As his alcoholism or drug addiction progresses, he will become increasingly haggard and ill-tempered. He will be riding on a drug or alcohol induced emotional roller-coaster which may actually be mistaken for mental illness. He may seem very "up" and enthusiastic when he is high, but when the drugs wear off, he becomes depressed and lethargic. He may go into a drug-induced depression. At this point, the addict is stuck in a vicious downward spiral. He faces the problem of having to find money to buy drugs and to attempt to appear normal to his friends, family and employer. Whether he wants to stop or not, he is now trapped. By now, the drugs he abuses will have changed him both physically and mentally.

PERSONALITY CHANGES

Long-term alcoholism and drug addiction can cause one's personality to change. This is called the Biochemical Personality. Some of the characteristics are:

• Mood swings
• Unreliable. Unable to finish projects.
• Unexpressed resentment and secret hatreds.
• Dishonesty. Lies to family, friends, employers.
• Withdraws from those who love him. Isolates self.
• May appear chronically depressed.
• May begin stealing from family and friends.

Addicts cannot stop using drugs for two reasons. These are:

• Cravings caused by drug residues which remain in the body.
• The Biochemical Personality caused by drugs and the lifestyle of the addict.

BIOCHEMICAL ASPECT OF ADDICTION AND DRUG CRAVING

When a person continuously drinks or uses drugs, his body becomes supersaturated with metabolites (the chemicals the body converts the drugs or alcohol into). These metabolites, although removed rapidly from most bodily tissues, may become trapped in the fatty tissues and remain there for years.

When he tries to quit, these drug or alcohol metabolites can be released back into the bloodstream. This can trigger drug or alcohol cravings which are almost impossible to resist. It would be like trying to quit smoking while continuing to smoke 1 or 2 cigarettes per day.

Presence of these metabolites in the blood, even in microscopic amounts, cause the brain to react as if the addict were withdrawing from the drug. Receptor sites in brain cells that have adapted to large amounts of the drug metabolite are now forced to deal with having only a small amount of the drug metabolite available. The brain “requests” the addict to give it more of the drug. This is called drug craving. The only way to end this is to take more drugs or drink more, and the cycle begins all over again.

Next: Eliminating Drug Cravings (click here)