To: the Parishioners of Mother of God Parish
From: Carol Fausz, Health and Wellness Coordinator and Tanya Stager, Education Committee Chair
Because of the current and local wide-spread use of heroin and other substances involved with addiction, we are providing you with some materials in the form of a series of bulletin inserts to assist you in preventing and solving addiction problems with family, friends and the community. Better understanding can lead to compassionate resolution of issues with loved ones.
National Institute on Drug Abuse
We know that while the initial decision to use drugs is voluntary, drug addiction is a disease of the brain that compels a person to become singularly obsessed with obtaining and abusing drugs despite their many adverse health and life consequences.
Addiction affects the brain circuits involved in reward, motivation, memory, and inhibition control. When these circuits are disrupted, so is a person’s capacity to freely choose not to use drugs, even when it means losing everything they used to value. Modern technologies of MRI and PET scans have been able to measure the effects of drugs on the brain.
Addiction is a complex disease, influenced by a multitude of highly entangled factors; biology/genes, environmental, the particular drug and brain mechanisms.
People generally take drugs to either feel better (i.e., self-medicate, or individuals who take drugs in an attempt to cope with difficult problems or situations including stress, trauma, and symptoms of mental disorders) or to feel good ( i.e., sensation seekers or anyone wanting to experiment with feeling high or different).
Why do some people become addicted to drugs and others do not? Vulnerability is a product of the interaction of a person’s biology (including their genes), environment and age. These interactions are complex and difficult to tease apart. Studies suggest that individual differences in a marker of dopamine function can influence a person’s susceptibility to continue drug use.
Studies have shown that 40 – 60 percent of the predisposition to addiction can be attributed to genetics. Taking drugs is a necessary environmental risk factor for addiction, but so are exposure to stress and peers who use drugs. Growing knowledge about the dynamic interaction of genes with environment and developmental stage confirms addiction as a complex and chronic disease of the brain with many contributions to its expression in individuals.
Mental illnesses and substance abuse often co-occur. Possible reasons include: (1) the propensity for people to self- medicate in order to relieve mental distress or illness; (2) the increased risk for mental illness brought on by drug abuse; and (3) the overlap of risk factors with both conditions.
Other environmental factors contributing to addiction include; stress, early physical or sexual abuse, witnessing violence, peers who use drugs and drug availability.
Addiction Information- 1