"Dopamine Addiction" and Bipolar

NOS-NOS · Mar 30, 2020 at 12:51 PM

So I know scientifically maybe this hasn't been rectified, but this is more of an intellectual/philosophical statement. I believe I'm addicted to getting surges of dopamine. Let me explain, I've had many "addictions' throughout life but only a few of them stuck beyond a few years. So...in observing my own behavior objectively it seems that I gravitate towards a set of specific behaviors that get my dopamine going. Hell, even writing this post might be one of those behaviors haha. I know I'm not the only one stuck in the dopamine trap. Bipolar only confounds the issue. Thoughts??

bpcyclist · Mar 30, 2020 at 02:45 PM

I don't think you are alone in that. Mania is so intoxicating for perhaps this very reason.

In addiction/AA/NA, you learn quickly that everyone, pretty much, ultimately ends up with their perfect drug. Opiate people usually have zero interest, really, in meth, say. Meth people may settle for cocaine or Adderall or whatever, but they don't like benzos or opiates.

I think bp 1 people may be a bit similar in this regard. But I could be wrong...

Mar 30, 2020 at 04:59 PM

Hey, have you seen this article? --> How addiction hijacks the brain - Harvard Health

Here is a quote:

Quote:

In the brain, pleasure has a distinct signature: the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, a cluster of nerve cells lying underneath the cerebral cortex (see illustration). Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens is so consistently tied with pleasure that neuroscientists refer to the region as the brain's pleasure center.

The article also says

Quote:

Addictive drugs provide a shortcut to the brain's reward system by flooding the nucleus accumbens with dopamine.

[...]

Addictive drugs, for example, can release two to 10 times the amount of dopamine that natural rewards do, and they do it more quickly and more reliably.

From what I understand, manic episodes do the same thing where excessive dopamine is being released.

I think there are a lot of things between mania and addiction that can be tied together.

Moose72 · Mar 30, 2020 at 06:52 PM

Wow, @bluebicycle that's fascinating. I know last year when I was manic, everything was pleasurable it seemed. Every sensation was hightened. And as a result I felt I was connected to the universe and to god.

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"Dopamine Addiction" and Bipolar

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