Alcohol addiction is a chronic condition, one that infiltrates your life and remains there, pushing its way into your thoughts often. A person with alcohol use disorder (AUD) can obtain the tools and resources to control AUD and keep it at bay for the rest of their life.
However, there is an important cycle of alcohol addiction to understand. As a chronic condition, AUD doesn’t go away and can come back at any time. Understanding why this happens can make a profound difference in your quality of life – and it allows you to remain more in control over the situation. Our Richmond, VA alcohol addiction treatment program can help you remain in control.
What Is the Cycle of Alcohol Addiction?
Alcohol addiction, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is a chronic condition involving:
- Compulsive alcohol drinking
- Inability to control how much is being consumed
- Emergence of negative emotional factors when alcohol is no longer present
AUD is indicated when a person cannot stop or control their use of the substance even though there are some types of adverse effects impacting them, such as social changes, health implications, or difficulty maintaining a job. AUD ranges from mild to severe. It can be life-threatening.
But why does this happen? To understand, you need to see what’s happening in the brain during each part of this process.
Stages of the Addiction Cycle
Here’s a look at how this addiction cycle forms and becomes uncontrollable. If you are in any area of this cycle, you will benefit from treatment.
#1: Binge and Intoxication Stage
During this initial period, drinking alcohol creates a rewarding, pleasurable experience. Anxiety is lower. It’s easy to talk to people and have fun. In your brain, the basal ganglia portion is experiencing repeated indications that alcohol drinking feels good and is desirable. This is the area of your brain that controls motivation and habit. Over time, the basal ganglia change the way you respond to factors that lead to alcohol use, such as the people or places you go. You’re suddenly always choosing the same people to spend time with, and a habit is forming.
#2: Negative Affect and Withdrawal Stage
The next step in the process occurs when you try to stop drinking alcohol. Your brain, which is now wired to seek out alcohol as much as possible, suddenly isn’t getting that jolt of stimuli it needs. The brain begins to display symptoms that make you unhappy and uncomfortable. That could include changes in your ability to sleep, increased overall pain, and trouble with emotional regulation.
In your brain, your reward system isn’t being triggered when you are not drinking alcohol. A “reward deficit” occurs, making it hard for the basal ganglia to experience any type of pleasure or positive feelings unless there’s alcohol present. At the same time, the brain’s stress systems, which occur in the extended amygdala, begin to activate. You’re anxious, irritable, and uncomfortable.
In this stage, a person isn’t drinking alcohol to feel good or to feel any pleasure. They are doing so to avoid the negative impact of not drinking.
#3: Preoccupation and Anticipation
In this stage, you’ve made it for at least a short period of time not using alcohol. The withdrawal symptoms begin to fade as your brain learns to function without alcohol. Yet, this is where relapse becomes an incredible concern.
The prefrontal cortex of your brain, which controls things like prioritizing tasks and making decisions, is no longer the same even after you’ve stopped drinking. It activates when there’s any thought or presence of alcohol, encouraging you to make the decision to use the substance again.
The longer you remain without alcohol, the more time the brain has to rewire itself and prevent the desire to seek alcohol.
Why Alcohol Addiction Treatment Is Essential
At Iron Bridge, you gain the tools and resources you need to support this massive healing process so critical to improving your future. When you invest in your health through alcohol addiction treatment in Richmond, VA, we provide you with:
- Education on what is happening in your brain, so you can understand what is occurring and why
- Tools to better understand what is happening when you experience cravings or intense needs to have a drink – and the steps to take to avoid falling back into the cycle
- Tools to build life skills, including specific strategies to help you avoid the self-defeating behaviors you’re facing
With a comprehensive, personalized treatment plan that includes clinical, medical, holistic, and psychiatric tools and treatment, you have the best possible resources to pull yourself out of the changing alcohol addiction cycle. You cannot make it go away, but you can learn to control it.
Contact Iron Bridge Recovery Center now. Let us offer a comprehensive evaluation and the first steps to taking back control.
