Imagine you are taking your kid to college for the first time in a city quite a distance from where you live. The first time you head to the campus, the odds are pretty good that you are going to need a map or a GPS device to help you find your way. Even with those aids, it is possible that you will struggle a bit as you traverse a long distance. But you will get them eventually.
You might continue to rely on your wayfinding tools each of the next several times you travel to the school. After all, you don’t want to get lost, right?
But there will likely come a point when you feel confident that you can make the trip without referring to your trusty map or listening to the voice of your GPS. At that point, you have internalized the steps necessary to get from point A to point B, and you can consistently do it from memory.
Now imagine a major construction project that forces you to take a long and twisty detour. Time to break out the maps and the GPS again. But if you travel the new route frequently enough, pretty soon you will have it committed to memory, too.
Something similar can happen in the brain when it comes to recovery from a substance use disorder—and it is all thanks to something called neuroplasticity.
Your Brain Is Amazing—And Amazingly Pliable
Neuroplasticity is probably not a word you use or encounter every day. Nevertheless, the idea is easy to grasp: “neuro” refers to your nervous system and brain; “plasticity” refers to the ability of something to be reshaped—like plastic. Neuroplasticity, then, is a word for your brain’s ability to reshape it pathways in a way similar to finding an alternate route while driving.
When a person develops a substance use disorder, a pathway is established in the brain that causes it to become used to drugs or alcohol. In fairly short order, being used to drugs or alcohol morphs into being dependent on drugs or alcohol.
This pathway is at the heart of a substance use disorder. It is what keeps you using drugs or alcohol—and it is what makes it so devilishly difficult to give those substances up. When you try to quit using drugs or alcohol, your brain sends out a signal akin to the grumpy GPS voice telling you it is “recalculating.”
When this happens, you start to experience any of a wide array of withdrawal symptoms, including intense cravings for your substance of choice. Your brain is basically trying to make you stay on the pathway that includes regular use of substances.
But when you go through treatment for your substance use disorder and start your recovery journey, you have the opportunity to create a new pathway in your brain. That pathway can take some time to create (like seemingly all construction projects), but it can be done when you are patient, persistent, and committed to keeping your recovery on track.
Old Habits Can Still Misdirect You
We would love to tell you that once a new pathway is forged, you are home free when it comes to maintaining your recovery. It would be ideal if you could go through treatment and then never have to worry about being tempted by drugs or alcohol ever again. But challenges can—and probably will—still arise.
To return to our original example of traveling to take your kid to college, you might memorize the new route to campus but then forget to follow it and find yourself in the construction zone you have been working hard to avoid. You took the old route when you meant to stick to the new one, which means the smooth sailing you enjoyed by learning the new route has been replaced by a long, frustrating wait in traffic.
Getting stuck on the old route is akin to experiencing a relapse. And though we wish it were otherwise, the truth is that relapse is always a risk in recovery. Still, going down the wrong path does not mean that the right path disappears. You can restart your recovery by returning to treatment and then recommitting to strengthening the new, substance-free pathway in your brain.
The Route to Recovery Starts Here
Located near Wichita, Kansas, Bel Aire Recovery Center offers personalized and evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, and issues centered in trauma. Our treatment options include inpatient and outpatient programs designed to help you get free from drugs or alcohol and maintain that freedom over time.
From our medically supervised detoxification process to our robust rehabilitation program, we are committed to giving you the tools, resources, and support you need to reclaim your life. That support continues via our dedication to our alumni. And if you experience a relapse, we are committed to seeing you through the process again as you continue to work toward the kind of life you want to live.