humans and addiction

Humans are coded for survival, reproduction, and advancement, with fear often overriding love and compassion. This survival wiring—rooted in the reptilian brain—served primitive man well in avoiding extinction but now reacts to modern “threats” like a stolen parking spot. In danger, the nervous system floods the body with catecholamines, triggering fight, flight, or freeze responses. When altered by trauma, substances, or unnatural stress, this programming becomes harder to regulate. Addiction hijacks the brain’s decision-making centers, making self-medication feel necessary for relief. Once this occurs, the choice disappears, and the cycle of fear-driven behavior, substance use, and deteriorating mental and physical health repeats.

Addiction thrives in this survival framework, as drugs and alcohol become tools to escape circumstances, minimize consequences, or numb entirely. Fear manifests outwardly as anger or inwardly as resentment, driving destructive patterns that affect not just the addict but everyone around them. The drug quickly takes control of mind, body, and spirit, dismantling prior coping skills and spiritual practices. This surrender to the lower brain’s survival instincts—often compounded by genetic predisposition—turns comfort-seeking into enslavement. Breaking the cycle requires daily reconditioning to let modern threats roll off without triggering ancient, fear-based responses.

 A normal brain has balanced activity and healthy structure, while a brain on drugs shows abnormal reward-center surges and, over time, reduced activity and structural damage.