Why Are Opioids So Addictive?

0:00Why are opioids so addictive? I'm gonna tell you. I'm Dr. Rodriguez from Healing Sky. I'm also the

0:08medical director of the Delray Center for Healing and today we're gonna talk about why exactly opioids

0:14are so incredibly addictive. Opioids, referring to compounds such as codeine, morphine, oxycodone,

0:22heroin and fentanyl, are both naturally occurring and synthetically produced. They are used for the

0:28treatment of pain and they're also often used as a drug of abuse for people that are seeking to get

0:35high. Now there's a few different mechanisms for how and why opioids are so incredibly addictive

0:43and that they are. We'll start first with positive reinforcement. When somebody takes opioids above

0:51the intended dose, above the dose recommended or desired for the control of pain, they will

0:58experience a euphoria. Now the issue with this euphoria is that it is a euphoria that is off

1:04scale, meaning it is more euphoria than the brain or body was ever intended to feel. You're hijacking

1:13one of the body and the brain's reward systems that is meant to modulate things like food and

1:21water and even sex and you're hijacking it chemically and you're forcing it to give you

1:27an experience that was not meant to be experienced. The neurochemical surge that comes from an

1:35intoxication with opioids is unnatural. It feels more intense than something that you could

1:41experience naturally and that excessive reward and I call it excessive because it wasn't intended

1:49to be felt and it leads to trouble. That excessive reward, that excessive positive reinforcement then

1:57will drive the person to seek it out again because they felt so good that they become obsessed with

2:04wanting to feel that again. Now the issue with opioids is that's usually felt in the beginning,

2:10once or twice, then afterwards they can never quite replicate that because the body becomes

2:18increasingly adept at acclimating to it and becoming tolerant to the use of the opioids.

2:25You may be seeking an euphoria or an intoxication from the opioids. Your body is seeking survival.

2:33Your body will be adapting to the surge of opioids and it will seek to survive, to not die from an

2:40overdose. So in doing so, it will blunt the effect of the opioids. So that is why those initial

2:47intense highs are so difficult, if not impossible, to replicate. Either way, people who experience

2:56that, they start to chase it compulsively because they want to recreate that or any high coming

3:02close to that and that repeated positive reinforcement leads to intense addiction.

3:07Now with opioids, you have the other side, which is a negative reinforcement, which this is arguably

3:15even worse, even stronger, a behavioral driver, negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement

3:23refers to when somebody is feeling bad and something makes you feel less bad, not even high,

3:32but just less bad. Next time you feel bad, you're going to be driven to do that behavior again. So

3:39you can again feel less bad. That is a negative reinforcement. When something is removing

3:46something that feels horrible or is painful, it makes you want to seek that something out again

3:52next time you feel horrible or are in pain. That is a negative reinforcer. Now this is seen every

4:00time somebody starts throwing out of the opioids, they start to go into withdrawal, they have intense

4:06cravings, which don't feel good. Cravings don't feel good. Just like hunger and thirst do not

4:12feel good. You seek out something to make that go away. In the case of opioids, you're seeking out

4:18opioids. Beyond the cravings, you have withdrawal syndromes. A person will feel sick. The person

4:25will feel nausea, vomiting, fever, sweats. Their eyes are tearing. Their nose is running. You know,

4:32they're, I mean, they just feel horrible pain everywhere. They can't stand it. And they know

4:38that if they take a small amount of opioid, it will make it go away. That is the negative

4:43reinforcement that is so powerful in creating addiction. Now opioids unfortunately have a

4:49wicked combination of intense positive reinforcement as well as intense negative

4:57reinforcement. It is a wicked, wicked combination. And that is why opioids are so incredibly and

5:03intensely addictive. If you find yourself having issues with opioids, I do recommend seeking help.

5:09If you would like to see me for help, you can find me at delraycenter.com. Please also like,

5:16follow and subscribe my content here on Healing Sky. And please look for my podcast launching

5:21in the fall of 2026. I hope you find this information helpful. Thank you.