Why Our Brains Want to Be Addicted | The Chemistry of Addiction 

As a recovering drug addict with 6 years clean, I think it would be quite interesting if you did an episode about the recovery from drug addiction on a chemical level. What damage is repairable vs. what damage is not.

"The brain is the most complicated piece of matter in the universe" -Brain

I'm a recovering meth and heroin addict, im 4 years clean in September 2018.

I've watched hours of lectures from some of the biggest names in addiction studies and got more out of this video then all of them, Thank You. I now have a better understanding of the meth addict I am forced to live with.

This makes me think... If dopamine makes you remember things better, and it is released through happiness, why don't schools focus a bit more on making kids happy instead of just shoving the information at you?

I have an addiction of watching RU-vid videos instead of doing my homework

I know this is several years old now, but I want to thank you for creating this. I was able to use this video for my intensive outpatient treatment, where an assignment I have is to watch videos related to addiction for analysis and discussion. It was very well made, easy to understand, and edited in such a way that summarizing its key points was almost done for me. You guys at SciShow are awesome. Please keep doing what you guys do, you are truly beneficial to thousands upon thousands of people.

I knew someone addicted to the hokey pokey, but he turned himself around. And that's what it's all about

Made my way through gambling addiction, mental sex addiction, working out + preworkout supplement addiction, substance addiction (amphetamines), and video game addiction. I am narcoleptic and take Modafinil as treatment--- It has allowed me to recognize my addictive behaviors and realize that pleasure is no longer being received from my actions. I now have become very interested in neuroscience and I really enjoy your channel!

I love how hard it is to tell a brand new scishow to one from 2012 just consistent epic quality for years! As someone just getting into it I'm loving that there is SO MUCH to binge on. Hope someone from the team gets the chance to read this so I can say thank you!

Learning about dopamine, the pleasure system, and the reward system separately from addiction has taught me more about my addictive personality than addiction documentaries or addiction exposes or anything else. Addiction is so deep, so so deep.

Thanks for touching on the dangers of abruptly quitting alcohol after long-term usage. My dad suffered a seizure about 48 hours after stopping cold turkey from a week long binge. I didn't know what was happening at the time and only later after further research learned about the GABA system and the exact reason why he had that seizure. I wish I had seen this video beforehand.

I appreciated the tone and serious nature of this video. As an addict, this is one of the best videos to watch on addiction I've ever seen.

So... first our brains name themselves, then they outsmart themselves. *mind blown*

As someone with an alcohol addiction I can tell you even though I’m now sober and have been for a while even the smell of alcohol hits all the receptors in my brain and gives me that feeling that I used to chase. It also gives me really bad cravings for more. Addiction is fascinating

Probably the most accurate factual presentation of addiction, I've seen. Well supported in the literature and consistent with findings. Thanks for not throwing in your own presumptuous theories and sticking to science. Great Job.

Thank you so much, Scishow staff & Mr. Green, for making awesome videos and making your references easily accessible

can you make an episode about how lack of sex and social interaction affects the brain!

Great job organizing all of this data! When approaching addiction, it is so helpful to understand the biological/ chemical factors of what's going on with the person.

I do dope and when I get high I feel most comfortable watching your videos. Like you said "people who are addicted crave to go to that place again.". Well in my euphoric state, I enjoy learning if you believe that. I've probably watched every single one of your videos, getting high then listening to you teach me about the world all comfortable and fuzzy feeling in my bed. I really would like to quit doing heroin and this video opened my eyes to addiction a little more then it was already, so thanks for that and please wish me luck, I made a mistake in my life just like everyone else....I was just going to try it once to see how it feels....alright I'm rambling, your biggest fan :)

I love young Hank! It's always awesome seeing these old episodes of sci show. Great show bud!

"Mo' synapses -- mo' problems." I love Hank.

Made me wanna quit smoking more than any truth commercial

"Nice move, BRAINS!" This is why Hank is my favorite SciShow host.

We watched this in my Addictions class and it was really pretty helpful in clarifying some stuff.

This is just a great video. So informative and thorough. Loaded with dopamine inducing content.

Opiate and sex addict checking in. This video was extremely well done, teaching me more in a few minutes than I have learned in years prior, and I feel it has strengthened my minds ability to understand and overcome addiction. Thank you.

I am not sure if anyone will read this, but I am so thankful to have found this channel. I am actually learning!! Trying not to focus too much on the tragic fact that I am going in debt to "teachers" that do NOTHING but occasionally whine here or there. Thank you so much for creating this channel! College has me forgetting that I do enjoy learning!! The challenge is finding anyone to teach. Thank you Hank, you are awesome!! You are much appreciated :)

I'd love to see an episode that talked about less addictive drugs like LSD, MDMA, and DMT.

Hank...this is pure brilliant stuff well explained. Really interested in the science of food addiction, specifically eating disorders and look forward to more on this. Thanks!

Addiction is such a misunderstood behaviour, everyone should watch and understand this video as we all will either directly or indirectly be in contact with some addiction or another. Brilliant video.

There is something special about the way you relay information my friend, a born lecturer I reckon.

Really good video! I think if you broke down each addiction and talked about some of the specifics you can get a lot of use, a lot of people need help understanding these types of things, thank you

When I first started experimenting with getting high I used to say, "I'm doing drugs." But after a few years of abuse I changed my phrase to, "The drugs are doing me." Even Though at the time I thought this was a cute or cool inverted way to express my lost eccentric teenage mind, and it is a popular enough saying to have found itself in the lyrics of at least one pop culture rock song that I can think of (Marilyn Manson in case you have to know), it was probably more than just a teenager repeating what they heard on the radio. In hindsight I see an addict expressing concern for himself, and subconsciously asking for help with his unforeseen long dark road of being manipulated by the very thing that he thought was his ticket to freedom.✨🌈🌊🤔🔍🚑😒 In nutshell... if you ever hear a teenager, or anyone for that matter, claim that "the drugs are doing him" (or her) ... pay attention to it. They're most likely becoming addicted.

This has to be one of my favorite videos I’ve seen from this channel.

Your video was of utter importance. earlier although I read, watched and listened various source and info contents, I could not understand them better as I have now. Kudos to you for your efforts and thanx for enlightening us Keep bringing more of such videos They are highly fascinating and addictive😉

you should make a video on the "study drug" concerta/aderal/ritalin; might help a few people

Maaan, I am addicted to watching your videos!!

Thanks for creating this video. I learned oodles of information that can be used for my school project.

I'm totally addicted to compulsively watch Scishow.... as much as possible, every single day!

Thanks! I now know what causes me to check out your videos so often

I’m addicted to dopamine...it’s how I evolved,so quite trying to get me in a rehab!

Bingo, anticipation is even a greater high then the reward itself! That hit home hard!! Awesome video!!

Great work. Amazing source of useful information. Example of another addiction... learning new stuff

I would love to see a video on pure nicotine vs nicotine combusted in tobacco. Gonna have to wait a few years for more and more reliable research to come out on it but the initial studies have found that most of what we attribute to nicotine is caused by the combustion and extra chemicals added to cigarettes and not by the nicotine itself. Again it is new research and we need to wait for more but I think it would be an interesting topic to discuss.

Where can I find someone like you in the real world? I could listen to you speak for days. Which is interesting because I hate listening to people

VERY fast talk...and VERY rewarding...almost addictive. Well done there

This video is four years old today. Happy Birthday, The Chemistry of Addiction Video!

How about a show on Methadone / Suboxone (treatment) for addicts i think thay would be a good topic thanks and keep up the good work

I'm addicted to SciShow

Aww, you're sooo young here! How's your health? Hope you are well. Thank you for years of interesting learning.

Wow! Very informative video. Love all the addictions he brought up.

Music, chocolate, and Internet are my addictions :)

I love you brain, I'll try my best to not fuck you up

Thank you for producing and sharing this video. It is very helpful to me.

Thank you for the video. I am glad we know more about addiction. I was a heroin addict for 25 years with two years clean. Post addiction video would be great

Mo synapses, mo problems. Biggie would approve.

I wish you mentionned if we can get back to normal balance level by stopping addictive behavior, and if yes, how long would it need and for which addiction it is possible and which it s too late.

U didnt mention the physical sickness that is experienced when someone suffering with an opiate addiction experiences when they dont have the amount or heroin or morphine or codeine in their body that they need to function properly. Most heroin addicts dont use to get high, they use because they have to otherwise they are extremely sick and dont even get any 'high' off it. They need it just to live their lives 'normally' Thank you SciShow, I love your videos. I especially love your voice and the way you talk.

always a pleasure great job

Mo synapses mo problems

Question : Are piercings bad for your body? Like a ear or nose piercing?

This is awesome. Thank you SO much. Would it be possible to do a show about the differences between people who take things like opioid pain medicines but don't get addicted, (which does happen a lot) and those who take it and do get addicted? This would be especially helpful to me as I'm teaching a class on addiction vs. physical dependence and I'd LOVE to show it to my pharm students. Thanks!

Im currently active in meth addiction, and the part of this video that Hank talks about meth makes me cry every time. It makes me feel hopeless for getting clean. But i am still determined. I just fear the period of time when my brain will have basically zero dopamine at all, and thus NOTHING will feel good, and motivation will be non-existent. I dont want to be a zombie. But if i dont get clean, i know eventually I'll get much worse, and if i do get clean, i have to first go through the phase i just mentioned. Basically i have no choice one way or the other, im going to be a zombie. But i know that one of those leads to life-long happiness after a brief zombie state, and the other option leads to miserable life and eventual death.

Internet pretty much has made me tolerant to everything. Seriously, my 12 year old mind back in the 2004 couldnt handle things like gore, tentacle hentai and other nice internet activities, now they are normal part of my life. it's good to be jaded, even giving out this information does not trigger "Wait, why are you telling other people this?" reaction in my brain, it just doesn't give a fuck anymore about anything.

Could I be addicted to scishow?

Entertaining and engaging insight into the brain disease of addiction. Thanks!

Thank you, lots of very useful information on addiction.

Baconchocolatecheesecake. Now I know what to bait my rat trap with.

It appears I release dopamine when I watch educational videos. Nice.

these videos are so helpful for quick revision

Very interesting video, I'm interested more or less now in the topic of addictive personalities within human beings.

"Don't do drugs" -young hank 2013

hey sci show can u do a video on the addiction of self harm/mutilation

Thanks RU-vid for showing me Hank from 9 years ago. Something I didn’t know I needed.

This video was very helpful. Thank you very much!

Thank you good sir for not saying psychedelics cause addiction. they can but it's absolutely no where the same because psychedelics don't work the same way as most drugs. they aren't usually fun, more like intriguing and sometimes "spiritual" if you Would like to address it as such. people may form mental addictions to them But usually they already have some kind of mental folly that they are going through and they want to escape reality. but psychedelics can actually help in therapy for other much horrible addictions. such as with ibogaine having a huge success rate for stopping opiate addiction which absolutely sickens me how they aren't legalized as schedule II substances because all of them have a very pronounced helpful mental and medicinal effect on the brain. psilocybin mushrooms can actually cause neuro-genesis. like are you fucking kidding me!? why is society not utilizing these medicines? LSD can help with alcohol addiction as well as many others. and the creator of alcoholics anonymous wanted to put that as one of the steps for becoming a clean individual since it stirs up non bias views towards objective thoughts which ultimately gives you the knowledge and will to fucking do something! MDMA another psychedelic usually mixed with other chemicals in ecstasy actually can help with ptsd. screw the idiots ignoring the research. And no recreational psychedelics should not be a thing because they are medicines with a high chance of arrogance and to be used incorrectly. and many people in the street pass these helpful non toxic drugs with stupidly legal research chemicals that totally can kill you whilst no one has ever overdosed on an actual psychedelic except maybe ayahuasca but that's only because of the MAOI's present which, if you ingest the wrong food can be toxic to your body. preperations, time, a person to watch you if you need it, and a calm setting is all you need to have a helpful calm experience. just do the Damn research from actual scientists and not just give into publicity and scare tactics. they're lying just like they were lying with cannabis. There will always be people who know better.

I've had my addictions to various chemicals, most of which are behind me except alcohol and tobacco...funny how my latest drug dealers exist at the gas station. I'd call that population control, and money making. That said, I'm gonna take a swig outta my 40 and light a smoke. If there's any 2 drugs you shouldn't start, it's ethanol and tobacco. Trust me. It's bad, M'kay. I'd advise to steer clear of opiates, amphetamines and coke too. Get high on life, as hard as that is to do sometimes.

Good job Hank, as always !

I'm so proud to be subscribed here. Seriously, I'm subscribed to every type of ridiculous parody-makers and wannabe comedians and out of the blue, you see an informative channel. XD

I would love to see an episode about how you can raise a child to be a genius, or why people love cars. Great content btw

I'm curious about the science of weird cravings... Like pregnant women's cravings, or in my case every day cravings that make no sense and are random as all hell. (For example this morning I woke up craving hashbrowns with nutella - and this is something I've had for years so no I'm not pregnant)

Awesome episode. I'm hooked.

You sir are an incredible teacher.

WE'RE ALL ADDICTS!!! AHHHHHHHH

Using such big words. But using the word mdma instead of ecstasy would have made this episode make more sense.

Excellent! I learned so much!

this show should have mooooree views! is awesome

"Six awesome courses in one awesome channel: John Green teaches you US History and Hank Green teaches you Chemistry." Crashcourse. John (this guy's brother) teaches history and this guy (Hank) teaches Chemistry. Welcome. :)

This video seems kind of slow and sad, I know everyone knows someone who's had addiction issues but I get the feeling that this is closer to him than the average topic

Hi, Absolutely love your channel. Have you, (and if not) can you do an episode on CBT? (cognitive behavioural therapy)

Very informative video. Thanks.

MO' SYNAPSES MO PROBLEMS lmao

I’m addicted to drinking. I can’t stop, or I feel like I’ll die. I drink water. That’s all.

I saw it. I stand by it. An episode on caffiene, cigarettes, ADD medicine, and physical activity, and how they compete in terms of making one do their work ( and stop commenting on youtube videos) , would be a good thing.

I ENJOY your down to earth explanations. Your facial grimaces make what you are saying more memorable. Thanks for you r good work. How did you get so smart?

QUESTION:!!!! Is that why my fingers can remember an entire piano song or is it another reason? It'd be cool if you made a video on that. I WANNA KNOW!

So can u be addicted to love/lust?

I enjoyed this a lot, I am from McDowell County WV, which remains one of the poorest counties in the USA, and the OD level is ridiculously sad. I would like to have something like this about the effects of marijuana, and maybe even prescribed medications like Adderall, etc.. when abused and when just taken as prescribed. Always love your videos, Thanks :)

1:25 The limbic system is not the "reward centre" as it also involves things such as fear and emotional pain processing. The "centre" most often credited with producing reward related neurotransmitters is the nucleus accumbens (sp?), which I believe is a subset of the limbic system itself.