Your brain may respond to pleasure stimuli and leads your body to behave in certain ways. When you get hunger pangs, your brain persuades you to crave a particular “comfort food”. Similarly, the sense of rush and need to win “big money” may stir the “gambler” in some of you to throw in more bids than one to gain greater winnings, only to lose it all at once to chance.

This describes the “reward pathway”, a neuronal network in your brain that is activated by intrinsic needs such as food and water, as well as extrinsic pleasures which are associated with risk-taking behaviours.

When this reward pathway is hijacked by other insidious stimuli such as psychedelics and mind-altering substances, this disordered behaviour re-creates those highs, and this results in a state of continuous compulsions to keep using the drug. This becomes an addiction associated with psychoactive substances. Similarly, you can develop addiction associated with gambling, or pornography use. Addictions can range from a mild to severe state.

Otium specialises in addiction assessment and treatment to assist with sobriety and abstinence. Speak with us at Otium.