Dallas Bragg explains why meth addicts relapse despite knowing the damage: euphoric recall, where the emotional brain's memory of the high drowns out logic. He suggests journaling, video messages after relapse, and visible reminders of past harms to give the rational brain a fighting chance.
You are asking, why do I keep going back to using a drug that wipes out 2 to 3 weeks of my life at a time? I lose progress at the gym. I lose progress at work. I hurt, damage, and damaged relationships with friends and family. It is because the limbic part of your brain that holds emotion has stored the meth experience as a highly pleasurable memory. It's called euphoric recall. The cortex portion of the brain, the logic part of the brain, isn't getting an audience with you. That's the part that says, uh, yeah, and you hated yourself for days. You were written up at work. You lied to your friends. You damaged your body. You declared you would never use again. How do you give the cortex a voice in those moments when you are listening to the limbic? I suggest journaling, making a video to yourself right after a relapse, Or write down the consequences of your past use and post them on your refrigerator or front door. Put them in your car, or do all of those things. Something to keep pounding into your subconscious the consequences, because until the pain outweighs the pleasure, you aren't going to quit.
