DRUGSDrugs destroy the delicate balance that the brain needs to func-
tion normally. Drugs stimulate dopamine release no matter what
kind of situation the user is in. That confuses the brain, and it begins
to connect drug use to everything. After a while, the brain becomes
convinced that drugs are the answer to all aspects of life. Feel like
celebrating? Use drugs. Feeling sad? Use drugs. Hanging out with a
friend? Use drugs. Feeling stressed, bored, relaxed, tense, angry, pow-
erful, resentful, tired, energetic? Use drugs. People in twelve-step pro-
grams such as Alcoholics Anonymous say that addicts need to watch
out for three things that might trigger craving and topple them into
relapse: people, places, and things.
THE ADDICT WHO COULD NO LONGER
MAKE HIS CLOTHES WHITE AND BRIGHTCues among addicts can be strange things. One former
drug user had to avoid watching cartoons because his
dealer printed cartoon characters on the drug packages he
sold. Sometimes addicts don’t even know what’s triggering
their craving. A struggling heroin addict found that he was
overcome with craving every time he went to the grocery
store. He had no idea why. It was causing havoc with his
treatment. One day he and his counselor went on a field
trip to the grocery store to try to figure out what was going
on. The counselor told her patient to let her know as soon
as the craving hit. They walked up and down each aisle, one
by one, until suddenly the patient stopped and said, “Now.”
They were in the laundry detergent aisle, standing in front
of a shelf full of bleach. Before he entered treatment, the
addict had reused hypodermic needles by soaking them in
bleach to avoid HIV infection.