Chapter 3: The Reward System Hijack

You didn’t get addicted because you liked feeling good.
You got addicted because something in your brain decided: “This matters. This keeps us safe. This is priority one.”

Dopamine isn’t just the “pleasure chemical.” It’s the brain’s motivational spotlight. It tells your nervous system what to chase, what to repeat, and what to believe is essential for survival.

In addiction, the dopamine system gets hijacked. What should be a signal for healthy drive and reward becomes a trap — a looping circuit that convinces you over and over again that using is the only thing that matters.

This chapter is about that hijack — and how to begin taking the wheel back.