Poor rats

They do such insane testing on animals now-a-days. I mean, injecting them with cocaine and fucking up their amgydalas? Jesus. I am grateful everyday to rats who have made the medication I take available. Anyway....

“Early emotional trauma, paired with a certain genetic background, may alter the early development of neural networks intrinsic to the amygdala, resulting in a cascade of brain effects and functional changes that present in adulthood as a dual-diagnosis disorder.”

These researchers did tests on rats whos amygdalas (the part of your brain that regulates fear and anxiety) were genetically messed up, and rats whose brains they messed with. It appears the brains that were genetically messed up (like those of us with mental illness) were more likely to become addicted to substances than even the rats who had trauma later in life.

So we do, in fact, have a pre-disposition to addiction. Of course, mentally ill people often search out fearful situations, or have trouble feeling fear anyway. I know I don't get scared often, and I like that rush from an adrenaline inducing experience. And drugs give you that great adrenaline, too.

But then they said something else: "dual diagnosis patients do less well on psychiatric medication." Really? I haven't been able to find anything to confirm this, but it doesn't really surprise me. People with addiction tend to a) abuse their prescription drugs (I never took mine when I was going to do other drugs) b) don't take them on time (it helps if you take them the same time every day) and c) drugs and alcohol react with meds. They all process through the liver, and that poor organ can only do so much.

I love reading articles on mental illness and addiction. It's good to know as much as you can about your illnesses. When you understand yourself, you don't have to go back. You can "think through that drink" or "play the tape all the way through" as they say in the program. You can be more aware of where you are, and what you're doing to yourself. Knowledge is power.