Our brain is made up of billions of tiny nerve cells which are remarkably powerful. By communicating with each other they can perform thousands of tasks within a matter of milliseconds - controlling our physical movements, learning experiences and the way we interpret the world around us! It's really quite miraculous to observe how such tiny cells work together in unison in order to create bigger, cohesive parts like feelings, actions and thoughts. This precise system enables neurons to communicate quickly and efficiently throughout different parts of your body enabling that very reflective "you know what I mean?" reaction time!
The human brain is divided into four lobes - the frontal, temporal, occipital and parietal lobes. Each lobe controls a different function such as: sensory planning, memory storage and retrieval or communication skills. Below the brain is the cerebellum, which coordinates movement. Underneath that lies the basal ganglia, which deal with motor control in our bodies. You could say this is as far down the cord you can go without leaving your body! All of these functions are controlled by life-giving energy coursing through our brain stems.
The limbic system is a collection of structures deep within the brain that controls our emotions, memories and includes the hippocampus, the hypothalamus and the thalamus. The hippocampus, which is one of the key parts of this system, controls who we are as humans by storing and recalling memories. We sometimes feel very emotional about certain things in life as do animals who also have this particular part of their brains. The hypothalamus mainly regulates emotion, body temperature and urges us to do things such as fight or flee. This is because it knows when our bodies need extra energy in order for us to react properly without thinking too much about it, or slowing us down! The thalamus passes messages between the spinal cord and the cerebral hemispheres so it's essential to keep these parts of your brain healthy!
The nervous system is the communication network of our bodies. It sends and receives messages to and from every organ, blood cell, tissue, muscle and bone in our bodies using a system of chemicals called neurotransmitters. A drug that interferes with this messaging process can change how we think and feel – for good or bad.
Alcohol is a drug which can be described as having a notable effect on the human body. Typically, we consume alcohol in order to get "drunk" but it is important to remember that the drug has many disastrous effects on brain function.
Never overindulge is the key here. Moderation is always important, but there's also been a lot of talk recently about how alcohol can affect the brain in negative ways. In fact, recent studies have shown that having even one drink a day could potentially harm parts of your brain responsible for cognition and learning.
As discussed above, the hippocampus is associated with memory and reasoning. In the study, those who were deemed excessive drinkers and who consumed alcohol on a daily basis over the course of 30 years had severely depleted hippocampi. The main contributing factor for their shrunken size was because of an excess amount of alcohol in their systems as opposed to other factors such as nutrition or genetics. Participants who consumed four or more drinks per day had hippocampal volumes that were almost six times smaller than non-drinkers; moderate drinkers had three times the risk of that being shrunk.
Scientists aren’t able to accurately determine whether brain atrophy comes from the loss of cells due to aging or a drinking habit. However, it is interesting to note that within weeks of not drinking, the symptoms began to dissipate. If brain atrophy was due solely to normal cell death, this improvement wouldn’t have been observed, but rather brain cells would continue to shrink and die off.
Alcohol has harmful effects. The damage to the cerebellum and cerebral cortex, as well as weakening of the neurotransmitter function, also occurs with alcohol consumption. Weakened neurotransmitters are responsible for slurred speech and slower reaction times when driving - things that a person should never do once they have had alcohol.
Long-term habitual alcohol use only leads to brain atrophy, memory loss, and cognitive decline.
Drug abuse has very negative ramifications. For example, the brain's reaction to drugs varies from substance to substance. Marijuana, heroin and cocaine are all drugs that give rise to very unique reactions in the mind and body of a user. There are some many forms neurotransmitters in the endocrine system, not just one. These include dopamine, serotonin and endorphins as well as epinephrine and norepinephrine. It is important to note that these compounds act on different parts of the brain with varying results that include pleasure or pain (pleasure can be associated with euphoria or a "high" for example).
When someone uses drugs, the neurotransmitters in their brain are adjusted. Some drugs mimic the chemicals naturally produced in the brain, such as marijuana. These drugs can be quite similar to those already found in brains; some substitutions even occur! However, these signals are still vastly different enough that they cause a person’s consciousness to work harder at this internal conversation .
Any other drugs, including heroin and cocaine, usually have the opposite effect. They either over stimulate these neurotransmitters or create a similar high, so we will not be able to function properly. It’s like being in an alternate universe where we can’t really see things the same way ever again, it distracts us and offers nothing new or innovative for our psyche to take in.
Stimulation is one reason people become dependent on drugs. Someone who frequently takes drugs over a prolonged period will develop a tolerance to these substances and in turn enjoy them more, and be susceptible to the mind-altering effects they offer. The way the use of these drugs changes normal brain function reinforces dependence on the substance itself.
Once the brain adapts to consistent drug use, it becomes reliant on it. This in turn triggers negative behaviors, all to support the desire for a stronger high. This is why people who once led clean and healthy lifestyles are driven to steal money from family members or engage in other illegal activities. The addiction has taken over at this point; the individual has less and less control over their actions. They're fighting their own brains, trying to stop overwhelming urges that have been triggered by continual drug use. This is why addiction should be treated as a disease rather than a choice – a choice that allows an addict to place blame on their environment or circumstances when really they're only hurting themselves without any real hope of seeking or receiving help! It’s time for such outdated mindsets shift because as with any disease, early detection always guarantees higher chances of survival ...
Once alcoholics stop drinking, the brain begins to grow new cells. This process is called neurogenesis and happens naturally but alcohol dependency slows down this physical renewal of the brain. Tests released as early as the year 2000 showed that sober individuals experienced a considerable amount of newly developed brain cells! The hippocampus was re-organized which lead to new cells being grown physically but it isn’t an instantaneous process - it takes time.
In the early stages of recovery, a person often experiences mild cognitive impairment due to her or his previous substance abuse. However, the longer one remains sober, the more clear-minded and capable she or he feels. Even though your body may feel heavy during physical exercise at these beginning stages of recovery, sticking with it can improve brain development within this period. It is also important to minimize stress in early sobriety so as not to feel more mentally disabled than previously imagined. This is exactly how certain top centers for addiction treatment such as Sanctum wellness and healing carry out effective addiction treatment and relapse prevention.
Unfortunately, the effects from drug use isn’t reversible in every case. There are different types of drugs and they affect people differently. Some people recover from alcohol addiction the same way, but with something like methamphetamine, the physical and psychological damage can last indefinitely because there is no medical cure for drug addiction. And keep in mind that it’s nearly impossible to fully recover from all of its effects while re-using. This is why it’s so important to understand that effective recovery has little to do with how one’s brain responds during rehabilitation as it depends on full abstinence from a specific substance or substances over a prolonged period of time. In other words, if you want your loved one to have a good chance at making it through recovery, you should focus on getting them help for their relapses rather than idealizing effective treatments.Sanctum wellness and healing, one of the best luxury rehab centers, thus emphasizes on and makes relapse prevention their mainstay of treatment.