Chemical Dependency Concept

Chemical dependency also known as physiological or physical dependence is a strong necessity of continuous using some chemical substance despite of being conscious that there are negative consequences. Such a chemical dependence has its origins in changes in organisms physiology and biochemistry. It's related to creating a new state in organism – state which is far from organism's equilibrium called homeostasis. Tolerance mechanisms, described in previous article, play a crucial role and withdrawal is characteristic for chemical dependency.

Chemical dependency occurs rarer than general addiction

Most of addiction cases deals with psychological addiction. Probably it's not possible to be in chemical dependency state without being psychologically addicted. Reverse situation is common, however. A lot of people are psychologically addicted but not chemically or physiologically (or physically) dependent. That is because a lot of substances – for example caffeine – are not physiologically addictive and do not build chemical dependency state. List of addictive substances is not as long as it's used to be thought. The most important substances causing chemical dependency are:

• nicotine → tobacco smoking,
• ethanol → alcoholism, and other depressants / sedatives,
• opiates and opioids,
• stimulants.

From medical and scientific point of view substances like caffeine, LSD, THC or other psychoactive substances do not lead to chemical dependency, though abuse may readily lead to psychological addiction and also cause serious health and mental problems. Researchers opinions about amphetamine is still not clear and we can't say if overusing give rise to physiological dependence.

Withdrawal syndrome

Let's think. One's substance abuse becames addiction and tolerance mechanism had been built. So what would happen when he abruptly stop intake substance? We can say that tolerance means your organism expect nicotine, alcohol, etc. to be introduced. And tolerance does not disappear at once. Hence sudden abstinence may be big shock for one's body. Usually much bigger than first dose ever.

Chemical dependency causes that when somebody (who's physiologically dependent from something) suddenly stops using substance, his or her organism experience shock because of lack of chemical substance which was used to be delivered to body regularly. Those symptoms, feelings and experiences may be both physiological (physical) and psychological and always are hard to harness. Most typical symptoms are: pain, dysentery, vomiting, insomnia, uncontrolled tremors, tics, nausea, faster heart beating, and from the psychological point of view depression and fears.

Withdrawal symptoms are developed parallel to tolerance mechanism. It is a system of signs or symptoms which are characteristic for a given abuse or addiction. They are of course very painful and obviously withdrawal symptoms are one of key reasons because of which a lot of people give up during quitting abuse. That is why a lot of abuse treatment and addiction treatment is so hard for patients and requires a lot of internal strength and strong will from them to be accomplished successfully. Generally speaking because of that withdrawal symptoms are connected with physiological tolerance mechanism, they refer only to physiological addictions and chemical dependency. However, term 'withdrawal' is used widely and I follow it.

Withdrawal as a mirror of getting heigh

Interestingly, some of the withdrawal sympoms and signs are the opposite to effects of using. Mechanism of action and chemical dependency engage some specific elements of body and its physiology, e.g. receptors in brain. Characteristic action of molecules on those body elements causes effects of use, for example complex feelings, the so-called 'getting high'. However, chemical dependency state and tolerance are responsible for withdrawal effects that abuser or addicted person have to meet one day. Those symptoms are reverse to effects of use. For example if substance abuse leads to elevated mood – withdrawal will lead to depression; when substance abuse leads to alleviating fatigue – withdrawal will lead to increased fatigue and tiredness, and so on. We can try to explain this by assuming that organism easily recognises lack of activity of substance abused and creates the opposite state. By simplification: it's like binary system, where 1 is presence of abused substance and body is in state 1 (e.g. energy increase, dilated pupils) and 0 is absence of abused substance and body state 2 (e.g. weakness and apathy, constricted pupils).

Detox and psychotherapy

Chemical dependency treatment relies mainly on detoxification (detox) while psychological treatment requires psychotherapy. Additional chemicals / medicaments are also often used. However, as addiction treatment practice shows one's potential to chemical dependency depends on many individual factors and vary among people. Chemical dependency and addiction is a complex matter and treatment must be well-fitted to a particular patient.

Complex addiction treatment & recovery is hard, but...

Recovery is a life-long process. As chemical dependency and psychological desire taken at the same time – addiction treatment is sometimes incorrectly thought to be rather easy. According to nowadays medicine knowledge addiction treatment centers usually make use of detoxification (detox) but in most cases detox is not enough; it's just an elementary particle, a foundation of recovery complex architecture laid by doctors.

Some addiction treatment counselors say, that addiction cannot be cured – someone who's addicted to alcohol will be an alcoholic forever, and this simple rule is concerned to all hard addictions. Disease can be softened but never removed completely. That is because the aim is to treat addiction completely – it requires both chemical dependency treatment and therapy on psychological aspects of addiction. Counselors claim, that it can be hard because what we need is not only adequate medical help, but also appropriate psychological treatment, strong will and general psychical strength of treated one. Only under certain conditions treatment and rehab finally finished by long-term success can happen.

Very often patient's standing on his own feet during treatment is associated with making personal and lifestyle changes. Some people who was given help from treatment centers and counselors say, that addiction turns their life upside down and so does treatment and rehab.

...chemical dependency itself is rather easy to treat

Chemical dependency is a state of body which is far from equilibrium called homeostasis. Medicals claim, that chemical dependency treatment is easier than in the case of psychological addiction. This is true because appropriate treatment and rehab includes using of some prescribed medicaments. It storngly helps in recovery and coming back to homeostasis. On the other hand psychological therapy does not offer such support. (tu jest niescislosc do opisania – jest pomoc farmakologiczna przy leczeniu uzaleznienia psychicznego) Generally speaking, more efforts are made on addict's psychology than physiological (physical) chemical dependency.