Early adversity sensitizes stress and reward systems (HPA axis, CRF, dopamine).
Attachment disruptions alter emotion regulation and prefrontal development.
Allostatic load—the cumulative cost of chronic stress—heightens vulnerability.
Addiction reflects an adaptation to developmental injury—biology meeting biography.
Complementary Frameworks for Understanding Addiction
Complementary Frameworks for Understanding Addiction
Cycle of Addiction
Progression from binge → withdrawal → preoccupation, with disrupted reward, stress, and control circuits (Koob & Volkow, 2016).
Developmental & Psychosocial History
Trauma, disrupted attachment, pain, and shame; opioids used to regulate unbearable internal states (Khantzian, 1985; Flores, 2001; Gill, 2012).
Habit & Learning
Corticostriatal plasticity — voluntary use becomes automatic repetition (Everitt & Robbins, 2016).
Social Experience & Attachmenr
Isolation vs. connection in shaping vulnerability and recovery (Panksepp, 1998; Machin & Dunbar, 2011; Venniro et al., 2018).
