In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

by Gabor Maté

Early trauma also has consequences for how human beings respond to stress all their lives, and stress has everything to do with addiction. It merits a brief look here. Stress is a physiological response mounted by an organism when it is confronted with excessive demands on its coping mechanisms, whether biological or psychological. It is an attempt to maintain internal biological and chemical stability, or homeostasis, in the face of these excessive demands. The physiological stress response involves nervous discharges throughout the body and the release of a cascade of hormones, chiefly adrenaline and cortisol. Virtually every organ is affected, including the heart and lungs, the muscles and, of course, the emotional centres in the brain. Cortisol itself acts on the tissues of almost every part of the body—from the brain to the immune system, from the bones to the intestines. It is an important part of the infinitely intricate system of checks and balances that enables the body to respond to a threat.

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