Why are so many people addicted to drugs and alcohol? Reasons do vary, but there is a common thread among the majority of individuals addicted to drugs and alcohol: neurotransmitter imbalances.
Each of us is born with instructions to how every part of our body is built, including our brain. Some of us are born with deficiencies within our brain’s neurotransmitters. Which neurotransmitters an individual is deficient in, usually determines which drug an individual will become addicted to. Of course this doesn’t mean that everyone with a certain kind of neurotransmitter imbalance will definitely become addicted to a certain drug. But they do have a propensity for it. Whether that addiction is ever realized is a matter of circumstance.
Often the drugs or alcohol an addicted individual is abusing is his or her attempt at making up for a genetic neurochemical deficiency. In order to successfully reverse these addictions, doctors must take into consideration these neurochemical imbalances, correcting them with safe, non-addictive medications. You can learn more about these methods in Brain In Balance: Understanding the Genetics and Neurochemistry behind Addiction and Sobriety.