Psychological Addiction
Psychological addiction is what most of people experience when they abuse nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, drugs or other substances. This is a state of mind which makes one think that he want and need to use substance, though he may know about negative effects on health, social or financial situation etc. Generally speaking psychological addiction occurs when one's mind got used to some activity. It can be any activity which is unhealthy or harmful – psychological addiction refers not only to chemical substances. There's a lot of other addictions like gambling, computer and internet addiction, sex, work and other.
Psychological addiction – step after abuse
Desire is a power that makes people use harmful substances. And the source of desire is – in many cases – pleasure experienced during the first stage of substance abuse. Abusers and psychologically addicted people can do a lot of things, like stealing to get what they want and need. Psychological addiction is step after abuse, when trying substance is no longer just for fun, but becomes a habit one cannot harness. There's a lot of psychological addictions which are to some degree acceptable by the society, for example tobacco smoking. However, all addictions – those accepted and those really hard ones – are harmful both for mental and for physical health of an addicted person. In many cases it requires addiction treatment and rehab in professional centers. Psychological addiction is defined as mental disorder in medical and psychological terms.
Brain's reward system
Psychological dependency is believed to be strongly associated with the dopaminergic system of the brain's reward system and 'Nucleus accumbens' (mentioned before in the first article, 'Substance abuse basics'). The so-called reward system is a complex system of brain parts playing great role in our experiencing of pleasure. Chemical substance responsible for appropriate work of reward system is an neurotransmitter called dopamine – a simple organic molecule composed of twenty two atoms.
A rush of... dopamine to the head
When dopamine synthesized by our brain is released – we experience euphoria and happiness. The problem is that a lot of addictive substances and activities influence dopaminergic system, enhances production within it and cause dopamine concentration increase in brain. What I say – 'enhances production'... It's real flood of dopamine! It's pure pleasure – we like pleasure. And it's source of addiction.
Brain's reward system and dopamine role in psychological addiction mechanism does not only refers to substance abuse but all activities and desires are under concern. That's why there's such a huge variety of addictions – not only chemical substances are addictive. You can also be psychologically addicted to hazard, internet, work, food etc...
Pleasure memory and promise
Let's come closer to this mechanism. One ingest a substance which is abused. Nicotine, for example (see 'Nicotine addiction foreword'). He fulfills a desire and in consequence dopamine molecules are released inside brain and feel free – it's what we have called a rush of dopamine to the head. Neurotransmitter molecules travel through accessible space and meet special receptors. Dopamine seats on those receptors because of that dopamine molecule's shape fits to the receptor's shape (like key and lock). Receptors that catch dopamine create a pleasure signal to the brain. Because of the dopamine-reward our brain is saving in its 'memory' all of actions producing dopamine. In other words: brain remembers activities and things making us to feel pleasure. We'd like to do it again.
Psychological addiction pitfall in brain
And here comes the pitfall. When you abuse substance your brain gets use to this very easy and fast method for dopamine production. Hence it's natural ability to do this is smothered and all looks like only this chemical substance you abuse can influence reward system. That's why your brain becomes addicted and these are origins of psychological addiction.
Dopamine and variety of addictions
Probably all drugs of abuse affect the dopaminergic system. It may be carried directly or indirectly but there are some scientific evidences that dopamine mechanism is involved in all abuses and addictions. It is amazing because we should take into consideration the fact, that there are different classes of chemical substances of abuse and they act in our bodies in completly diverse ways.
