Re: Why do drugs get you addicted?

There are two kinds of addictions.  One is called PSYCHOLOGICAL and the
other is called PHYSICAL.

Some drugs actually change the way the brain or body actually works.  This
is a PHYSICAL addiction.  The body becomes so used to having this alien
chemical inside of it that it actually depends on having it there, and
going back is very difficult.  

Some drugs don't really change anything, but we grow so used to their
effects that we cannot give them up.  This is a PSYCHOLOGICAL addiction.
You do not need the chemical, but you think you do.  Computer games are
a psychological addiction.

Some drugs, like aspirin, are not addictive.  They don't change any of
our body chemistry, and they do not create such intense feelings that
we are reluctant to give them up.

Can someone really be addicted to chocolate?  I think so.  I believe I am.
But I know that it is a psychological addiction.  I just like it *so* much
that I can not help but eat it when it's put in front of me.

As for what happens to your brain -- well, that's sort of complicated.
Your brain operates in part by the movement of certain chemicals.  When
those chemicals touch a certain spot called a RECEPTOR, they cause a 
certain reaction:  it might be pain, or a feeling of well-being, or 
sleepiness.  Some drugs, like cocaine, nestle into those receptors and 
stay there.  The receptor gets used to having the drug there, instead of
the natural chemical, and sometimes even will no longer accept the natural
chemical.  

What happens when you stop being addicted?  To a certain extent, the body
can repair itself, which is fortunate.  Getting there, though, is hard,
because once a person stops taking a drug, he often experiences WITHDRAWAL.
That happens when the body itself craves the drug, but can't get it, and 
it starts to malfunction because of it.  Withdrawal symptoms are truly
horrible; some people see things, others get violently sick, others jerk
around uncontrollably...and some people have all three things happen.

In my opinion, no drug is worth having to go through that.