This framework based on focus helps to undo the damage caused to our brains by addiction. Addiction over time damages our brains so that it consistently makes harmful choices, even when we don’t want it to. The word addiction itself comes from a Latin term for “enslaved by” or “bound to” (Harvard Mental Health Letter, July 2011). For anyone who has suffered with addiction, you know how appropriate this term truly is. Addiction changes the brain first through “hijacking” the way it registers pleasure and then through corrupting other normal drives such as learning and motivation. Today we recognize addiction as a disease which changes the brain both in structure and function.
Key points:
- Addiction hijacks the brain
- Working the steps can help rewire the brain for recovery and can take us to a place of safety, serenity, and sanity
- Working the Twelve Principles helps us go deeper in our recovery and helps us to integrate different areas of the brain
