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Dopamine and Infidelity

May 23, 2015

Dopamine, Infidelity and Sex Addiction

DopaminePeople think of infidelity differently from other social vices like marijuana addiction. They need to think of these two phenomena the same way since the behavior that takes place during an affair mimics exactly the behavior of a drug addict. A person who is addicted to sex or is practicing infidelity has been compared to a moth attracted to candle light. And infidelity has been referred to as “flame addiction.”

Infidelity can be defined as unfaithfulness in a relationship. It is a societal vice that has far reaching negative impacts on relationships and most painfully marriages. Infidelity is one of the major contributors to the tremendous numbers of divorce cases witnessed in the world today.

Another vice that goes hand in hand with infidelity is sex addiction. Sex addiction is in most cases the seed upon which infidelity sprouts. It is a compulsive behavior that completely takes control over the addicts life. The addict is willing to sacrifice what he/she cherishes most in order to preserve and continue his/her unhealthy behavior. They use sexuality to regulate their emotional life like relieving pain or anxiety.

Helping sex addicts and infidels requires first understanding the science of what happens in the brains of these people and seeking to find a way of controlling these biochemical processes towards the desired direction.

What happens when one falls in love?

The brain will produce changes in neurochemicals that alter the feelings of normality at the beginning, a period of infatuation. Then there will be a surge of adrenaline which will take the love struck individual to unimaginable heights. After this serotonin will drop thereby leaving a feeling of emptiness and an obsessive preoccupation with the other person. As have always been known, dopamine is the lighter of the flame addiction (infidelity).

What is dopamine?

Dopamine is a very crucial hormone as it is crucial for such effects as boldness, improved memory, attention, elation and a temporary desire to explore the world and take risks. During orgasm the levels of dopamine surge intensely and the person will be affected in similar manner to a person who has taken heroin. Dopamine is the hormone that causes addiction and once its levels have been fluctuated it will take up to a week to return to normal.

 

After dopamine surge has calmed down, prolactin is released and it works against the effects of dopamine causing such effects as depression, irritability and depletion.

If you have been blaming your lover for your post-sex and post-romance frustration, you need to know the chemistry causing it. It is advisable to have non-orgasmic sex as it helps avoid the dopamine peak and its side effects.

Dopamine and infidelity

Dopamine may cause infidelity. when a couple has been married and nothing is kept new or fresh the dopamine levels will be low while when a person has been seeing an attractive person out of marriage and he/she seems unreachable the levels of dopamine will surge and so the pursuit begins.

Since time immemorial, mating and reproduction is an activity that was not for the faint hearted as an individual has to pursue the possible mate with efforts and even fights to win. This could not be possible without a reward system, so the reward center was placed in the brain dopamine and it heightens when the pursuit for mate is successfully finished, hence a motivation to the pursuer.

Something new in relationship will boost the dopamine level that is why a couple who has been married for a long time will spend some nights without sex but a man who has just had sex may have sex with other women as the level of dopamine will be rekindled with each new partner. Infidelity is fuelled when the partner is playing hard to get as it heightens dopamine level.

Dopamine and sex addiction

Sex is addictive. All human behaviors that are rewarding in nature are prone to be addictive and sex is just one of the many addictive human behaviors, once a person has tasted the waters it becomes very hard to quit. If you need to break the chains of sex craving you need to be principled and committed to the course as it’s not an easy task.

Addictions sometimes do overlap and replace each other. When a person falls short on the dopamine triggered by having sex, he will turn to another source like eating, to fill the vacuum. This explains why some people prefer smoking a cigarette after sex; they seek the dopamine heights from nicotine smoking to make up for the falling levels after sex.

Apart from dopamine here are other hormones that may cause happiness but it is the hormone that persistently asks you to repeat an act that induces pleasure even when it has adverse effects.

Dopamine is a vital hormone but the pleasure it offers is addictive but you will never be willing to face the truth as it will be very rewarding. You therefore need to mind the frequency at which you do some pleasurable activities as you may become addicted to them.

Is there hope for infidels and sex addicts?

DopamineUnderstanding the process of flame addiction is crucial to healing—for both the victim and perpetrator. For any person who wants to quit philandering, it is essential to cut all the links between him/her and the mate with whom they had an affair.

Just like drug addictions quitting this behavior needs commitment, you may fail many times but you should not give up on your marriage. Feel open; seek help from leaders and people you respect.

Finally, Sex addiction is a serious menace, please call on Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Centre will give you the support you require and help you wrestle down this menace.

Dopamine, Infidelity and Sex Addiction

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Sex Addiction Affects the Nervous System

May 21, 2015

Neurobiology of Sex Addiction

Sex AddictionSex addiction is a crucial topic and when anybody has taken time to read very post about it, it is only prudent that I simplify everything and walk along with everyone as know about the neurobiology of sex addiction. This is really necessary as not very person who suffers from sex addiction can understand medicine jargons. To begin with;

What is Neurobiology?

This is the study of cells of the nervous system and how these cells are organized into functional circuits that helps in processing information and influence behaviors. Neurobiology is a sub unit of both biology and neuroscience. In comparison, neuroscience is broader as a scientific study of the nervous system than neurobiology.

The nervous system is very essential in the body owing to its vital functions. Firstly let’s delve into the functions of the neurons that we may validate its relevance in this topic of sex addiction. The neurons are cells that are specialized to receive, propagate, and transmit electrochemical impulses to initiate certain responses that are important for optimum functioning of the body. The human brain has neurons that amount to more than billions. The neurons are specialized to perform different functions; they are also diverse in morphology.

The nervous system is very important owing to its many function, it is therefore essential that it remains healthy all the time as any disorder may affect it negatively and culminate into more serious or even fatal conditions. Anytime there is a defect in the neurotransmitters the person must suffer the effects. Contrary to what people think, imbalances in the neurotransmitters never affect the health of a person only but also it influences the behaviors of a person.

Neurobiological disorders refer to diseases of the nervous system and they may be caused by genetic, metabolic and other biological factors. Most of the disorders termed as psychiatric disorders are neurobiological. They include but not limited to; autism, obsessive-compulsive disorders, Tourette syndrome, bipolar disorders and even schizophrenia. These disorders are common and can affect anybody, it is advisable to adopt good nutrition and avoid substances that may deplete the neurons and interfere with the proper functioning of the nervous system. In this post we will look at the changes or imbalance in the nervous system that may lead to sex addiction and how sex addiction relates to these neurotransmitters.

Neurobiology of sex addiction

For there to be an effective approach in sex addiction treatment, there has to be a detailed understanding of how the compulsive behavior affects the brain. This has led to many researchers to establish the link. In a research done by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, a study that looked into brain activity in nineteen male patients affected by compulsive sexual behavior and then compared them to the same number of healthy controls. The patients that participated in this research study had begun watching pornography at early stages in their lives as opposed to the healthy volunteers.

Dr. Valerie Voon, a Welcome Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellow at the University of Cambridge explained that the patients had been suffering from lack of control of their sexual desires and acts and this had exposed them to adverse consequences that were weighing them down, ruining their lives and relationships. The doctor further observed that these patients exhibited the characteristics similar to those who from drug addictions. Part of the research goals was to show if there were similarities in the brain activity of sex addicts and drug addicts.

For this study, were shown videos some of which were sexually explicit while others were just sport videos, their brain activity was thereafter monitored by the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which uses a blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal to measure brain activity.

The researchers found that three regions in particular were more active in the brains of the people with compulsive sexual behavior compared with the healthy volunteers. Considerably, these regions; the ventral striatum, dorsal anterior cingulate and amygdala were regions that are also particularly activated in drug addicts when shown drug stimuli. The ventral striatum is the part of brain that is involved in processing reward and motivation, while the dorsal anterior cingulate is implicated in anticipating rewards and drug craving. The amygdala is involved in processing the significance of events and emotions.

Brain activity mirrors in sex addiction is similar to that in drug addiction

When the patients were asked to rate their level of desire after watching the explicit sexual videos, they showed higher levels of sexual desire but when asked when they liked them, they didn’t rate them high an indication that they watch porn compulsively but they really don’t like watching porn. This phenomenon is similar to drug addicts who do drugs but they don’t like doing it. Their desire was also correlated with higher interactions between regions within the network identified with greater cross-talk between the dorsal cingulate, ventral striatum and amygdala for explicit as compared to sports videos.

SEx AddictionThe researchers verified that the brain activity of those who are addicted to sex is similar to the brain activity of patents who are addicted to drugs and other substances.

“There are clear differences in brain activity between patients who have compulsive sexual behavior and healthy volunteers. These differences mirror those of drug addicts,” concludes Dr. Voon.

There is need to restore the chemical balances in the brain for a successful addiction treatment. At AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center we have made it our priority to ensure that every addict has a place he can call on and find a lasting help. Call on Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for help.

Neurobiology of Sex Addiction

 

 

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The Sex Differences and Addiction

May 19, 2015

Women Are More Susceptible To Addiction than Men

DifferencesIn the past drug addiction was not a discussion for women; it has long been known that men are more likely to suffer from drug related consequences than women, while this is true; Men are more prone to become addicted to substances than women. This is why most research studies have been focused on men. In comparison the pace at which women develop dependence and addiction to drugs is quicker than in men. They also get to suffer the negative effects of drugs and other addictions earlier and more severely than men. They show the effects of drugs earlier in their physical conditions, medical conditions and social effects as compared to men. Several studies have also shown that women find it more difficult to quit using their drugs of abuse or quit their addictive behaviors and may relapse easily as compared to men.

There has been a cause for alarm in the rate and pace at which women fall into addiction. It has been documented that women may begin using drugs later than men and may use it less frequently but when they begin using the drugs they take less duration for the addiction to peak than in men. They become dependent on the drug of abuse sooner than men and the side effects of using the drugs set in them earlier in the addiction cycle than in men.

The number of women battling addiction is on the rise

This risk of addiction that has been shown in women has soon changed the trend in research, today researchers are more concerned about women, and they are enrolled in good numbers in research studies as opposed to earlier time when all research studies were all about men. with this change in trend there is hope that more will be unearthed about the differences gender play in addiction and hopefully this will lay ground for giving treatments that will best suit each gender especially women who are now on the rise in issues of addiction.

According to a literature review on Gender similarities and differences: the prevalence and course of alcohol- and other substance-related disorders by Zilberman M, Tavares H, el-Guebaly N in 2003; the number of women abusing alcohol are fewer than men. But the rate at which young women are getting intoxicated on alcohol regularly is on the rise and the consequences of alcohol consumption are more severe on women than in men. it has been established that women become more rapidly addicted to alcohol than men do and brain chemistry become altered in women faster than in men. Generally the effects of drugs and alcohol use weigh down on women earlier and more adversely than in men.

some of the biologically factors that have been identified as likely cause of the differences in the way women are affected by drugs include the fact that women generally weigh less than men since their bodies are made of more fats and less water, fat retains alcohol while water does the opposite; diluting it. So their biological make-up favors alcohol and puts them at risk. Another factor is that they have low amounts of enzymes that help in breaking down the alcohol once consumed so whenever they consume alcohol, they will remain with high amounts of alcohol in their bloodstreams than men. This enzyme is known as alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH).

Women and addiction to illicit drugs

Like mentioned earlier, in the past decades researchers prioritized men in their researchers and so there is still need for more literature relating women to drug addictions. Currently, there is clarity in the ways that women and men react differently to alcohol; however there is haze on how women respond to drugs like cocaine, meth as they are abused equally by the genders. However, for cocaine research has shown that women begin using the drug earlier than men; they develop dependence more quickly and have higher chances of relapse after treatment. This difference is attributed to the fluctuations in the hormonal levels that take place during menstruation which intensifies cravings for drugs. This can be blamed on the effects of estrogen on dopamine systems.

DifferencesIn the use of opioid the differences in effects has been drawn from men and women users. Research has shown that women are more likely to become addicted to prescription drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin, morphine and methadone since they suffer more to chronic pain. This in return places them at a higher risk of becoming addicted to the opioids than men. However in relation to the pace at which they become dependent there is more that still needs to be done to clearly show the difference.

In conclusion, the physiological and psychological sex differences in response to drugs of abuse are well documented and this is mostly attributed to hormonal interactions between dopamine and estrogen, however there is yet to be an explanation of how the interactions between these two hormones relate to the use of drugs of abuse and their effects in the dopamine systems.

The rate at which women are becoming addicted to drugs is a call for concern. We at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center are committed to giving help to those battling with addictions. Just in case you are affected, feel free to call on Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) for help

Women Are More Susceptible To Addiction than Men

 

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Stem Cell Treatment for Back Pain and Joint Disease

May 1, 2015

Relieve Chronic Pain without Surgery Stem Cell Treatment for Back Pain and Joint Disease

Joint diseaseJoint diseases are known for the pain they cause. Then there is the back pain that many people are tied to without relief. There is little that is done to avail the much needed permanent relief to the patients enduring the chronic back and joint pains. To some people pain may be synonymous to addiction as that is where their addiction stemmed from. The common way of dealing with pain is to give the patients pain medication that in most the case is to help them endure the pain rather than correcting the mishap in the joints and promote healing. The opioids that are mostly used by pain patients often cause addiction and dependence when used for a long time. However there is now a ray of hope for these patients suffering from chronic back pain and joint diseases.

It has been reported that Medical researchers are trying a new treatment for low back pain. Their hope is that harvesting and then re-injecting the body’s own bone marrow which is rich in stem cells may repair worn-out discs in the spine and promote recovery. The stem cells have been a center of focus in degenerative medicine and several experiments that have been done on the use of stem cells for treatment of degenerative disease have raised hope of patients. Already there are doctors using the stem cell therapy in treating their patients suffering from various diseases.

The researchers are reported to have done a small study in which none of the patients reported any adverse effects on their pain after they were treated with the bone marrow derived stem cells. Therefore the study is deemed safe and effective. However the team of researchers admitted that there is still more research that is needed to be done on the area but still they maintained that it is a promising cutting-edge treatment.

“I tell everybody that this is experimental, with a capital E,” said Dr. Joseph Meyer Jr., an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist at the Columbia Interventional Pain Center, in St. Louis. “We don’t know if it works. I do believe that it’s safe, but it might not do anything for you.”

For the study, Meyer and his colleagues reviewed the case histories of 24 patients who were injected with their own bone marrow aspirate cellular concentrate (BMAC). Bone marrow concentrate contains adult stem cells, which have been called the body’s own repair kit because they can change into different cells and tissues in the body and potentially heal different kinds of tissues that are often affected by various diseases.

The patients that Dr. Meyer used in the experiment were reported to have suffered from chronic low back pain for anywhere from three months to 12 years and had had shown some evidence of degeneration, or damage, to the discs that cushion the bones of the spine. Disc degeneration is common with age, and it is thought to be a major cause of low back pain. Most of the times patients will be advise to exercise and reduce weight but if these methods fail to give any desirable results then the only option available for the patients has been invasive spinal fusion surgery.

“Fusion is a big, big step with questionable effectiveness,” he said. “Often, you’re back in the same boat a year later.”

As noted by Dr. Meyer, the invasive spinal fusion surgery is not really a lasting solution but rather helps temporarily as the problem will reoccur later most even more unbearable. He therefore opines that the stem cell treatment is potentially the best treatment that patients should consider before delving into spinal fusion surgery.

The healing potential of the stem cells

Joint diseaseFrom the experiment that Dr. Meyer conducted, a procedure that he did by using a long needle with which he harvested stem cells from the bone marrow of the patients and re-injected it into the spinal discs that had problems, half the patients used in the in the experiment went back to their other procedures over the next 30 months, making it impossible to know what might have affected their back pain. Of the other 12 who had no other kinds of treatment, 10 reported that their pain lessened in the two to four months after their injections. After a year, eight patients were still reporting significant pain relief, while three said their back pain had not improved. One patient had not yet reached the 12-month mark. After two years, five said their back pain was better, and three had no improvement. For the other four, it was still too early to tell.

Nevertheless, the healing powers of the mesenchymal stem cells have been hailed by different doctors, institutions and researchers. The stem cells owe their ability to treat to their unique properties; they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; and they can give rise to specialized cell types. It is these distinct characteristics of the stem cells that make them effective in treatment of degenerative diseases.

With research that has been done on the effects of stem cells injection in healing the patients suffering from joint pain and other pains, it can be concluded that there is more hope for those suffering from these diseases. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert in integrative medicine and a founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Center located at Myrtle Beach South Caroline. Visit her for more information on most lifestyle diseases.

Relieve Chronic Pain without Surgery Stem Cell Treatment for Back Pain and Joint Disease

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Depression and Addiction

January 20, 2015

Dopamine Depletion Causes Depression and Addiction

Depression and addictionThe brain is a complex yet very crucial part of the human body. There are chemicals that are produced by the brain and they work as messengers otherwise known as neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters enable you to have a normal day without mood swings and even control how you relate to everything in your surroundings. The functions of these neurotransmitters can be altered when the levels of these neurotransmitters is changed. Of all the brain chemicals, dopamine is a common one. It is known by many people even out of the medical circles because of ‘its good feelings’ some people associate it with.

Dopamine in itself has many functions. It’s involved in many different important pathways. However, most people can only identify dopamine with such aspects as motivation, addiction, attention, or lust, their knowledge of dopamine is limited to the mesolimbic pathway. It is a pathway which starts with cells in the ventral tegmental area, buried deep in the middle of the brain, which send their projections out to places like the nucleus accumbens and the cortex.

When a person engages in sex, use of drugs or partying the brain will respond by increasing the levels of dopamine released in the nucleus accumbens .However during addiction the dopamine signaling in this area is changed. For any drug to have any pleasurable feeling to the user then the level of dopamine must be increased and this is what causes euphoric feelings that drug users will do anything to achieve.

What causes depletion of dopamine?

It has been a proven fact that stress causes depletion of dopamine. Acute stress affects nerve activities and depletes dopamine. However, major causes of dopamine depletion are through the use of alcohol and other drugs of abuse. when used for few times or for shorter period of time the drugs such as meth, cocaine and even alcohol will induce an increase in the levels of dopamine that is produced by the brain however after repeated long-term use, the brain begins to shutdown dopamine receptors, so when a person is not on a drug, there is very little dopamine left in brain and he will get depressed. This is caused by a chemical imbalance in her brain. With absence of dopamine in areas like the temporal lobe the emotional stability of a person is affected but when it missing in places like the striatum it will cause impaired mental function; a person’s ability to feel or think become affected.

It is because of these feelings that make people addicted to their drugs of use. When you have conditioned your brain to produce high levels of dopamine only when you are using drugs then it will be hard for you to quit using the drugs as every time you try to quit all the withdrawal symptoms, some of which may be too severe sets in and that ties a person to drug use. Causing addiction and dependence thereafter.

Depletion of dopamine can also be caused by poor nutrition. According to the Franklin Institute reports, poor nutrition can cause the levels of dopamine to decrease. The reports explain that alcohol, caffeine and sugar may reduce dopamine levels in the brain. The Franklin Institute recommends consumption of plenty of fruits and vegetables, because they provide antioxidants, which help protect dopamine-using brain cells from free damage. In addition to good nutrition, watching your weight is also a good idea of keeping your dopamine levels in healthy levels as obesity also causes depletion of dopamine.

Low levels of dopamine causes depression

Imbalances in the neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine cause depression. As mentioned earlier, this imbalance may be caused by use of drugs of pleasure or by other diseases. Apart from these two causes, a person may also have a family history of depression and so predisposed to depression a case which makes it rather complicated for the brain to produce the neurotransmitters in required amounts. The brain has a great role to play in inhibiting depression; it has to produce the millions of chemicals it produces in the right amounts everyday failure to which you will be depressed. It’s that complicated.

In the long-term, all drugs and alcohol are brain depressants. In moderate amounts, alcohol does not lead to depression, but abusing drugs or alcohol will definitely lead to depression. This is because they deplete your brain of serotonin and dopamine. Researchers warn that it may take quite a long time for depleted dopamine to be restored and so it is important to avoid abusing drugs.

Depression and AddictionAlcohol abuse almost doubles the risk of depression. In one study that looked at 2,945 alcoholics. Fifteen percent were depressed before they began abusing alcohol, and that number jumped to 26 percent after they started abusing alcohol. Once they stopped drinking for an extended period, 15 percent remained depressed. This study showed that alcohol almost doubles the risk of depression.

Marijuana has also been linked to depression. It is reported that marijuana users are four times more likely to develop depression. In one study which monitored a large group of people for 16 years, it was discovered that people who smoked marijuana were four times more likely to develop depression. Another study followed later with 1601 students and confirmed the findings.

Finally, Drug abuse, addiction and independence are problems that people grapple with every day. These problems need to be treated effectively through integrative medicine. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert at this. Call her on (843) 213-1480 for help.

Dopamine Depletion Causes Depression and Addiction

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