Cravings and Addiction

A craving is an overwhelming urge for the substance or behavior that one is addicted to. When an addict doesn’t do the substance or engage in the addictive behavior for any reason a craving develops for that to which they are addicted to. Unfulfilled cravings when a person is an addict results in withdrawal. Cravings occur regardless of the type of addiction it is. Both physical and psychological addictions create cravings.

The human body naturally craves things we need to biologically function like food and sex. It is part of our natural reward system. Our brains are wired for us to seek natural rewards as part of our survival mechanisms. We need food for sustenance and sex for the continuation of the human race.  Addictions trigger the same circuitry in the brain that our natural reward system responds to.

Cue and triggers are those things signals that makes an addict crave the source of their addiction. It can be a sight, sound, smell or thought that creates the need or craving. The urge that the cue or trigger activates becomes so strong that the addict craves what they are addicted to. It’s such a strong sensation that it overpowers the addicted person both physically and psychologically. Cravings as a result of an addiction are stronger than those that an addict has for food or sex; unless food and sex are their addictions.

Some people can handle cravings better than others. It’s those who can’t that are more addiction prone that those that do. Controlling Cravings are handled through the inhibitory circuit system of the brain. People with full blown addictions have a much harder time with this part of their brain. Their inhibitory systems are weaker than those who are not addictive prone. When a person has an addiction the pleasure chemicals released in the brain also contribute to a weakened inhibitory system. The brain responds to both drug and sex cues as fast as 33 milliseconds which is long enough to subconsciously trigger a craving. What this means is that one does not even have to be conscious of the fact that they are in craving mode.

Another reason a person that is addicted to a substance or behavior gives in to the craving is because if they don’t they start to experience withdrawal symptoms from the addiction. An unsatisfied craving experienced by an addict turns into either a psychological or physical craving. This is why it’s so important for those addicted to things to stay away from those things that turn on their triggers. It is very important for an addict who is trying to recover their lives to stay away from anything that will remind them of the need to either use a substance or do the addictive activity.