.
Sources:
addiction.surgeongeneral.gov – The Neurobiology of Substance Use, Misuse, and Addiction
teens.drugabuse.gov – Brain and Addiction
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – The Aging Mind: Neuroplasticity in Response to Cognitive Training
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – The Social Brain: Neural Basis of Social Knowledge
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – Brain Plasticity and Behavior in the Developing Brain
pubmed.ncbi.nih.gov – Retraining the Addicted Brain
newsinhealth.nih.gov – Biology of Addiction
drugabuse.gov – How Science Has Revolutionized the Understanding of Drug Addiction
sunshinebehavioralhealth.com - 90 Day Rehab Programs