Posted by bsj on December 7, 2003, at 18:00:56
In reply to Re: Dr Bob should rename this the opiate forum!, posted by krazybirdlady on December 7, 2003, at 16:59:16
There can be a fine line between use and so-called abuse (even thought I hate that latter term). It's quite possible that no small number of those who become addicted to opiates are self-medicating--though in a much less controlled fashion than I do. It's a difference of degree and not of kind.
There are some terrible things wrong with our innate brain chemistry; in some sense, I think we're all mentally ill. A negative feedback system exists between the mu and kappa opiod systems that keeps us from being too happy or satisfied; when we rise too high for too long, it pushes us back down. We all seek to right this flaw in some way--obsessive overeating, bad relationships, workaholism, booze, coke, opiates. The neuro pathways of pain evolved in us because they served to help us physically survive at some point in our past; but being the result of a set of very capricious and utilutarian processes, they don't always work to our emotional advantage. That's not what they came into being for.
poster:bsj
thread:287428
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20031014/msgs/287497.html