Brain Chemistry & Addiction

As a warfighter, it’s important to keep both your mind and body strong. This helps you do your job well, make good decisions, and be there for your comrades and family. Misusing drugs can put all of that at risk. Prescription drugs can affect how your brain cells send and receive messages. Some drugs act like the brain’s natural chemicals and attach to brain cells to turn them on, but they don’t work the same way as the real thing. Other drugs make the brain release too much of its natural chemicals or stop them from working the right way. When a doctor prescribes you a drug, they know how it works and give it to help with a health problem. But using prescription drugs in a way that’s not prescribed can be very harmful.

The brain is a complex organ made up of nerves and tissues. It controls your movement, breathing, thinking, emotions, and many other important functions. Keep reading to learn how drug use can affect different parts of your brain.

What Parts of the Brain are Impacted by Drug Use?

• The basal ganglia: This is the part of the brain that helps control your movements and is involved in regulating motivation and the brain’s reward system.
  • Impact of drug use: Drugs can make this part of the brain overactive, causing a strong feeling of pleasure or a “high.” But if someone overuses drugs, the brain will get used to it and become less sensitive, making it harder to feel pleasure from anything other than the drug and requiring more of the drug to get the same high.
• The amygdala: This part of the brain helps control emotions, especially fear and stress. It helps you react to things that might be dangerous or upsetting.
  • Impact of drug use: With drug use, this part of the brain becomes more sensitive and prone to stress, anxiety or fear. Over time, this can lead people to use drugs to attempt escaping these uncomfortable emotions.
• The prefrontal cortex: The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that helps you think, plan, solve problems, make decisions and control your impulses.
  • Impact of drug use: When someone misuses drugs, changes in this part of the brain and other areas make it harder to control urges, so the person feels a strong need to keep using the drug even if they want to stop.

How Does Addiction Impact Normal Brain Function?

• Addiction takes over and can even damage important parts of the brain that are supposed to help us survive.
• When someone is in the process of becoming addicted, the brain’s normal helpful processes can start to work against them. Drugs or alcohol take over the brain’s reward system, making the person want more.
• Addiction can also make the brain’s stress and danger signals much stronger, causing anxiety and stress when not using the substance.

Seek Help

• Warfighter Programs: Each branch of the military has specific substance abuse programs offering prevention, education, counseling and treatment.
  • Marine Corps Substance Abuse Program
  • Navy Alcohol and Drug Prevention Program
  • Air Force Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program
  • Army Substance Abuse Program
• Helplines: Support is always available for warfighters to take the first step toward a healthier future.
  • Military OneSource: Call 800-342-9647 for assistance navigating military-specific resources.
  • Military Crisis Line: Dial 988 and press 1 for immediate support.
  • SAMHSA’s National Helpline: Call 800-662-HELP (4357) for confidential support and referrals to treatment programs.