As Russell Brand once famously wrote, the solution for addiction is simple, but prohibitively difficult: “Don’t pick up a drink or drug, one day at a time.” But this isn’t a cure—the need to consume the drug never fully goes away.
And as it turns out, asking when we will cure addiction is a bit of a loaded question, because as of now many experts wonder if it can even be cured. Addiction—like other mental health diseases—involves such a complicated array of factors that one sole cure will probably never help every single person who is struggling.
Addiction can happen easily and can last eternally, especially in those genetically (or epigenetically) predisposed towards it because it involves an everyday brain process. We humans have evolved a clever way to make sure we survive: by making the things necessary for the species’ continuation (e.g. food, sex) feel good. Experiencing these things releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that evokes the feeling of pleasure.
Next, memories of the experience are recorded, so that when the cues present in the memory come up again in the future (like the scent of bacon), your brain can remind you that that thing feels good, and can encourage you to pursue it.
In the case of drugs, this brain pathway is hijacked, so that something you don’t need to survive like cocaine starts to feel like something you can’t live without. Drugs make you feel good, and your brain continually and powerfully reminds you of this until you get your fix—often at any means necessary.
Even in the case of those who are clean, the need is often a daily struggle, and the brain is quick to give back in to the disease—like in the case of Macklemore, who relapsed in 2011 after being prescribed cough syrup for an illness.
First we have to remove the triggers
Compounding the issue is the fact that even menial things can remind recovered addicts of what they are no longer taking. Being around people or places or even seeing things associated with drug culture can remind them of using.
And even if there was a cure for this hijacked pathway (or even for the genes), this is entirely ignoring other major causes of addiction—environmental and emotional strain. Sadness, depression, fear, anger, stress, and any sort of pain will drive those suffering to seek relief, and drugs are a potent form of self-medication.
The most famous example of this was a psychology experiment published in 1980 involving rats. Some were in solitary confinement, while others were in a beautiful living space with other rats to play with. All the rats were given access to drugs, but the isolated rats consumed much more of the drugs than the rats in the better, more stimulating environment.
So if we were to fully cure addiction—as in, make it easily treatable so that all signs and symptoms of addiction stop when the drugs consumption does—we would have to first fix the multiple root causes (environment and the need to resolve pain, genetics, and epigenetics) and then tackle the pathways, memories, and behaviors that continue the addiction. Until we can discover a way to do all of these things, addiction will be a disease that cannot be cured.
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Feature Image: Thinkstock
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