Understanding How Addiction Manipulates Control

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How addiction controls people? Addiction controls people in many ways. Some addictions can even lead to death if not stopped early on. Addiction to any kind of substance or drug is not an easy thing to quit. It is hard to quit because it is not physically hard but also mentally hard to end an addiction. Addiction controls people by making them lose control of their actions and cravings. Also addiction controls people by changing their circadian rhythms which make it hard to stay away from what they are addicted to. Addiction causes people to lose self-control so it is harder to resist the urge to go back to the addictive substance or drug (Jellinek 1952). For example, some people might have a harder time quitting an addiction if they have frontal lobe lesions. These lesions make it harder for people to make smart decisions of self-regulation therefore making them more susceptible to addiction (Peterson, Rothfleisch, Zelazo, & Pihl, 1990). The lesions are a physical thing that makes it easier for addictions to control people, but addictive substances and drugs also make it easier for people to lose control and make it easier for their addiction to control their actions and their wants. The frontal lobe is the decision making part of the …show more content…

When circadian rhythms get effected by the use of addictive substances or drugs they also increase the process of addiction. Circadian rhythms get effected because of the excessive drinking of alcohol and the excessive use of drugs. After its effected it is hard to get into the normal pattern of the circadian rhythm. Since it is hard to get the circadian rhythm back to normal even after a person has stopped using the abused substance it makes them vulnerable to relapse, which explains why many people who try to stop their addiction relapse. (Spanagel, Rosenwasser, Schumann, & Sarkar, 2005; Zhabenko, Wojnar, & Brower,

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