Snap Back

Since I was eighteen, I have had a passion for photography. These days I do not do as much photography I as did when I operated my own photography studio. From time to time I still photograph grade school children for a few schools. Recently I was photographing some preschoolers, that’s funny to me, aren’t they in school? While we were getting things ready one little boy was gleefully pointing to the sky, joy and wonder painted all over his face. I asked, “What are you pointing at?” As I looked up I could see the moon, I said, “Oh are you pointing at the moon? No sooner had the words left my lips several other kids started looking at the moon, in daylight, with great joy and wonder. One girl even piped in “A banana moon”, I never heard it said that way, but agreed, “yes honey it is a banana moon.”

Through my experience with photographing children of all ages over the years I have seen this joy and wonder in the faces of preschooler and younger kids in all walks of life. I have photographed kids in the suburbs, I have photographed kids in the inner city, kids who’s families have money and kids who’s families have no money, and always its there, that spark of life and anticipation of ALL their world can be. Sadly I have also seen life, all the junk, dysfunction, pressure, distractions, and I guess pain, squeeze every ounce of that spark out. The reasons it happens are far too many to ever cover here, but it does happen. Looking at this picture of LaLa

(Lauren), Evan and their Mom I see that joy in her eyes.

As I sit here today, I wish I could tell you why my daughter lost that spark. I wish I could explain to a dear friend that recently lost a child to a long and hard battle with addiction why it happened, but I do not have the answer. I just know it happens. A past blog post called “What Should I Be Looking For” and “Stabilize” can give some insight into understand how and why it happens to some of us and not others.

Nobody intends to become addicted. Lots of factors affect us getting trapped in addiction and understanding what happens through the process may help you if you love someone who is working towards recovery, even when it looks like they may not be making progress.

It is important for someone who is fighting addictive behaviors and someone trying to be a positive part of their wellness to see the steps of how extended drug use can impact us as human beings.

The first change centers around the “Reward regions” of the brain. This is an important part of how God created us to provide us with joy and fulfillment in life. For a more detailed explanation of what happens in our brain watch these two videos (5 minutes each), “Your Brain on Drugs” , “What Happens to Your Brain on Opiods” or read the book “UnBroken Brain” by Maia-Szalavitz. In simple terms the drug rewards our brains at such extreme levels that the normal reward stimuli that life provides becomes desensitized. The normal responses to life’s best no longer seems to be enough any more. Fortunately, we can rewire our brain over time to re-learn the patterns it knew before the drug hijacked the brain. This is also why, in time, drug users no longer get the “feeling” the drug once gave them and often end up chasing what can’t be reached any more.

Adding to the pull of whatever our drug of choice is, is the onset of “Reactivity to Stress”. This is having to deal with all the negative emotions and events that surround addiction. These may be run-ins with the legal systems, the constant friction of relationships with family, friends, and those we love ( who BTW probably love us very much although it does always feel that way to the person struggling through addiction). A big part of it is also having to now face the psychological and physical pain, which can be very overwhelming, depending on the substance of preference. For example, many people do not realize that withdrawal from alcohol can be life-threatening.

Last, and perhaps longest to conquer, is the loss of “Executive Function”. This refers to the system of the brain that manages:

• Paying attention
• Organizing, planning, and prioritizing
• Starting tasks and staying focused on them to completion
• Understanding different points of view
• Regulating emotions
• Self-monitoring (keeping track of what you’re doing, self-control)

It actually is not fully developed until our mid 20’s,. When a person starts using drugs early in life, as many do today, that action impedes the development of the Frontal Lobe of the brain where all this happens. This is then compounded by the impact of the drug itself on our “Executive Function”. This is why we often see so many poor decisions happening in the lives of our loved one. Our post called “A Way I Can Help My Loved One” gives some ways to help in this.

The good news is that because of the brains “Neuroplasticity” this can all be relearned and the brain rewired if we keep at reversing the behaviors and actions.

Don’t Give Up!

This weeks featured image is by Brooke Shaden called “Identity”. It is very important that the person fighting the addiction re-discovers their true identity.