Breaking The Cycle: Substance Abuse And The Effects On Family
Written by Crystal Yeager
Families struggle through many different hardships including substance abuse, homelessness, and mental health concerns. Usually, if left untreated, this will then begin a cycle and be passed on as a struggle for the next generation. Addiction and substance abuse dependency are contributors to family disfunction. Substance abuse is usually brought on by some sort of trigger or negative experience in one’s life. Then, this becomes a dependency, and is seen by the younger generations in the home. Those children may grow up and have the same issues or struggles with substance abuse, because it is what they grew up with and may see it as normal life.
Getting a person to see that their struggles with substance abuse is not as easy as just telling them to stop these behaviors. A person needs to want to change their behaviors in order for their healing and recovery to begin. They will need to continue to choose sobriety over substance every day.
Substance abuse has various effects on the human brain including the over production of dopamine. Dopamine is produced naturally by the body and is what promotes happiness in a person. “Dopamine plays a role in our survival instincts, such as eating, as well as activities that bring pleasure to the body naturally. However, when an addictive substance, like a drug or alcohol, stimulates dopamine artificially, the brain prompts individuals to more frequently engage in addictive behaviors. This is because, once dopamine has been stimulated by artificial factors, the brain keeps asking for more, leading to continued substance use. Current research has indicated that the effects of dopamine from drugs are much more exhilarating than the dopamine produced naturally” (Boardwalk, 2023).
Seeking substance abuse addiction treatment is a healthy and productive way to stop this cycle of addiction and show the younger generation that there is a healthy and successful path forward, that does not involve having a dependency on substance abuse.
Reference: