When people hear chemical imbalance they right away assume that it means mental illness. Well it doesn't. A chemical imbalance can come from stress, an over burdened schedule, or even worry. An underlying cause to most, if not all addictions seem to be a chemical imbalance in the brain. A chemical imbalance that leads to an unquiet mind. Now anxiety can often lead to self medication through addiction. I view addiction sort of as a way for the mind to protect itself from the damages that stress can cause. Alcohol, drug addiction, food addiction, gambling etc. may be an unhealthy reaction to stress and anxiety, but a continuing addiction does help alleviate the uneasy and unquiet stresses in the brain. Unfortunatly too, addiction is quite damaging in that it refocuses the addicts time and attention away from the people, things and responsibilities that matter most in ones life. And when addiction involves substances such as drugs and alcohol, these substances can and usually do cause severe health problems.





Learning to calm the effects of chemical imbalances on the brain will help one steer away from getting caught up in the addiction process. Mental illness has an effect on the seratonin and dopamine levels in the brain. A good number of medications for mental ilness are designed to control the levels of these brain chemicals. The part of the brain most responsible for addiction deal with the pleasure/reward centers of the brain.


More on understanding what addiction and chemical imbalance is!

rush limbaugh and addictive personality

When Rush Limbaugh had to disclose his addiction to the pain medication Oxycontin, it came as a huge surprise to many. Actually, a few months before he disclosed his addiction, the National Enquirer was running headline stories about it. So he did not have much of a choice but to disclose it. When I had heard about his addiction I was not at all surprised, saddened maybe, but not surprised. I am always saddened when I see someone suffering from alcohol or drug addiction. You see Rush Limbaugh clearly exhibits all the traits of addiction and addictive personalities. On air he is always talking about his "formerly nicotine stained fingers". A reference to his former smoking days. Of course smoking is an addiction. Rush has also spoken many, many times about his up and down battle with weight. So through his own admission and through the various photos of him it is clear that he has often suffered from food addiction. When he went into rehab a few years ago to break his addiction to the pain medication Oxycontin, several tabloid newspapers had reported that he had taken up smoking again while in rehab. So he quits the Oxycontin and takes up smoking to cope with his anxieties that are no longer being coped with through his taking of pain medication. Rush Limbaugh was extremely over weight about 10 or 15 years ago. He finally slimmed down about 12 years ago, right about the time when he has admitted that his addiction to Oxycontin began. So his food addiction ends when his addiction to the calming pain medication begins. Rush remained thin for the 10 years he was addicted to the Oxycontin. So now, a couple of years after his addiction to pain medication ended, Rush has again developed a problem with weight. So his food addiction is back. What you should understand about addiction, all types of addiction is this, it is all rooted in the same general causes. Addiction is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. This chemical imbalance is triggered in a few ways. A psychological disorder will cause a chemical imbalance and so will extreme fear, or emotionally traumatic situations. Also stress and social pressures will cause a chemical imbalance. To end your addictions you need to treat the underlying root causes of your chemical imbalance. If you don't, then you will shuffle from one addiction to another in an effort to deal with an unquiet mind brought on by your chemical imbalance. I remember how my auntie Connie used to shake when she went without her cigarettes for more than one or two hours. Hence, the anxiety she suffered from a chemical imbalance. Take a look at what usually happens to most smokers who quit smoking. They will gain weight. Most of them say that they have gained weight because they now have clean taste buds and can really enjoy the taste of food. Wrong! The reason they gain weight is because they have replaced one addiction with another. That's what is called trading addictions. They can greatly end their addiction if they would just treat the root causes of the chemical imbalance that is bringing on anxieties in their unquiet mind. When I quit my heavy drinking I had found myself addicted to over the counter sleeping pills for over a year. Then when I quit taking the sleeping pills to calm down I found myself drinking herbal tea with the calming ingredients of Cava Cava or Valerian. Both natural sedatives. I also found myself walking 3 or 4 miles a day. I did not really decide I was going for a walk, I just could not keep still and before I knew it, I found myself walking quite often. So having an addiction does not make someone a bad person, you really have to sympathize with the anxious feelings an addict feels. What the addict needs to do is treat their chemical imbalance and then their need to engage in addictive substances and behaviors will greatly diminish. The fact is that at least 1 in 3 suffer from an addiction, half don't know it or won't recognize it, but the facts are clear that addictive disorders are much more common than most people have imagined.
This blog is written in conjunction with my upcoming book "NEW JOURNEY RECOVERY" RECOVERY FROM ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION by John Carcerano
website address: www.newjourneyrecovery.com