Friday, July 19, 2013
In The End...
After researching addiction and some of the ways it affects the mind and body, I have concluded that there is a lot to learn on this topic and I am not very good at uncovering information. Seriously though, I have learned that there is no conclusive evidence, that I have found, to back up the "addictive personality" theory, although, addiction may, in fact, be hereditary. I have also learned that a person's gender and hormones may have a lot more to do with addiction than I previously realized. Despite the fact that I have neglected to uncover any real evidence that there is a such thing as an "addictive personality", I still believe that some people are more prone to addiction and have a harder time overcoming it than other people. I suppose this is actually supported by genetics and I think that having a genetic makeup with addiction may be similar, if not the same as having an "addictive personality", as I feel these people are more prone to being addicts. I am very intrigued by the link I found between gender and hormones and addiction. This was an angle that I never considered before. I would still like to do more research on this and see if there is more I can find out about this. I would also like to do more research on the recovery aspect of addiction. I am interested to know how gender and hormones affect this and overall success rates. I wonder if there is any research in this area? The genetic issue still weighs a lot on my mind. How does someone's genes affect their chances at recovery? I feel like it is probably quite a bit harder for someone that comes from line of addiction to overcome that. As far as I know, there is no "addiction gene" in my family and I feel I have been quite successful. I have overcome a drug addiction and also a nicotine addiction. My husband on the other hand, seems to have a strong "addiction gene" in his family and has been very unsuccessful at kicking any of his addictions. As far as this blog assignment has gone, I wish I had included a little more personal insight in my blog. Anyhow, I look forward to looking more into these questions and having (hopefully) more conclusive research by the next assignment!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
I Am A Woman and I Am An Addict...
In my last post, I explored addiction and genes and stumbled across gender differences and cocaine use. I was really intrigued be the gender angle, so I decided to explore it some more. In my last post, I discovered, that Men tend to feel the euphoric effects of inhaled cocaine more immediately than women most likely due to the fact that women tend to absorb inhaled cocaine more slowly than men. While I wasn't able to find anything else on this particular topic, I did find some other things in relation to gender difference and addiction.
According to an Sex Differences in Drug Abuse, a study manuscript on the NCBI website written by Jill B. Becker and Ming Hu gender differences are present for all stages of drug abuse. Currently, drug abuse rates are lower among men than they are among women, but they are on the rise. Men are 2 to 3 times more likely to have substance abuse problems, but women tend to increase their rate of consumption more quickly than men do. Once addicted, women find it more difficult than men do to quit. Apparently, this holds true across the board for illicit drugs, alcohol and nicotine. The study states that women escalate use more rapidly, become addicted quicker and tend to seek treatment earlier than their male counterparts due. This makes me wonder if this is connected to the hormone difference that I read about previously. Maybe women absorb more slowly in general and this is why their use escalates more quickly? I also explored the hormone angle, but more on that later.
On University of Virginia website, I found an article by Melissa Maki, Examining Gender-based Differences In Addiction. This article says that woman are more vulnerable to the rewards of the drug, meaning they are more likely to become addicted once they use the drug. This vulnerability is linked to hormones, mainly estrogen, which increases the rewarding effects of the drug. Ironically, this is the same hormone that in my last post was linked to the slowing of the absorption of inhaled cocaine due to it's control of nasal mucus thickness. Hmmmmmmm....
Now, back to the first source, according to this study, the subjective effects of stimulants vary across a woman's menstrual cycle. Several of the positive effects (i.e. euphoria, desire, increased energy) are more potent at the follicular (when estrogen levels are low at first and rise slowly; progesterone levels are low) stage relative to the luteal (when estrogen levels are moderate and progesterone levels are high) phase. Everything else I read basically supports this theory.
I feel like there is a lot of information out there, but I feel that it all mostly says the same thing. I feel like I have so many more questions after i read some of the material I find, than I did before I read it. I also wonder if any of these scientists or doctors or researchers read any of this other information out there. I think that they would, but it seems counterproductive to keep researching the same thing that has been researched already a million times over. I feel like, at some point, somebody has to read this stuff and have similar thoughts and questions that I do and want to go a different direction. I feel like I am getting more and more frustrated with this because I feel like i'm going in circles. Maybe I am going about it all wrong? Before the next, final post, I am going to have to sit down and try to make sense of all of this and see if it gets me anywhere.
According to an Sex Differences in Drug Abuse, a study manuscript on the NCBI website written by Jill B. Becker and Ming Hu gender differences are present for all stages of drug abuse. Currently, drug abuse rates are lower among men than they are among women, but they are on the rise. Men are 2 to 3 times more likely to have substance abuse problems, but women tend to increase their rate of consumption more quickly than men do. Once addicted, women find it more difficult than men do to quit. Apparently, this holds true across the board for illicit drugs, alcohol and nicotine. The study states that women escalate use more rapidly, become addicted quicker and tend to seek treatment earlier than their male counterparts due. This makes me wonder if this is connected to the hormone difference that I read about previously. Maybe women absorb more slowly in general and this is why their use escalates more quickly? I also explored the hormone angle, but more on that later.
On University of Virginia website, I found an article by Melissa Maki, Examining Gender-based Differences In Addiction. This article says that woman are more vulnerable to the rewards of the drug, meaning they are more likely to become addicted once they use the drug. This vulnerability is linked to hormones, mainly estrogen, which increases the rewarding effects of the drug. Ironically, this is the same hormone that in my last post was linked to the slowing of the absorption of inhaled cocaine due to it's control of nasal mucus thickness. Hmmmmmmm....
Now, back to the first source, according to this study, the subjective effects of stimulants vary across a woman's menstrual cycle. Several of the positive effects (i.e. euphoria, desire, increased energy) are more potent at the follicular (when estrogen levels are low at first and rise slowly; progesterone levels are low) stage relative to the luteal (when estrogen levels are moderate and progesterone levels are high) phase. Everything else I read basically supports this theory.
I feel like there is a lot of information out there, but I feel that it all mostly says the same thing. I feel like I have so many more questions after i read some of the material I find, than I did before I read it. I also wonder if any of these scientists or doctors or researchers read any of this other information out there. I think that they would, but it seems counterproductive to keep researching the same thing that has been researched already a million times over. I feel like, at some point, somebody has to read this stuff and have similar thoughts and questions that I do and want to go a different direction. I feel like I am getting more and more frustrated with this because I feel like i'm going in circles. Maybe I am going about it all wrong? Before the next, final post, I am going to have to sit down and try to make sense of all of this and see if it gets me anywhere.
Friday, July 12, 2013
On The Road..
SO, what causes someone to become addicted to drugs? Is it bad genes? Is it an Addictive Personality disorder? What is it really? According to an article written by Erik Goldman, that I found searching the Westminster Library online database, titled Response, Addiction to Cocaine Hinge on Gender, gender may play a huge role. Goldman states that men and women respond very differently to cocaine and he says that these differences have important clinical implications. When men and women inhale the same amount of the substance, men tend to absorb the cocaine faster and experience a more immediate euphoric response than women. Goldman says that these gender differences are largely influenced by sex hormones. Estrogen controls nasal mucus thickness, which plays a part in decreasing the absorbency levels in women. Men are also more sensitive to the brain damaging effects of cocaine. Also interesting, women generally become drug free more quickly and have better long term drug free response rates than men do. Reasons for this are not entirely clear. Could hormones have a hand in how someone become addicted?
After reading that article, I decided to look more into genes and addiction. I was lead to another article, on the same database, by Linda Martin-Morris, Helen T. Bikkland, and Susanna L. Cummingham called Can Your Genes "Make You Do It"?. This article states that 40-60% of the addiction trait is controlled by gene products. I.e. the risk of becoming an alcoholic is elevated five-to eightfold if a primary relative is an alcoholic. Interestingly, Identical twins show more sharing of alcoholism than fraternal twins. I imagine this holds true for other substances and even other forms of addiction. According to this article, nearly 1500 genes out of the human genome of some 25,000, have been implicated in some way to addiction.
After that the article got a bit complicated to read and my mind started to wander and again I was wondering about how drugs affect the brain.
SO now, I am lead to a different article, same database, entitled Addiction, written by Melissa Abramovitz. She says Psychoactive drugs (mind-altering) change the way the mind works. Over time, these drugs trick the mind and body into thinking they need more and more of the drug. Many addicts develop both physical (withdrawal, tolerance) and psychological (cravings) addictions, or dependence. Addictive drugs act on the neurotransmitters or the chemical messengers in the brain, by changing the amount of these chemicals and their response. She also claims that researchers have found several genes linked to nicotine, cocaine and alcoholism, which is supported by the previous article. Abramovitz says people who become addicted to one drug are more likely to become addicted to others.
Overall, what I have learned here is that genes most likely do play a factor in addiction. But so do other factors, such as, environment. I have found very little of anything to support the Addictive personality theory.
However, I have MORE questions now. I am so very intrigued by the gender role and I would really like to see if I can find out more about how gender affects addiction. What about hormones? I also wonder what role gender and hormones play in recovery? I think this may help with my previous question of whether it is easier for some people to rehab than others. Is it easier for women to overcome addiction than men? I'm almost excited to research more!
After reading that article, I decided to look more into genes and addiction. I was lead to another article, on the same database, by Linda Martin-Morris, Helen T. Bikkland, and Susanna L. Cummingham called Can Your Genes "Make You Do It"?. This article states that 40-60% of the addiction trait is controlled by gene products. I.e. the risk of becoming an alcoholic is elevated five-to eightfold if a primary relative is an alcoholic. Interestingly, Identical twins show more sharing of alcoholism than fraternal twins. I imagine this holds true for other substances and even other forms of addiction. According to this article, nearly 1500 genes out of the human genome of some 25,000, have been implicated in some way to addiction.
After that the article got a bit complicated to read and my mind started to wander and again I was wondering about how drugs affect the brain.
SO now, I am lead to a different article, same database, entitled Addiction, written by Melissa Abramovitz. She says Psychoactive drugs (mind-altering) change the way the mind works. Over time, these drugs trick the mind and body into thinking they need more and more of the drug. Many addicts develop both physical (withdrawal, tolerance) and psychological (cravings) addictions, or dependence. Addictive drugs act on the neurotransmitters or the chemical messengers in the brain, by changing the amount of these chemicals and their response. She also claims that researchers have found several genes linked to nicotine, cocaine and alcoholism, which is supported by the previous article. Abramovitz says people who become addicted to one drug are more likely to become addicted to others.
Overall, what I have learned here is that genes most likely do play a factor in addiction. But so do other factors, such as, environment. I have found very little of anything to support the Addictive personality theory.
However, I have MORE questions now. I am so very intrigued by the gender role and I would really like to see if I can find out more about how gender affects addiction. What about hormones? I also wonder what role gender and hormones play in recovery? I think this may help with my previous question of whether it is easier for some people to rehab than others. Is it easier for women to overcome addiction than men? I'm almost excited to research more!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
What is addiction?
In my last post, I had a lot of questions about drug addiction. How do cocaine and meth affect the mind and body? What are the effects with short term use? Long term use? These are pretty easy questions to find answers to. Any medical journal or website will pretty much tell you that. Since then, I have decided (with the help of others), that I am actually more interested on what causes people to become addicted to such drugs? Is there a really a such thing as an addictive personality? Is addiction actually a disease? I still feel that some people become addicted more easily than other people, but is there really something to this? Is addiction really hereditary? And what about recovery? Is it easier for some people to rehab than other people? It seems to me that some people are able to give it up more easily than other people. According to an article I found on Psychologytoday.com, written by Stephen Mason Ph.d, titled Look At It This Way, 10-15% of the population has an addictive personality. He says that 10-15% just doesn't know when to stop. I suppose I would agree with that, but does it go deeper then that? No questions answered there.
Not getting many answers, I moved my search to www.drugabuse.gov. That led me to an DrugFacts:Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction.
This article states that "addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use". It compares addiction to other chronic diseases, such as, diabetes, asthma and heart disease, in the sense that it can be managed successfully. It goes on to explain what addiction is and what happens to your brain when you take drugs. According to this article, risk for addiction is influenced by a combination of factors including biology, environment and development. It states that the genes that people are born with account for about half of their addiction vulnerability. WOW! I can't seem to find words for how much this shocks me! So far, I am finding staggering statistics, but nothing to really help me answer my questions. Although, it does tell me that it is possible for addiction to be hereditary.
I don't feel I have gotten very far. I need to dig deeper. I think I am surprised that this may not be as easy as I thought.
Not getting many answers, I moved my search to www.drugabuse.gov. That led me to an DrugFacts:Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction.
This article states that "addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use". It compares addiction to other chronic diseases, such as, diabetes, asthma and heart disease, in the sense that it can be managed successfully. It goes on to explain what addiction is and what happens to your brain when you take drugs. According to this article, risk for addiction is influenced by a combination of factors including biology, environment and development. It states that the genes that people are born with account for about half of their addiction vulnerability. WOW! I can't seem to find words for how much this shocks me! So far, I am finding staggering statistics, but nothing to really help me answer my questions. Although, it does tell me that it is possible for addiction to be hereditary.
I don't feel I have gotten very far. I need to dig deeper. I think I am surprised that this may not be as easy as I thought.
Works Cited
Mason, Stephen. "Look At It This Way: The Addictive Personality." Psychologytoday.
Psychologytoday.com., 14 Mar 2009. Web. 9 July 2013
"Drugfacts: Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction". National Institute of Drug Abuse. Nov 2012. Web.
9 July 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
WHAT to write about...
So, I have been given an assignment. Create an Exploratory blog. I have never written a blog before, but figured this would be a fun assignment. However, I have had the hardest time coming up with a topic or question that I am curious about. On an ordinary day, this would not be a problem, as I am curious about about a gazillion things every day. Every single one of them worth researching. However, for now they all elude me.
I have, however, come up with one thing. What are the effects of certain drugs, specifically cocaine and methamphetamine, on the body and mind? How do these drugs affect the brain? What are effects with short term usage? Are the damages reversible if the user quits? What are the long term effects? What causes someone to become addicted to and abuse these substances? Are some people more affected by these drugs than other people? I feel that some people are more likely to abuse drugs than others. I feel that some people are more easily addicted than other people. Is there a such thing as an 'addictive personality'? Is this just myth? How about recovery? Do some people rehabilitate better than other people? Are there methods that work better than others? What are the most successful?
I suspect that I have plenty of things to research here and I believe that I will be able to find plenty of information to answer my questions. Some websites that popped up after hitting up Google are www.webmd.com; www.drugabuse.gov; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; www.methproject.com. These should be good places to start. Also wikipedia could prove useful.
Yes, I realize maybe this has been done to death already, but this is something I do have a genuine curiosity about and something that also hits close to home for me, for more than one reason. I myself am a recovering addict. I have been clean for many many years now. People that are close to me struggle with drug addiction. I, personally, feel that some people are more likely to become addicted to certain drugs than other people. I also feel that some people have an easier time quitting than other people. I believe that there is a such thing as an addictive personality. I don't really feel that these thoughts will change much, but I am very curious to know what science has to say about these things. I wonder if scientific research varies from my personal experience and if so, how much?
That's all for now. Should be an interesting journey...
I have, however, come up with one thing. What are the effects of certain drugs, specifically cocaine and methamphetamine, on the body and mind? How do these drugs affect the brain? What are effects with short term usage? Are the damages reversible if the user quits? What are the long term effects? What causes someone to become addicted to and abuse these substances? Are some people more affected by these drugs than other people? I feel that some people are more likely to abuse drugs than others. I feel that some people are more easily addicted than other people. Is there a such thing as an 'addictive personality'? Is this just myth? How about recovery? Do some people rehabilitate better than other people? Are there methods that work better than others? What are the most successful?
I suspect that I have plenty of things to research here and I believe that I will be able to find plenty of information to answer my questions. Some websites that popped up after hitting up Google are www.webmd.com; www.drugabuse.gov; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; www.methproject.com. These should be good places to start. Also wikipedia could prove useful.
Yes, I realize maybe this has been done to death already, but this is something I do have a genuine curiosity about and something that also hits close to home for me, for more than one reason. I myself am a recovering addict. I have been clean for many many years now. People that are close to me struggle with drug addiction. I, personally, feel that some people are more likely to become addicted to certain drugs than other people. I also feel that some people have an easier time quitting than other people. I believe that there is a such thing as an addictive personality. I don't really feel that these thoughts will change much, but I am very curious to know what science has to say about these things. I wonder if scientific research varies from my personal experience and if so, how much?
That's all for now. Should be an interesting journey...
Sunday, June 23, 2013
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