It’s Only In Your Head

head”, and “You’ve just got to get your head together.” All that

time, all those people (your parents, friends, treatment professionals, etc.)

were talking about the correct general area, but thinking in terms of psychological

issues, instead of chemical issues. The brain chemistry IS

where the problem lies. Their overall understanding was far off base!

    Your addiction/disease has nothing to do with beliefs, morals or attitudes.

It is the BRAIN CHEMISTRY -the metabolic processes that are deranged,

and NOT the psychological condition in our heads. It is this lack of

understanding that prevents nearly all of us from achieving success in recovery.

    Think about it – have you read any research articles on neurotransmitters?

The reason that drugs make us feel better or normal is because of their chemical

action in the brain. Does it not make sense that the daily use of a substance

whose chamical action is in the brain would eventually change the way the brain

works? For example, lets say that for 2 years a person injected insulin every

day. Eventually the body would say, “I’ve got all this extra insulin

floating around I guess I’m making too much. Better cut back on the insulin

manufacturing.” That is what happens to your brain when you put drugs into

it daily. From some drugs we can recover and eventually the brain will return to

normal. Unfortunately, for heroin use this does not seem to be the case – the

damage is permanent for some people. For others who have been dependent on

heroin the damage is a matter of degree. They may feel fine under normal

circumstances, but should a crisis occur – whether physical as in a medical

condition, or psychological as in the death of a close friend or family member,

change/loss of job, divorce, or any life crisis – they are unable to respond

within the normal range. This eventually leads to relapse. So, does not heroin,

cocaine, alcohol or any other drug usage change a person’s BRAIN CHEMISTRY??

    Isn’t that what Drs. Vincent Dole, Marie Nyswander, and Mary Jeanne Kreek

said before and after discovering methadone maintenance treatment thirty years

ago, back in 1963?! When are we going to get it?? What the hell is “rebound

effect”, “protracted withdrawal” and relapse in general? The

first two are nothing but the fact that your brain chemistry is still expecting

extra drugs. The last one is your brain may never be normal and you just can’t

take it anymore, so you relapse. And, in fact, your brain may never have been

normal to start with, but that is for genetics and science to answer. However,

it is looking more and more like some individuals are predisposed to drug use in

general and heroin addiction in particular.

    But even all the experts who know these things, along with the self-righteous

“recovering” people, can not believe in 30 years of scientific

research, documentation, evidence and facts. Hell, addicts themselves/ourselves

do not want to admit it is really is only in our heads’! We are told and sold

all these psychological, emotional and spiritual things to do to achieve

recovery, but they have such minimal success that more of us are dead,

incarcerated or still strung out. Yet, the one thing that is missing from the

picture – the BRAIN CHEMISTRY of an addict – is rarely addressed, with

the rare exception of “quality” methadone treatment.

    Most addiction professionals’ are behaviorists and know zero about the brain

or pharmacology. They do not believe in giving a “drug” to an addict.

Because of this, they usually sabotage methadone treatment by doing it

incorrectly. The medical profession and medical treatment are the only hope that

addicts have!

    It’s so simple – if it IS “only in your head” – then you

must address the problem in the only way that will address the CHEMICALS

in your head. I know this so very well. When I detoxed from methadone, it was

the “right” thing to do afterall. So for 13 years I lived in a state

of protracted withdrawal! I never felt normal the entire 13 years — not one

day. You can’t even go to sleep and forget about it — first it’s hard to

get to sleep and even harder to stay that way. And it affected my feelings too

because I had to put up a wall of protection. I dared not feel or it I might be

overcome by my own emotions. I have learned the hard way, that denial is a

powerful thing! Until, finally I got damn tired of it and I addressed the

chemicals in my head. I will never again be “drug free” at such a

cost. THANK YOU Drs. Dole, Nyswander, Kreek, Joseph and other younger

researchers such as Payte, Zweben and others. You have given me the power of

knowing that my addiction is truly a disease. With this knowledge I have

regained the humanity that I lost as an addict. Without it I would have never

had the confidence to learn that “the power of one addict helping another

cannot be equaled”- NOT! It can be surpassed by going to the cause of the

problem! I can firmly say as a drug therapist that going to therapy and

spirituality never did a thing for me, except to side track me and waste 13

years of MY LIFE!. I denied myself my own humanity, as we all do to “stay