1. Making Sense of Addiction Behaviors Larry Tyler, M.Ed., LADC, CCS

2. What makes us tick: The brain attempts to keep the body in balance
(homeostasis)
The brain is elastic and resilient… but only to a point
The brain reacts quickly…but counter-reacts slowly
afterward
The limbic system “flags” outside stimuli, labels
emotions and stores memories
The brain releases neurotransmitters (epinephrine,
dopamine, endorphins, etc.) to flag events
The prefrontal cortex produces conscious thoughts;
planning, contemplating, deciding
The limbic system recognizes outside stimuli before
the prefrontal cortex does

3. We react quickly…and calm down slowly
Traumatic Event: High Arousal (sympathetic nervous system)
Is followed by Low Arousal (parasympathetic nervous system)
We react quickly…and calm down slowly

4. What we call pleasure, and rightly so, is the absence of all pain.
-Cicero
Pleasure is never as pleasant as we expected it to be and pain is always more painful. The pain in the world always outweighs the pleasure. If you don't believe it, compare the respective feelings of two animals, one of which is eating the other.
-Schopenhauer

5. What is happiness?
The hedonic set point is the threshold at which the brain
recognizes pleasure and reacts to it
Dopamine: The “reward neurotransmitter” (“That feels
good, better than I expected…I’ll do it again.”)
Dopamine depletion: A subnormal release of dopamine
(This feels horrible…How can I stop this from happening
to me?”)

6. What is happiness? The brain’s basic function: Homeostasis
Dopamine is our reward for enjoyable experiences
Pleasure is meant to be brief
We all try to extend pleasure
THE HEDONIC SET POINT
(The level at which we are aware of pleasure)

7. Why won’t the brain just let us be happy all the time???
The Brain Flags Pleasurable Experiences So We Will Remember Them And Return To Them…
But It Doesn’t Intend Pleasure To Be Permanent

8. The Brain Cannot Tolerate Chaos
Homeostasis requires balance, order, consistency
When the brain can’t makes sense of something, it
confabulates
It struggles to make the illogical logical
Every time we recall an event, we bring forth the
memory, and return it to the hippocampus altered
Our values are important to us. When we breach our
values, we struggle to justify our behavior
WHAT
WHAT DOES THIS THIS SAY?

9. Relapse (All triggered by the limbic system)
How does the limbic system handle the “invasion” of drugs into our body?
Tolerance
Craving
Withdrawal
Relapse (All triggered by the limbic system)
What do drugs teach us?
Greed
Instant gratification
Subservience (You’ll be punished if caught)
Hopelessness
Treatment is deliberately designed to counter the lessons taught by drugs
Positive social interaction
Delayed gratification
Thoughtfulness and constructive planning
Hope

10. Replacing Dopamine as a teacher
Counteracting these antisocial traits and behaviors:
Manipulation
Lying
Irresponsibility
Lack of empathy
Burying shame
Blaming

11. Treatment attempts to reverse everything the brain learned in addiction:
Reactivate the prefrontal cortex
Learn/re-learn coping skills
Become a social animal
Develop self respect

12. The Challenges of Recovery
Early Recovery
Post-acute Withdrawal Syndrome
Revolt of the Limbic System
Everything you know and do has to change
The speed of positive results is going to slow way down
The road back to everything that is “familiar and
comfortable” (i.e., relapse) is quick and easy.
Physical Withdrawal is Acute…
Psychological Effects are Prolonged