Why do addicts continue to hurt people?
I have been trying to come to some kind of peace about my experience of alcoholics and drug addicts and, as I mentioned in Vale's thread a couple of days ago, I have been trying to research more about the so-called "reptilian brain" often referred to to explain why addicts become as ruthless as they do.
I came across a website in my internet search--www.drugfreeaustin.com--which is the home page of an addiction doctor and contains some easy-to-understand articles by him about addiction. His name is Dr. Masters.
Under "Addiction Explained" he writes that the brain is essentially divided into 3 parts. The earliest formation of the brain was the "reptilian brain" which essentially tells us to breathe and tells our hearts to beat. It has the most power in that we can't over-think those functions. We can't tell our hearts to stop beating. The doctor does not consider this brain as the seat of addiction.
The next formation of the brain was the "emotional brain." This brain is the center of pleasure, of reward. It creates feelings of pleasure in order to ensure survival. So, sex feels like pleasure. Food feels like pleasure. This emotional brain tells us to keep eating, to keep having sex, to keep doing that which is so pleasurable. It is this part of the brain which is the seat of addiction, according to this doctor.
The final formation of the brain is the "cortical brain." This is what makes us very different from lizards and fish. It is our higher brain which thinks, moralizes, reasons, controls willpower and choice. Though it is a quite lovely brain (!) the scientific fact is that of the three brains, it has the least power. The reptile brain is strongest. Then the emotional brain. And both trump the cortical brain. It all goes back to survival of the species.
This doctor writes that when an addict uses drugs, when an alcoholic drinks alcohol, his "emotional brain" becomes the master of his ship. It tells him at his deepest unconscious being that he must continue to use or to drink because, like sex, like eating, it is essential to his survival. The higher cortical brain falls into line by rationalizing and justifying his substance abuse.
The doctor writes that mere substitution therapy with drugs like suboxone or methadone which block the high and prevent the withdrawals, are not the answer to addiction because the disease of the addict is "within the mind". He believes that not only a 12-step program or something like it is essential, but also concurrent treatment of any underlying mental disorder. And the percentage of addicts and alcoholics with underlying disorders like depression, bipolar, and ADHD is significant. If those are left untreated, relapse will almost certainly occur.
He notes that the relapse rates for opiate addicts without treatment with suboxone or methadone is 85%. It drops to 50% with the drugs. He also notes that half of those on methadone are using other drugs to get high.
He writes that the most addictive drug on the planet is nicotine (33% of users become addicted) and the next is opiates (27% of users).
Here is my question to seasoned and educated forum members:
Why, when addicts cease using, or when addicts use drugs which block the effects to the pleasure center (naltrexone blocking opiate effects, antabuse blocking alcohol effects), or when addicts use drugs to prevent withdrawal (suboxone, methadone).....why do so many addicts continue to be selfish, grandiose, bitter, and to treat others so badly? Why do so many continue to display the keynotes of what has been called the "alcoholic personality" when the drugs have stopped stimulating their "emotional brains"?
I ask this because I still struggle with my faith in the recovery process. I still have great difficulty trusting even addicts and alcoholics who are no longer actively using or drinking. To be honest, I am afraid of them. I am afraid their "emotional brain" is still in control, and, if it is, then I can't trust them. I am afraid of people who operate from a basic compulsion for pleasure and reward. Because I will disappoint them. I will not always be a pleasure. I will not always be rewarding. I am human and flawed. And I do not want anyone in my life who will punish me because I do not constantly stimulate his "emotional brain."
My fear continues to be a major block in my faith that recovery from addiction is possible, and if it does happen, it seems to me to be a spiritual miracle. Not the outcome of drug therapy or rehab. A miracle. A conversion experience akin to a miracle.
I will appreciate thoughts from members on any parts of my post.