How to Break the Addiction Cycle

For example, some individuals require prescription drugs to manage pain. Opioid painkillers can be highly addictive, making it easier for an individual to become dependent on opioids more quickly than some other substances. Eventually, from internal turmoil and conflict or through outside interventions, a person can try to stop the addiction cycle and enter a healthier lifestyle called recovery. It may take months, years or decades before this process leads one to the path of recovery.

The initial use of substances is often the start of a cycle that is hard to break. Addiction is a chronic disease, and while it affects everyone differently, the stages it takes to get there aren’t. At the sign of substance abuse, it’s important to try and get help for yourself or a loved one. While the first step is challenging and stressful, treatment is necessary for any chance of recovery.

Breaking the Cycle of Addiction by Changing Past Behaviors

It then also causes the body to crave the substance when that level of comfort decreases. When you try to stop using the substance your brain sends mixed signals that create confusing physical and mental feelings. The brain’s reward circuit is a major player in even the most basic neurobiological models for the function of addiction. Drugs and alcohol, as well as other mind-altering substances, increase the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter.

Detoxing can be very dangerous and without proper medical care can even be deadly. This is particularly common for teenagers or young adults when it comes to alcohol. Legally-obtained substances, such as alcohol and prescription medications are some of the most commonly used and abused substances that lead to addiction. Just because cycle of addiction you can acquire something legally, doesn’t mean that you can’t become addicted to it. Moreover, recognizing this cycle can also be a useful relapse prevention tool. By identifying the phases of addiction, it becomes possible to recognize the pattern and work toward a lifestyle that exists beyond the stages of addiction.

Family Therapy

Maintenance can also become difficult when the stress of life catches up with you and the old, familiar ways of coping—the addictive behavior—re-surface. This is why it is important to learn new ways of coping with stress during the action stage so that alternative strategies will be available to you during the maintenance stage. The maintenance stage of the transtheoretical model of change is concerned with continuing to achieve the progress that began in the action stage. For people with addictions, this means upholding the intentions made during the preparation stage and the behaviors introduced in the action stage.

There is a multitude of theories and speculations surrounding the condition, but up until today, there is no one solid lead as to what causes addiction. Fortunately,  https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-to-recognize-the-warning-signs-and-symptoms/ you are not alone if you or someone you know is suffering from addiction. There are ways to treat the disease and get your life back on track.

Is Addiction Hereditary?

Ultimately, what’s fueling the cycle of addiction is the urge to suppress or shut down those unpleasant emotions or thoughts before or when they arise. Breaking free from the cycle of addiction is much easier when you have help. With the help of your friends, family, and addiction treatment center, recovery is within reach. Please reach out to us at Breathe Life Healing Centers; we will help you get to where you want to be. Some people enjoy the perceived relaxation that comes with using drugs or alcohol. Experimenting may lead them to use occasionally to alleviate stress or wind down at the end of a long workday.

In this case, the temporary relief the substance brings from the negative feelings negatively reinforces substance use, increasing the likelihood that the person will use again. Importantly, positive and negative reinforcement need not be driven solely by the effects of the drugs. Many other environmental and social stimuli can reinforce a behavior. For example, the approval of peers positively reinforces substance use for some people.