Natasha Lyonne Relapses After a Decade of Sobriety: Why Does Addiction Return?

Natasha

Lyonne has revealed that she relapsed in her sobriety journey. The 46-year-old actor and filmmaker shared her health update in a series of posts on the social media site X, writing, “Took my relapse public more to come.” The Poker Face actor wrote another detailed post in which she said she hoped sharing her experience would help others. “Recovery is a lifelong process. Anyone out there struggling, remember you’re not alone. Grateful for love and smart feet,” she wrote. “Gonna do it for baby Bambo,” she continued, in reference to her upcoming project about hockey player Sophie “Bambo” Braverman, which she wrote and is slated to direct.

Entered rehab in 2006

Natasha, who entered rehab in 2006, has publicly struggled with drug addiction in her early years. Later, she opened up about the tumultuous period, saying addiction was very scary for her.

What is addiction?

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain condition that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking or behaviour engagement despite harmful consequences. It affects brain reward, motivation, and memory, driving an inability to stop despite desiring to do so. It is treated as a medical condition involving complex interactions between brain chemistry, genetics, and environment. The Cleveland Clinic says addiction is a chronic condition that involves compulsive seeking and taking of a substance or performing of an activity despite harmful consequences. It significantly impacts your health, relationships, and overall quality of life, and it is crucial to seek help as soon as you develop signs of addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine also defines addiction as a chronic brain disorder. Addiction doesn’t happen from having a lack of willpower or as a result of making bad decisions. Your brain chemistry changes with addiction.

What is substance addiction?

Doctors across the world now call substance addiction substance use disorder. The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has concrete diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders. Substances mean drugs that have addiction potential and can be prescription medications or non-medical drugs, and include:

• Alcohol
• Caffeine
• Cannabis
• LSD and PCP
• Sedatives like sleeping pills
• Inhalants like paint thinners and aerosol sprays
• Prescription and non-prescription opioids like codeine and heroin
• Prescription and non-prescription stimulants
• Tobacco and nicotine, like smoking cigarettes

While these substances are very different from each other, they all strongly activate the reward center of your brain and produce feelings of pleasure. Use of these substances can lead to substance use disorders (SUDs) — but not always. SUDs can be mild, moderate, or severe. Addiction is the most severe form of a substance abuse disorder.Also read: “Regulate Your Nervous System” Is the New Gen Z Trend. But What Does It Even Mean?

Why does addiction return?

While there is no single cause of addiction, experts call it a very complex condition. Addiction brings changes in your brain chemistry, affecting your brain, especially the reward center. It then creates an unhealthy drive to seek pleasure from the substance or activity and less from healthier activities. Over time, the substances or activities change your brain chemistry, and you become desensitized to their effects. You then need more to produce the same effect. Factors that contribute to addiction include:

• Genetics, which are responsible for 40 to 60 per cent of the vulnerability to any addiction
• Mental health conditions like depression and bipolar disorder have a strong link with addiction.
• Environmental factors make access to substances extremely easy.