Physical and Psychological Dependency

In therapy, you’ll typically explore patterns that trigger your use and work to create new patterns of thought and behavior. If you drink coffee every morning to wake yourself up, your body might come to rely on it to be alert and upright. 5The median raphe nucleus is an area in the brain stem that contains a large proportion of the brain’s serotonin neurons and therefore significantly https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/psychological-dependence-on-alcohol-physiological-addiction-symptoms/ supplies the brain with this important neurotransmitter. Serotonin can influence CRF activity both within and outside the HPA axis. 2The autonomic nervous system is that division of the nervous system which regulates the functions of the internal organs and controls essential and involuntary bodily functions, such as respiration, blood pressure and heart rate, or digestion.

In this situation, the only thing that matters is getting the substance and using the substance. This can lead a person to do things they would not normally do. Even less problematic discomforts, such as sweating and teary eyes, are both attributes of physical addictive dependence versus psychological addictive dependence. For example, we have long been told that people need to hit “rock bottom” before they’ll get help, but this isn’t true. Anyone with an addiction can get help at any point if they feel it’s the right time. People used to believe that addiction only happened in certain areas, like in inner cities, or among specific groups of people, like those who were down and  out.

Getting Help with a Physical Dependence On Alcohol

Although the first step towards getting sober is admitting you have a problem and asking for help, the next step is identifying your specific needs so that your treatment plan is best tailored to your situation. This is why, upon enrolling at an addiction treatment center, you will complete an assessment that will gain an understanding of your physical and psychological symptoms. People who suffer from addiction will typically experience both physical and psychological dependence.

Psychological dependence is when the use of substance ties to a feeling or event, called triggers. It’s not quite the same as physiological dependence, because it requires a trigger for you to crave that substance. Once you beat your physiological dependence, you’ll continue with treatment. In addition to your body adapting to the chemicals, your psyche has done so, too. You need to work on overcoming the psychological aspect of the condition next. At North Jersey Recovery Center, we strive to make your addiction treatment experience as comfortable as possible.

Characteristics of Physical Dependence

This erroneous belief is pertinent to the disease model of addiction in that it purports that “addiction is not a choice” because people with substance use disorders do make decisions regarding their substance abuse. It has been postulated that naltrexone may blunt the rewarding effects of alcohol, whereas acamprosate may attenuate adaptive changes during abstinence that favor relapse (Heilig and Egli 2006; Litten et al. 2005). To put it another way, physical vs psychological dependence means mental vs physical symptoms. Also, a program at an addiction recovery center will deal with them separately. This can happen immediately or manifest weeks to years later.

Just like with other diseases, sometimes you need multiple treatments or repeat treatments. Speak with your doctor if you have become physically dependent on a medication or other substance. Other common substances that cause dependence are nicotine and pain relievers, particularly narcotics.

Treatment for Substance Use Disorders

This can progress to the point of it being difficult to use a writing utensil or silverware. The two biggest gastrointestinal problems are constipation and diarrhea in relation to physical drug dependence. Lastly, seizures are the result of connections between nerve cells in the brain being blocked. Balance family obligations and mental health self-care by attending therapy online. Group and individual therapy sessions can help people manage addiction, mental health, and dual diagnosis concerns. When hobbies like boating, fishing or crafting no longer have a place in your life as it did before, it is a sign of dependence on substance abuse.

Until the need for repair is recognized, nothing can be fixed. Once you’ve realized that you need tools and guidance, choosing a treatment program that provides what you need will get the recovery process underway. As previously noted, increased anxiety represents a significant component of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Importantly, this negative-affect state may contribute to increased risk for relapse as well as perpetuate continued use and abuse of alcohol (Becker 1999; Driessen et al. 2001; Koob 2003; Roelofs 1985). Indeed, both preclinical and clinical studies suggest a link between anxiety and propensity to self-administer alcohol (Henniger et al. 2002; Spanagel et al. 1995; Willinger et al. 2002).

What is Psychological Dependence?

The downside is that these reports may not always be accurate. Despite this, chemical dependence must be treated as a whole for it to work. Not being able to stop drug usage is a common symptom of psychological dependency versus physical dependency. This is a behavior that is symptomatic of psychological dependency.

Samples were taken before, during, and after the 2-hour drinking session, when the mice had the opportunity to voluntarily drink alcohol (15 percent vol/vol) or water. Alcohol intake during the drinking session was 3.04 ± 0.15 g/kg for dependent mice and 2.32 ± 0.28 g/kg for nondependent mice. Horizontal lines and shaded area represent brain alcohol levels (means ± SEM) measured in the dependent mice during chronic intermittent alcohol exposure (28.4 ± 3.5 mM). The easiest way to understand physical dependence vs psychological dependence is that physical dependence affects the body while psychological dependence affects behavior. Another way to view psychological dependence vs physical dependence is that people with a physical dependence continue abusing a drug to avoid negative physical symptoms.