They say that when an addict is in treatment they can learn to manage the negative emotions that specifically trigger the abuse of the drugs. As stated in lecture, after repeated actions of using a specific drug, one can build up a drug tolerance where then the person has to take more to feel the same effect. According to Shepard Siegel's Pavlovian Theory of Drug Tolerance we can think of the drug in much of the same way as we think of unconditional stimuli, in the sense that they are natural compounds that have a natural impact. When the drug is administered in the same manner, it created a response, then a CR begins to form. But as he stated, the unusual part is that it is a compensatory response, which triggers systematic changes in the body, which are opposite from the drug UCS. When we look at how it affects the body, our goal is to train addicts to resist the triggers and in a sense create new triggers to not do the drugs. As new research continues to come out, we can find that scientists are coming up with new ways to help treat these addictive behaviors. According to additive treatment magazine, there is new memory boosting drugs that can help formulate new memories of responses, in order to not relapse. But yet all the studies say that it is easy for someone to relapse, especially once being put into the past environments that helped them build these addictive behaviors. Similar to the video in the lecture on Feb 24, it is possible to resist these urges and show signs that prove they are no longer addicted. But was this only in the single study they looked at? Is it possible to find better and advanced ways to help cure addicts of their disease, or is time truly the best test, and the only way to know what truly works is to wait and see.
Addictive Treatment Magazine:
http://www.addictiontreatmentmagazine.com/addiction-treatment/memory-boosting-drugs-could-be-effective-in-treatment-for-cocaine-addiction/
To me these drugs seem very anecdotal-like weight loss pills. I really don't see how pills can affect your psyche to the point of curing an addict resist urges. I think that the biggest, positive affect on an addict is to surround him/her with good influences and not put them in an environment where they will be tempted. That is just my first inclination but I could be wrong.