Many people don't know why or how some people get hooked on drugs. They might think that people who use drugs don't have any morals or willpower and that they could just stop if they wanted to. In reality, drug addiction is a complicated disease, and most people need more than just good intentions or a strong will to stop using. The way drugs change the brain makes it hard to stop, even for people who want to. Researchers now know more than ever before about how drugs affect the brain, and they have found ways to help people who are addicted to drugs get better and live productive lives.
Addiction is a long-term disease that makes it hard to stop looking for and using drugs, even though they are bad for you. Most people choose to try drugs for the first time on their own, but repeated drug use can cause changes in the brain that make it hard to control oneself and hard to resist strong urges to use drugs. Because these brain changes can last for a long time, drug addiction is called a "relapsing" disease. This means that people in recovery from drug use disorders are more likely to use drugs again, even after years of not doing so.
People often relapse, but that doesn't mean that their treatment didn't work. As with other long-term health problems, treatment should continue and be changed depending on how the patient responds. Treatment plans need to be looked at often and changed to meet the changing needs of the patient.
When a person takes drugs, what happens to their brain?