What is it about the brain that makes it so difficult to stop drinking?
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Join Date: Oct 2014
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What is it about the brain that makes it so difficult to stop drinking?
What is it about the human brain and the part the brain that makes my husband crave alcohol so intensely?.....I still haven't gotten to an al-non meeting yet, but that is a definite goal of mine...My husband will be home Wed. His doctor, (his instructors at the family and patient group sessions), and his psychiatrist have suggested that we go to and prescribed that we attend meetings together to support one another.
Keeping it simple!
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Surrey, BC
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For me, I just loved getting drunk. It was my way of coping by leaving reality.
I think it is great you want to support him, however, make sure you look after yourself first and foremost. Don't get lost in the his addiction as this does happen to many. Make sure you find meetings that you can do just for you. You matter in all this too and don't forget you need to recover from all of this too.
I think it is great you want to support him, however, make sure you look after yourself first and foremost. Don't get lost in the his addiction as this does happen to many. Make sure you find meetings that you can do just for you. You matter in all this too and don't forget you need to recover from all of this too.
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: C.C. Ma.
Posts: 3,697
Hi.
There are many concepts about the brains of alcoholics and after being sober a lot of years I know as little as most of us.
I know certain things are necessary to stop drinking and extend sobriety that has worked for millions world wide.
We must be honest with ourselves about our drinking and ACCEPT the fact we cannot drink in safety.
Most of us need a lot of meetings with others that understand us and give us pointers that worked for them and others.
Much knowledge helps but our determination is needed to want to get and stay sober. No one can get someone sober except for the individuals themselves. I guess it can be compared to practice makes perfect.
One big thing that helped me was repeating to myself “ if I don’t pick up the first drink I won’t have to TRY to get sober AGAIN.”
BE WELL
There are many concepts about the brains of alcoholics and after being sober a lot of years I know as little as most of us.
I know certain things are necessary to stop drinking and extend sobriety that has worked for millions world wide.
We must be honest with ourselves about our drinking and ACCEPT the fact we cannot drink in safety.
Most of us need a lot of meetings with others that understand us and give us pointers that worked for them and others.
Much knowledge helps but our determination is needed to want to get and stay sober. No one can get someone sober except for the individuals themselves. I guess it can be compared to practice makes perfect.
One big thing that helped me was repeating to myself “ if I don’t pick up the first drink I won’t have to TRY to get sober AGAIN.”
BE WELL
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 69
Each person's physiological/psychological makeup is different, so it depends. I've read a lot of research on the topic of alcohol and the human brain, and there are a variety of good answers to the question.
In my situation, I suspect that my brain eventually got accustomed to alcohol as a 'reward' and a regular pleasure via self-medication.
It's good that you have a doctor and a psychologist who can help you look at it more in depth, if you so choose.
In my situation, I suspect that my brain eventually got accustomed to alcohol as a 'reward' and a regular pleasure via self-medication.
It's good that you have a doctor and a psychologist who can help you look at it more in depth, if you so choose.
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 99
it's the people that tell us the brain is a seperate entity that controls us without our permission.
like the "AV" the AV is just our thoughts and feelings...that of which pertain to alcohol or things around alcohol. We have total control of the voluntary actions taken which include drinking alcohol. We always do unless force fed through an IV or if someone puts a gun to our head..which is nobody here. Craving alcohol is something I never experienced in the same way as i would crave food. I wanted to drink because i remembered the way it would make me feel and I wanted to become buzzed. There is no evidence of really craving alcohol..just ancedotal evidence..it depends how you classify craving...of course there is physical dependence..but that is not a craving... saying our own brain has control over us in this situation doesn't make any proven sense.
like the "AV" the AV is just our thoughts and feelings...that of which pertain to alcohol or things around alcohol. We have total control of the voluntary actions taken which include drinking alcohol. We always do unless force fed through an IV or if someone puts a gun to our head..which is nobody here. Craving alcohol is something I never experienced in the same way as i would crave food. I wanted to drink because i remembered the way it would make me feel and I wanted to become buzzed. There is no evidence of really craving alcohol..just ancedotal evidence..it depends how you classify craving...of course there is physical dependence..but that is not a craving... saying our own brain has control over us in this situation doesn't make any proven sense.
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Join Date: Aug 2013
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To generalize, at its best, alcohol consumption generates a false sense of well-being, relief from distress, comfort, and a glow of pleasure. I don't think everyone experiences this to the same degree, this seems to be what separates those with alcohol problems from those without. Many of us will never experience that feeling without alcohol, regardless of the positivity of the reality of our situation.
A conscious, committed, resolved effort is required to overcome this part of ourselves, our brain, that seeks this state. We must realize that continual seeking of this state is a trap, that will ultimately end in self-destruction, and break the cycle. Otherwise we will pleasure ourselves to death.
I second Anna's suggestions. Resources are available for you as well, you may never 'get it', and if so you are fortunate in not being afflicted, but may need help and support dealing with the effects.
I wish you well.
A conscious, committed, resolved effort is required to overcome this part of ourselves, our brain, that seeks this state. We must realize that continual seeking of this state is a trap, that will ultimately end in self-destruction, and break the cycle. Otherwise we will pleasure ourselves to death.
I second Anna's suggestions. Resources are available for you as well, you may never 'get it', and if so you are fortunate in not being afflicted, but may need help and support dealing with the effects.
I wish you well.
bona fido dog-lover
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At first I drank cause I liked how it made me feel. Later on, I drank because I didn't like how I felt when the alcohol wore off and withdrawals started. 
I drank because I had to. It takes the brain a while to readjust to functioning without alcohol, but it does adjust. 
I drank because I had to. It takes the brain a while to readjust to functioning without alcohol, but it does adjust. 
Hears The Voice
Join Date: Jan 2013
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Originally Posted by ssenteews 
What is it about the human brain and the part the brain that makes my husband crave alcohol so intensely?
Addiction causes the same part of the brain that knows you need to breathe in order to live to process alcohol in a similar manner.
You can live without breathing for at least 4 minutes before anything bad might happen. Knowing this, I offer you $100,000 if you can hold your breath under water for 2 minutes. You accept and submerge your head in the swimming pool. 30-40 seconds go by with little difficulty. Then you start to feel anxious. A voice in your head says "You need to breathe, Dummy! Get to the surface!" Another voice says, "You don't need to breathe yet. It's just 2 minutes. Tough it out, get the $100,000!"
Your anxiety increases. Panic sets in. That voice is roaring in your head, "OMG Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! You're going to die! You're killing yourself!" The rational voice that knows you don't need air for 2 minutes and wants that $100,000 gets weaker and weaker by comparison.
Despite knowing you can live without air for 2 minutes and a huge incentive to keep holding your breath most people can't stay under the entire 2 minutes.
When I first quit drinking it felt like someone was holding my head under water. I was anxious. I didn't know how to relax. I had a voice in my head begging, bargaining, whining, threatening, insulting, coercing and flattering me to get me to drink. It was a difficult struggle.
The difference, of course, is that you need air to live and you don't need booze. The problem is that the part of the brain that processes that information doesn't know the difference and sends the same signals to the frontal cortex. You have to be able to tell which signals are real and which are betraying you to your doom. People who have never had part of their own brain betraying them find that very difficult to understand.
The voice in my head insisting I need alcohol is a liar. Not one bad thing has ever happened to me as a result of NOT drinking. I had to learn to let my rational thinking overrule the emotional response that voice was causing. It's not fun to do, but once it is learned there is freedom from the obsession with alcohol that addictive voice causes - and that freedom is worth every second of the struggle.
Best of Luck on Your Journey!
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 453
Originally Posted by Nonsensical
I try to explain it to my wife like this:
Addiction causes the same part of the brain that knows you need to breathe in order to live to process alcohol in a similar manner.
You can live without breathing for at least 4 minutes before anything bad might happen. Knowing this, I offer you $100,000 if you can hold your breath under water for 2 minutes. You accept and submerge your head in the swimming pool. 30-40 seconds go by with little difficulty. Then you start to feel anxious. A voice in your head says "You need to breathe, Dummy! Get to the surface!" Another voice says, "You don't need to breathe yet. It's just 2 minutes. Tough it out, get the $100,000!"
Your anxiety increases. Panic sets in. That voice is roaring in your head, "OMG Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! You're going to die! You're killing yourself!" The rational voice that knows you don't need air for 2 minutes and wants that $100,000 gets weaker and weaker by comparison.
Despite knowing you can live without air for 2 minutes and a huge incentive to keep holding your breath most people can't stay under the entire 2 minutes.
When I first quit drinking it felt like someone was holding my head under water. I was anxious. I didn't know how to relax. I had a voice in my head begging, bargaining, whining, threatening, insulting, coercing and flattering me to get me to drink. It was a difficult struggle.
The difference, of course, is that you need air to live and you don't need booze. The problem is that the part of the brain that processes that information doesn't know the difference and sends the same signals to the frontal cortex. You have to be able to tell which signals are real and which are betraying you to your doom. People who have never had part of their own brain betraying them find that very difficult to understand.
The voice in my head insisting I need alcohol is a liar. Not one bad thing has ever happened to me as a result of NOT drinking. I had to learn to let my rational thinking overrule the emotional response that voice was causing. It's not fun to do, but once it is learned there is freedom from the obsession with alcohol that addictive voice causes - and that freedom is worth every second of the struggle.
Best of Luck on Your Journey!
Addiction causes the same part of the brain that knows you need to breathe in order to live to process alcohol in a similar manner.
You can live without breathing for at least 4 minutes before anything bad might happen. Knowing this, I offer you $100,000 if you can hold your breath under water for 2 minutes. You accept and submerge your head in the swimming pool. 30-40 seconds go by with little difficulty. Then you start to feel anxious. A voice in your head says "You need to breathe, Dummy! Get to the surface!" Another voice says, "You don't need to breathe yet. It's just 2 minutes. Tough it out, get the $100,000!"
Your anxiety increases. Panic sets in. That voice is roaring in your head, "OMG Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! You're going to die! You're killing yourself!" The rational voice that knows you don't need air for 2 minutes and wants that $100,000 gets weaker and weaker by comparison.
Despite knowing you can live without air for 2 minutes and a huge incentive to keep holding your breath most people can't stay under the entire 2 minutes.
When I first quit drinking it felt like someone was holding my head under water. I was anxious. I didn't know how to relax. I had a voice in my head begging, bargaining, whining, threatening, insulting, coercing and flattering me to get me to drink. It was a difficult struggle.
The difference, of course, is that you need air to live and you don't need booze. The problem is that the part of the brain that processes that information doesn't know the difference and sends the same signals to the frontal cortex. You have to be able to tell which signals are real and which are betraying you to your doom. People who have never had part of their own brain betraying them find that very difficult to understand.
The voice in my head insisting I need alcohol is a liar. Not one bad thing has ever happened to me as a result of NOT drinking. I had to learn to let my rational thinking overrule the emotional response that voice was causing. It's not fun to do, but once it is learned there is freedom from the obsession with alcohol that addictive voice causes - and that freedom is worth every second of the struggle.
Best of Luck on Your Journey!
I would also get physically sick by NOT drinking and getting through withdrawals was incredibly hard. But after the physical addiction was broken, there was still the other side of addiction described above. It's like learning how to live all over again, how to get through life while learning to breathe underwater...
It's not impossible, though, and I wish you both well.
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Ireland
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Thoughts of fuelling an addiction or doing something to facilitate it, eg having a drink, a cigarette, a piece of chocolate etc increases the flow of endorphins in the brain, and they are no match for sheer resistance or willpower to not do it.
Support is therefore crucial to short circuit those thought processes as alone in our own mind all bets are off!!
Al-anon and SR are great for support for you!!
Support is therefore crucial to short circuit those thought processes as alone in our own mind all bets are off!!
Al-anon and SR are great for support for you!!
Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 69
Originally Posted by Nonsensical
I try to explain it to my wife like this:
Addiction causes the same part of the brain that knows you need to breathe in order to live to process alcohol in a similar manner.
You can live without breathing for at least 4 minutes before anything bad might happen. Knowing this, I offer you $100,000 if you can hold your breath under water for 2 minutes. You accept and submerge your head in the swimming pool. 30-40 seconds go by with little difficulty. Then you start to feel anxious. A voice in your head says "You need to breathe, Dummy! Get to the surface!" Another voice says, "You don't need to breathe yet. It's just 2 minutes. Tough it out, get the $100,000!"
Your anxiety increases. Panic sets in. That voice is roaring in your head, "OMG Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! You're going to die! You're killing yourself!" The rational voice that knows you don't need air for 2 minutes and wants that $100,000 gets weaker and weaker by comparison.
Despite knowing you can live without air for 2 minutes and a huge incentive to keep holding your breath most people can't stay under the entire 2 minutes.
When I first quit drinking it felt like someone was holding my head under water. I was anxious. I didn't know how to relax. I had a voice in my head begging, bargaining, whining, threatening, insulting, coercing and flattering me to get me to drink. It was a difficult struggle.
The difference, of course, is that you need air to live and you don't need booze. The problem is that the part of the brain that processes that information doesn't know the difference and sends the same signals to the frontal cortex. You have to be able to tell which signals are real and which are betraying you to your doom. People who have never had part of their own brain betraying them find that very difficult to understand.
The voice in my head insisting I need alcohol is a liar. Not one bad thing has ever happened to me as a result of NOT drinking. I had to learn to let my rational thinking overrule the emotional response that voice was causing. It's not fun to do, but once it is learned there is freedom from the obsession with alcohol that addictive voice causes - and that freedom is worth every second of the struggle.
Best of Luck on Your Journey!
Addiction causes the same part of the brain that knows you need to breathe in order to live to process alcohol in a similar manner.
You can live without breathing for at least 4 minutes before anything bad might happen. Knowing this, I offer you $100,000 if you can hold your breath under water for 2 minutes. You accept and submerge your head in the swimming pool. 30-40 seconds go by with little difficulty. Then you start to feel anxious. A voice in your head says "You need to breathe, Dummy! Get to the surface!" Another voice says, "You don't need to breathe yet. It's just 2 minutes. Tough it out, get the $100,000!"
Your anxiety increases. Panic sets in. That voice is roaring in your head, "OMG Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! You're going to die! You're killing yourself!" The rational voice that knows you don't need air for 2 minutes and wants that $100,000 gets weaker and weaker by comparison.
Despite knowing you can live without air for 2 minutes and a huge incentive to keep holding your breath most people can't stay under the entire 2 minutes.
When I first quit drinking it felt like someone was holding my head under water. I was anxious. I didn't know how to relax. I had a voice in my head begging, bargaining, whining, threatening, insulting, coercing and flattering me to get me to drink. It was a difficult struggle.
The difference, of course, is that you need air to live and you don't need booze. The problem is that the part of the brain that processes that information doesn't know the difference and sends the same signals to the frontal cortex. You have to be able to tell which signals are real and which are betraying you to your doom. People who have never had part of their own brain betraying them find that very difficult to understand.
The voice in my head insisting I need alcohol is a liar. Not one bad thing has ever happened to me as a result of NOT drinking. I had to learn to let my rational thinking overrule the emotional response that voice was causing. It's not fun to do, but once it is learned there is freedom from the obsession with alcohol that addictive voice causes - and that freedom is worth every second of the struggle.
Best of Luck on Your Journey!
^^^^ This!
Thank you!
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
I don't agree with everything in this article, but it may be helpful for someone else.
Ohio State psychiatrist says drug addicts are no longer the people you love | The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State psychiatrist says drug addicts are no longer the people you love | The Columbus Dispatch
Hears The Voice
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Unshackled
Posts: 7,901
It's a decent awareness piece. The story of the brain, addiction, and freedom from addiction is much longer than they could cover in the space they were alotted - and certainly much longer than most non-addicts would ever read.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Southern USA
Posts: 3
Last year, I went to a workers comp convention and one of the speakers was a famed Neurologist from Texas who shared his story of struggling with alcohol addiction. He now runs a clinic in Texas and helps people overcome the addiction. Here's the kicker, a woman stood up in the audience to ask him how he is able to cure alcohol addiction. He said point blank, "I can't. I can't make anyone quit. When they've had enough, they will do it on their own and then they come to me and I can help them, but ONLY when they have made the choice to do so." He said that he drank hardcore for years and somehow was still able to be a Neurologist and sometimes he's amazed that he kept his career intact through all of his drinking. I think his message in general was a good one though, noone can help you quit or make you quit, there is no miracle cure or miracle drug, there is no program out there that will work if you are not mentally and physically ready to do whatever it takes to leave that life behind and face the trials of a real life ...one without the numbness and fogginess of alchohol. One thing is he stated that some people are definitely more likely to become addicts, especially if they have a family history of addicts (which I do) and he said that the person may not even be aware that they are an addict because they've never drank or done drugs, but all it takes is that ONE time and the addict's brain just functions differently and reacts differently to alcohol and drugs. The addict's brain is just wired differently. Haven't you known people that can drink casually and then just stop and not pick up a drink again for months on end? I never understood that. I was always the person that one was never enough. I thought, "What's the point of ONE drink? If I'm going to drink, I'm going to get absolutely plastered!" I always wished I could be one of those people that can come home from a long day at work and enjoy ONE glass of red wine or ONE beer with dinner, but I will never be that person because I was born an addict. I come from a long line of alchohol addicted people on both sides of my family and it was a matter of time before I discovered that life myself and fell into that trap. It's a struggle. I feel like I am constantly waging war on my own body. I struggle with thoughts like, "I'll just quit tomorrow. Why not live a little and have a drink tonight? It's so fun. You've had a hard day at work. You've had a great day at work, celebrate!" You know the types of thoughts. I'm sure every addict has had those thoughts at some point. When I was in my early 20's and younger actually (I'm now 31) I was addicted to exercise and avoided alcohol at all costs because my Dad was a drunk and was shot and killed WHILE drunk and my brother is a non functioning alcoholic and has been since he was in his early teens (he grew up with my grandparents) and most of uncles are alcoholics so naturally I wanted to avoid that lifestyle....then I met a guy that I liked a lot and he spent his nights drowning himself in bourbon and always made me drinks when I'd come over to visit. Most of the time, I'd just leave the bourbon sitting there getting watered down by the ice in it, but he kept pressuring me, "Come on, drink your drink I made you..." Eventually, I started to enjoy it, A LOT and I wondered why I ever avoided alchohol for so long because it was AWESOME (not really, but it felt that way at the time). I didn't realize that I was basically Superman (woman) and had just made contact with my personal brand of Kryptonite. Basically, I didn't realize that I was an addict my whole life, it just took that special situation for me to discover it. Looking back, I wish I had ran so far away from that person and that lifestyle, but now I am here and fighting to get back to the person that I used to be.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Southern USA
Posts: 3
Originally Posted by Nonsensical
I try to explain it to my wife like this:
Addiction causes the same part of the brain that knows you need to breathe in order to live to process alcohol in a similar manner.
You can live without breathing for at least 4 minutes before anything bad might happen. Knowing this, I offer you $100,000 if you can hold your breath under water for 2 minutes. You accept and submerge your head in the swimming pool. 30-40 seconds go by with little difficulty. Then you start to feel anxious. A voice in your head says "You need to breathe, Dummy! Get to the surface!" Another voice says, "You don't need to breathe yet. It's just 2 minutes. Tough it out, get the $100,000!"
Your anxiety increases. Panic sets in. That voice is roaring in your head, "OMG Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! You're going to die! You're killing yourself!" The rational voice that knows you don't need air for 2 minutes and wants that $100,000 gets weaker and weaker by comparison.
Despite knowing you can live without air for 2 minutes and a huge incentive to keep holding your breath most people can't stay under the entire 2 minutes.
When I first quit drinking it felt like someone was holding my head under water. I was anxious. I didn't know how to relax. I had a voice in my head begging, bargaining, whining, threatening, insulting, coercing and flattering me to get me to drink. It was a difficult struggle.
The difference, of course, is that you need air to live and you don't need booze. The problem is that the part of the brain that processes that information doesn't know the difference and sends the same signals to the frontal cortex. You have to be able to tell which signals are real and which are betraying you to your doom. People who have never had part of their own brain betraying them find that very difficult to understand.
The voice in my head insisting I need alcohol is a liar. Not one bad thing has ever happened to me as a result of NOT drinking. I had to learn to let my rational thinking overrule the emotional response that voice was causing. It's not fun to do, but once it is learned there is freedom from the obsession with alcohol that addictive voice causes - and that freedom is worth every second of the struggle.
Best of Luck on Your Journey!
Addiction causes the same part of the brain that knows you need to breathe in order to live to process alcohol in a similar manner.
You can live without breathing for at least 4 minutes before anything bad might happen. Knowing this, I offer you $100,000 if you can hold your breath under water for 2 minutes. You accept and submerge your head in the swimming pool. 30-40 seconds go by with little difficulty. Then you start to feel anxious. A voice in your head says "You need to breathe, Dummy! Get to the surface!" Another voice says, "You don't need to breathe yet. It's just 2 minutes. Tough it out, get the $100,000!"
Your anxiety increases. Panic sets in. That voice is roaring in your head, "OMG Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! You're going to die! You're killing yourself!" The rational voice that knows you don't need air for 2 minutes and wants that $100,000 gets weaker and weaker by comparison.
Despite knowing you can live without air for 2 minutes and a huge incentive to keep holding your breath most people can't stay under the entire 2 minutes.
When I first quit drinking it felt like someone was holding my head under water. I was anxious. I didn't know how to relax. I had a voice in my head begging, bargaining, whining, threatening, insulting, coercing and flattering me to get me to drink. It was a difficult struggle.
The difference, of course, is that you need air to live and you don't need booze. The problem is that the part of the brain that processes that information doesn't know the difference and sends the same signals to the frontal cortex. You have to be able to tell which signals are real and which are betraying you to your doom. People who have never had part of their own brain betraying them find that very difficult to understand.
The voice in my head insisting I need alcohol is a liar. Not one bad thing has ever happened to me as a result of NOT drinking. I had to learn to let my rational thinking overrule the emotional response that voice was causing. It's not fun to do, but once it is learned there is freedom from the obsession with alcohol that addictive voice causes - and that freedom is worth every second of the struggle.
Best of Luck on Your Journey!
I love this! Fantastic way to describe the feeling. Definitely the part about not knowing how to relax. I find it hard to figure out what to do with myself because everything that I enjoyed, I enjoyed with alcohol...even my favorite tv shows. Seems weird watching without the alcohol. The only thing that I tend to do, obessively even, is exercise.
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
Originally Posted by Nonsensical
It's a decent awareness piece. The story of the brain, addiction, and freedom from addiction is much longer than they could cover in the space they were alotted - and certainly much longer than most non-addicts would ever read.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Northampton
Posts: 97
the seduction is in believing that we can divide ourselves into segments and alcohol does that. A lot like when we were threatened as children, in a loving upbringing we would be allowed to grow and not suffer in embarrassment due to compassion from our parents/ carers. Giving up alcohol returns us to that phase of growth that never got championed.
I think it is the lack of maturity of ourselves which is a deep embarrassment when the fog lifts and it's shame that demands we drink. Our shame of being human, which is a lie and unworthy of repeating but it is in the hearing of the tink, tink that we can grow into totality. That asking from another just your reason, to be heard.
I think it is the lack of maturity of ourselves which is a deep embarrassment when the fog lifts and it's shame that demands we drink. Our shame of being human, which is a lie and unworthy of repeating but it is in the hearing of the tink, tink that we can grow into totality. That asking from another just your reason, to be heard.
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
Hi ssenteews,
This is directly my field, I do research on addictions and related psychiatric maladies. I am an alcoholic in recovery. We also do public awareness stuff when we go out to give lectures and communicate with the non-scientist community (including addicts). I will refrain from a dissertation on it or from linking very specific studies because it could not realistically cover the area given the space and time we have here, but maybe this site is useful. NIDA is the organization in the US that coordinates and funds many addiction-related studies.
Drugs and the Brain | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
I like the idea of going to meetings together! It's often difficult to really understand each-others challenges when we don't have first hand experience. I think even the sheer effort that you are interested and show support must be very helpful to your husband. All the best to both of you
This is directly my field, I do research on addictions and related psychiatric maladies. I am an alcoholic in recovery. We also do public awareness stuff when we go out to give lectures and communicate with the non-scientist community (including addicts). I will refrain from a dissertation on it or from linking very specific studies because it could not realistically cover the area given the space and time we have here, but maybe this site is useful. NIDA is the organization in the US that coordinates and funds many addiction-related studies.
Drugs and the Brain | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
I like the idea of going to meetings together! It's often difficult to really understand each-others challenges when we don't have first hand experience. I think even the sheer effort that you are interested and show support must be very helpful to your husband. All the best to both of you
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