Drop of Dopamine
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Addiction: Substance Abuse Awareness Activities
Lesson Plans by Patrick Healey
While America has around five percent of the world’s population, it consumes about eighty percent of the world’s supply of painkillers. This has led to drug overdoses taking over the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. Educating our youth is a critical preventative method to curbing the opioid epidemic and substance abuse in general.
Storyboard Description
Drop of Dopamine levels with drug use
Storyboard Text
- NATURAL
- HIGH
- Cool!
- Watch this back flip!
- LEVEL OF DOPAMINE RELEASED
- HIGH'S IMPACT
- Natural Level
- LOW
- Maybe I'll try next.
- That was fun!
- LEVEL OF DOPAMINE RELEASED
- LOW'S IMPACT
- Natural Level
- The reward system in the brain releases dopamine to promote motivation and pleasure, like jumping in a pool.
- The frontal lobe is the location of the reward system. This level rises naturally during activities causing excitement and happiness.
- TIME
- After excitement, the dopamine levels lower back to normal levels.
- The dopamine levels return to a natural amount.
- TIME
- DRUG
- Drugs impact the brain by flooding the reward system in the frontal lobe with dopamine. This large release causes the user to feel euphoric.
- LEVEL OF DOPAMINE RELEASED
- The brain stops producing dopamine naturally because of the high levels flooding the brain.
- TIME
- Natural Level
- After the high the brain has not released its own dopamine. This low level lasts for some time, usually leading to reoccurring drug use to continue the high.
- LEVEL OF DOPAMINE RELEASED
- This reoccurrence of drug use helps fuel the addiction cycle. Family or friends of users may not recognize this dopamine drop and may only see poor choices. This creates the stigma of addicts.
- TIME
- Natural Level
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