Large portions of addictive feelings arise from the memories of using, which are associated with feelings of pleasure. These past experiences can cause the cravings for a substance to increase and reinforce the cycle of substance use.
However, there is a way to make your memories work for your recovery rather than against it. Altering the reactions you have when these memories are presented can help you ease the cravings for a substance and help you further your recovery process. Before you can use these strategies in recovery, it is helpful to understand the different aspects of memory and how they play a role in addiction.
Memory Reconsolidation
Memory reconsolidation is the process of retrieving a stored memory and re-stabilizing it to improve the strength of the memory. When memories reconsolidate, minor aspects of them are often altered. The longer it has been since the memory occurred, the higher the chance that more fictional aspects will be present in your mind.
When the process of reconsolidation is obstructed, the details that used to be associated with the memory become weakened. This is good news for those in addiction recovery. An intervention in the reconsolidation process of memories related to substance use can greatly reduce the risk of relapse.
If the reconsolidation process is blocked or changed, your reconsolidated memories can deter your mind from associating substance use with pleasurable feelings. This can help you prevent the reinforcement of substance use through memories and potentially prevent your cravings from worsening and strengthening the addiction.
Memory Retrieval
Individuals often continue using a substance to recreate the positive feelings or experiences they had when they used that substance in the past. Typically, the first use of a substance is the most memorable and rewarding. Addiction sets in because individuals continue to use it in the hopes that they will experience those same effects again. Small sensations can lead to memory retrieval and increase the desire to use a substance again.
By working to alter the response of your body when these memories are retrieved, you can alter your experience of those memories. They can become less associated with pleasurable feelings and more associated with other factors which can deter substance use and help you break the cycle of addiction.
After all, a large portion of our memory retrieval process relies on expectations and assumptions regarding the future. When we expect to feel the same level of pleasure through using a substance again, we will want to try to recreate that feeling. Channeling your expectations to enjoying the rewards of success with sobriety as well as avoiding the harms you’ve experienced from substance use can alter your reactions when these memories are retrieved.
Working Memory
Working memory is a term that describes the thoughts and memories that are present in our minds while we are engaged in an action. This memory only contains small amounts of information before it is either lost or stored in long-term memory.
Working memory is used when we are learning new information or gaining new skills. Using a substance for the first time uses your working memory to learn what the substance is like and how it makes you feel. This information is later stored in long-term memory.
This form of memory is important for our impulse control regarding addiction. The decision to continue using a substance and the feeling of need for it are involuntary thoughts that go beyond our impulse control. Learning to overcome these desires and alter our decision in the moment requires the act of altering memories to change the response within the working memory. This can allow your working memory to adapt perceptions of a substance and work toward long-term implementation.
Reconditioning
A large aspect of addiction is reinforcement through conditioning. Working to condition problematic situations or objects with a positive alternative can help you avoid and diminish the need to use a substance. Associating uncomfortable cravings with another form of satisfaction, such as your favorite treat or even a forced smile, can help recondition your mind.
Some forms of therapy focus on objects or feelings that individuals associate with using the substance to help them overcome addiction. For example, presenting an empty beer mug in a situation without drinking or having the person hold an empty injection needle can be part of the therapeutic process. Reconditioning these cues with other situations in which the substance is not around can help alleviate the desire for the substance when those cues are encountered later.
This process is similar to reconstructing or altering your memories and the feelings associated with them. By remembering another pleasurable feeling or level of satisfaction when around a specific object, you may desire the newly implemented feeling instead of the feeling that is induced by the substance itself. Working to alter our reaction to the use of a substance and creating negative memories with its use can help diminish the desire and compulsiveness of the addiction.
Memory plays a large role in the cycle of addiction and greatly impacts the way our minds perceive a substance. Initial use of a substance is often associated with pleasurable memories that encourage further use. This is often how addiction begins and how it reinforces its cycle. Fortunately, altering your natural reactions to your memories of substance use can help you reduce cravings. Through a variety of techniques, you can use your memory to reconstruct your feelings toward a substance and create memories to deter you from further use. Using memory as a tool in recovery takes practice and patience. Our memories cannot be reconstructed overnight. Your recovery team can help you work with your thoughts to prevent future relapse as well as reduce cravings during the recovery process. To learn more about using your memory to reduce cravings, contact Dream Recovery today at (949) 732-1960.