It’s an entity with a fetish for possession. You never know when it’ll creep into your body or linger within the depths of your soul. It’ll slowly suck the life out you without any regard for your personal being. Once it leaves you, you’re in a wake of the massive slaughter caused by your hands. A terrible experience for anyone to undergo, yet it happens. Ladies and gentlemen, this fiendish entity of devastation goes by the name of addiction.
People under the influence of addiction have no control. These individuals are broken down in a slave mindset that will unfortunately led them to ruin. The addiction causes them to reach a point of no return—a loaded gun to the head with their finger on the trigger. Addiction doesn’t necessary include the gluttonous desire for the physical, but abstract matters also come into play (yes, even social media network).
In the brain, dopamine regulates all pleasure. Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that plays a key role in the brain’s system of motivation. The chance of addiction is connected to the speed of released dopamine which is fueled by any addictive substance. When a substance exits the system, sadness creeps in and the only remedy is dopamine. Dopamine is the prime culprit in the internal workings of addiction.
Dopamine isn’t only a gateway to the euphoric experience, but it’s the central for learning and memory. If a drug produces a flow of dopamine, then the brain will understand that signal as a delightful reinforcement. Each repeat of the experience triggers the brain back into nostalgia. Once the brain is strolling down memory lane, emotions, feelings, and physical actions set the body in a forward motion. Repetitive exposure to addiction causes the neural wires to mutate desires into a necessity; this motivates us to pursue pleasure to the fullest.
Sadly, if the user succumbs to possession, the lust for bliss will never subside. Normalcy is extinct, motivation doesn’t function, and life stumbles to a halt. I’ve been under the influence of addiction: an immense nightlife drenched in whiskey. There’s something about the atmosphere; it engulfed my body beyond my will. Another change of scenery included a euphoric ecstasy to take me away on cloud nine. I was granted every carnal pleasure known to man. I couldn’t get enough of the blissful intoxication. I’ve managed to control myself these days, yet I still crave to be embraced by the arms of hedonism.
In the end, addicts never win. Either bad choices are continuously made or we become brutish beasts driven by ravenous impulses. Addiction lies between freedom of choice and servile behavior. Consequences follow every action caused in life. We don’t always make the right decisions, and some of us are indecisive. Everyone isn’t a victim of “possession” nor a constant bungler of society. Acknowledgement to the underlying dualities of the human predicament sheds light on addiction. Even if we acknowledge our faults, sometimes, old habits die hard.
I’m a loose bolt of a complete machine…
Eccentric Musings of the grey matter 