5 ms·

I get people saying “Well of cause”. But this is just a fluff piece. I honestly would love to see a scientific breakdown of just how often we are actually seein

I get people saying “Well of cause”. But this is just a fluff piece. I honestly would love to see a scientific breakdown of just how often we are actually seeing people become addicted due to purely psycological or environmental factors. I come from a family that has seen all to many cases of addiction so I am absolutely certain that there is a genetic component to it, and as a result I have consciously stayed away from anything addictive short of caffeine, to which I honestly feel I have an unhealthy addiction that I just cannot cut. I’d love to see someone break down the science. And I truely think that if the consensus became that addiction was most often due to past trauma, then we would see a revolution in how fundamental where distributed and in treatment.

phren0logy 8y ago
"Trauma is Just One Risk Factor Out of Many Possible Contributors to Addiction Disorders" doesn't quite have the same ring to it. But to your point, there are well-described genetic risk factors. And socioeconomic, environmental, etc. risk factors. Like any complex behavior, there's no "one weird trick" that explains it all. But that doesn't get clicks. (I am an MD who treats addiction)
- bernardlunn 8y ago
  Yes, but also trauma is treatable without Pharma drugs eg by meditation, hypnotherapy
  - phren0logy 8y ago
    Yes, I agree. Depending on the person and the circumstances, there are always options.
  - tcj_phx 8y ago
    "Stress" experienced by people who are traumatized (fresh trauma or PTSD) has effects on the physical body. There are some good prescriptions that can help with the biological effects of stress: MAOI's [0], various supplements, etc. Sometimes "depressed" patients really just need thyroid medications. MAOIs are good for getting people out of bed while their team figures out what other sorts of interventions they'd benefit from: [...] New research into MAOIs indicates that much of the concern over their supposed dangerous dietary side effects stems from misconceptions and misinformation, and that it is still underutilized despite demonstrated efficacy.[4] New research also questions the validity of the perceived severity of dietary reactions, which has been based on outdated research. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoamine_oxidase_inhibitor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoamine_oxidase_inhibitor Later anti-depressants (Tri-cyclics, SSRIs, etc) tended to be less-effective than the MAOIs, but the MAOI's patents had expired. B-vitamins can boost the metabolism. There's a prescription version of Methyl-Folate that's approved as an add-on for depression treatment (imho, this vitamin should really be a primary treatment). There's lots of space for the medical perspective on a treatment team.
tw04 8y ago
I can tell you I've got two people in my life suffering addiction and in both cases it can be directly attributed to a trauma they experienced.
- thoughtexplorer 8y ago
  To the OP's point, how does one scientifically determine that to be causal?
  - tw04 8y ago
    I couldn't tell you. What I can tell you is a normal functioning adult who was a casual drinker became an alcoholic essentially overnight. While obviously anecdotal, that seems pretty obviously causal to me.
  - dwaite 8y ago
    Like most studies of human behavior and physiology, it's quite easy to imagine unethical ways to test it
whiddershins 8y ago
FYI the expression is “of course” I.e. “well, of course!”
iliketosleep 8y ago
It's been known for quite some time that overexpression of DeltaFosB [1] is a key component of addiction, and in my view this is essential to understand. But for some reason, these types of articles seldom refer to it. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11572966 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11572966
mindgam3 8y ago
Be careful about being certain of genetic factors. Addiction is undoubtedly passed down through generations to a certain degree, but to my knowledge there is no scientific consensus about whether the delivery mechanism is genetic or cultural/symbolic (ie the meme/“monkey see monkey do” theory). Research into my own family has convinced me that the cultural conditioning is a huge factor. Key data points for me were seeing some very specific behavior patterns replicated across generations by certain women in my family. I just can’t explain that level of “copycat” behavior with a gene.
- canjobear 8y ago
  There is a clear and robust genetic factor, demonstrated in twin studies. http://www.els.net/WileyCDA/ElsArticle/refId-a0005230.html http://www.els.net/WileyCDA/ElsArticle/refId-a0005230.html Not that genetics are the only factor.

phren0logy 8y ago

"Trauma is Just One Risk Factor Out of Many Possible Contributors to Addiction Disorders" doesn't quite have the same ring to it. But to your point, there are well-described genetic risk factors. And socioeconomic, environmental, etc. risk factors. Like any complex behavior, there's no "one weird trick" that explains it all. But that doesn't get clicks. (I am an MD who treats addiction)

bernardlunn 8y ago
Yes, but also trauma is treatable without Pharma drugs eg by meditation, hypnotherapy
- phren0logy 8y ago
  Yes, I agree. Depending on the person and the circumstances, there are always options.
- tcj_phx 8y ago
  "Stress" experienced by people who are traumatized (fresh trauma or PTSD) has effects on the physical body. There are some good prescriptions that can help with the biological effects of stress: MAOI's [0], various supplements, etc. Sometimes "depressed" patients really just need thyroid medications. MAOIs are good for getting people out of bed while their team figures out what other sorts of interventions they'd benefit from: [...] New research into MAOIs indicates that much of the concern over their supposed dangerous dietary side effects stems from misconceptions and misinformation, and that it is still underutilized despite demonstrated efficacy.[4] New research also questions the validity of the perceived severity of dietary reactions, which has been based on outdated research. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoamine_oxidase_inhibitor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoamine_oxidase_inhibitor Later anti-depressants (Tri-cyclics, SSRIs, etc) tended to be less-effective than the MAOIs, but the MAOI's patents had expired. B-vitamins can boost the metabolism. There's a prescription version of Methyl-Folate that's approved as an add-on for depression treatment (imho, this vitamin should really be a primary treatment). There's lots of space for the medical perspective on a treatment team.

tw04 8y ago

I can tell you I've got two people in my life suffering addiction and in both cases it can be directly attributed to a trauma they experienced.

thoughtexplorer 8y ago
To the OP's point, how does one scientifically determine that to be causal?
- tw04 8y ago
  I couldn't tell you. What I can tell you is a normal functioning adult who was a casual drinker became an alcoholic essentially overnight. While obviously anecdotal, that seems pretty obviously causal to me.
- dwaite 8y ago
  Like most studies of human behavior and physiology, it's quite easy to imagine unethical ways to test it

whiddershins 8y ago

FYI the expression is “of course” I.e. “well, of course!”

iliketosleep 8y ago

It's been known for quite some time that overexpression of DeltaFosB [1] is a key component of addiction, and in my view this is essential to understand. But for some reason, these types of articles seldom refer to it. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11572966 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11572966

mindgam3 8y ago

Be careful about being certain of genetic factors. Addiction is undoubtedly passed down through generations to a certain degree, but to my knowledge there is no scientific consensus about whether the delivery mechanism is genetic or cultural/symbolic (ie the meme/“monkey see monkey do” theory). Research into my own family has convinced me that the cultural conditioning is a huge factor. Key data points for me were seeing some very specific behavior patterns replicated across generations by certain women in my family. I just can’t explain that level of “copycat” behavior with a gene.

canjobear 8y ago
There is a clear and robust genetic factor, demonstrated in twin studies. http://www.els.net/WileyCDA/ElsArticle/refId-a0005230.html http://www.els.net/WileyCDA/ElsArticle/refId-a0005230.html Not that genetics are the only factor.