How addiction works
The brain releases the neurotransmitter dopamine in the nucleus accumbens when it detects pleasure such as sex, a good meal or drugs, according to HelpGuide.com. When abusing any type of drug, it causes a surge of dopamine, and the speed with which dopamine releases, as well as the reliability and intensity of the release, are directly linked to drug use turning into addiction.
HelpGuide mentions that the likeliness of addiction can also be influenced by the method of administration – injecting and smoking generally produces a dopamine signal in the brain that’s stronger and faster than if you were to swallow a pill. This is why some administrative methods increases the likelihood of drug misuse and abuse. Drugs that are addictive flood the brain’s reward system with dopamine, thus providing a shortcut.
As opposed to older research, scientists have found that the experience of pleasure is something dopamine contributes to, and it is also linked to memory and learning, something that plays a role in the difference between liking something and becoming addicted to it.
When repeated exposure to drugs or a behavior occurs, it causes the area in the brain that has a part in executing and planning tasks (the prefrontal cortex) to start communicating in such a way that liking something becomes coupled with wanting it, making us more likely to seek substances out again. The current theory of addiction states that dopamine actually interacts with a different neurotransmitter, glutamate, and they work together to take over the brain’s reward-related learning system. Substances that are addictive stimulate that same circuit to the point of overload. When the pleasure of the addictive drug fades, the memory of the effect and the need of recreation stays.
This is where compulsion takes over, and the normal functions of motivation aren’t working anymore. HelpGuide tells us that the memories of the drug in the form of associated environmental cues help to create an intense craving, and these cravings can explain why people who have developed an addiction have a risk of relapsing even after staying clean and sober for a long time.
Routines in autism
Many autistic people can fixate on special objects, routines or actions for example. The Autism-Advocacy Wiki describes a routine as something that provides predictability and a sense of security. As the reality of living as an autistic person in our world can often feel confusing, set rituals or routines can help to keep things the same and provide structure, thus reducing anxiety.
How my diagnosis influenced my addiction
As we all know, I am autistic, and I can sometimes be rattled when a routine or a plan suddenly changes. I especially don’t like big surprises or changes, and I prefer things staying the same. This is why, as I got addicted to drugs, I felt like the pills were my new safety blanket. I had my morning routine of taking pills as soon as I woke up, and I had a similar night time routine of taking them before I went to bed. Even though it felt odd in the beginning, I was quickly lulled into the false security of my little routine, and worrying every moment that something would come take the familiarity away.
As someone who didn’t get their diagnosis until their 20s, I am no stranger to feeling like an outsider or an alien among others. I spent my whole childhood and teen years thinking there was something wrong with me, only to find out that there were others like me, and there was even a name for it! But a few years later as my mental health started declining again, I started looking for something to fill that void inside of me that I couldn’t describe. I had just lost my job and I felt helpless. Drugs felt like the answer, like a quick fix.
My tendency to grasp onto anything that’s familiar and brings me comfort brought me here, to becoming an addict. Of course it can’t have been only that, but I am certain that that is one key part of why it lasted for as long as it did. I didn’t want to let go of my dear coping mechanism, my everyday routine that I cherished.
When I finally did stop doing drugs, it was like the rug had been pulled out from under me and everything felt new and scary again. It took some time to adjust to the fact that drugs no longer held space in my life, that the associated routine wasn’t something I could continue. But I did it! Nowadays, I have replaced my drug routine with going to bed at 9pm and getting up before 7am, for example. I have other things that I rely on as far as familiarity and routines go, and that feels good.
What are your experiences with routine and predictability? Do those things play a big part in your life or do you do well without them?
finding ollie 