Dual Diagnosis Treatment Center in Kent
Points to Recall: Addiction to drugs is a chronic condition characterised by obsessive drug seeking and usage despite negative effects.
Changes in the brain that result from chronic drug abuse compromise a person's self-control and impair their capacity to withstand acute drug cravings. This is why drug addiction is also a condition characterised by relapse.
Relapse is the return to drug usage following an abstinence effort. Relapse signifies the need for more or alternative treatment.
The majority of medications influence the brain's reward circuit by flooding it with dopamine. Dopamine surges in the reward circuit result in the reinforcement of enjoyable but harmful behaviours, leading to the repetition of the behaviour.