Freepath

Our conversations have definitely made me think. But no, not specifically about you. Look at this entire website. There are referrals to suicide hotlines and forums about mental health issues and nutrition and fitness. All of these things affect neurotransmitter release, reuptake and binding.

One of the perplexing things about these neurotransmitters is that people can be, let’s say, depressed because there is not enough dopamine being released in the synapse, or depression can be caused because there is too much dopamine in the synapse. Hence the word “balance” and not deficiency or elevation.

Chemical synapse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Other confounding information includes the action of peptides, which may work in conjunction with neurotransmitters, or alone at the synapse. We know that the most prevalent neurotransmitters are not necessarily the ones that cause the most pronounced effect in our mood and behavior. So, do peptides play a role in mood and addiction? Further, new peptides are being discovered routinely, and we do not even completely understand the role of neurotransmitters that we have known about for a long time. So it’s spongy science.

If a new recovery or treatment program were conceived, it seems rational that understanding brain chemistry would help contribute to it’s success a lot.

People come to these forums and recovery groups with problems, [otherwise why give up the addiction?] and it seems that realizing the source of these problems would go a long way toward offering solutions. It seems to me that there are tangible problems and problems with an origin of brain chemistry.

For example, if I am depressed because I lost my job and I am broke, then the solution is simple. Find a source of income. This is an example of a real problem which requires a real solution. Perhaps the solution is to explore personal skills, interests and the market demands for them.

If I am depressed because I think that everybody hates me, even though evidence does not bear this perception out, then I may have a problem which is more cognitive and possibly chemical in origin. Perhaps meditation, group or individual therapy, exercise and a period of medication use will be helpful in addressing this problem.

I think a lot of recovery has to do with the ultimate goal of finding peace with oneself, and that journey is filled with both kinds of problems, and blends of problems in between.