It seems that every day we are discovering new research that connects addiction, not to hedonistic desire, but to stress management.

First came the mother of all stories, in my opinion: The majority of people in treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) were sexually abused in childhood. Let that sink in for a moment. 

It does not mean a causal relationship, but when 20% of the population has been sexually abused in childhood, and 60% of those in treatment for an SUD have suffered childhood sexual abuse, people are statistically three times more likely to become adult substance abusers if they were sexually abused in childhood. I don’t understand why this is not headline news.

It’s not just childhood sexual abuse, but any childhood abuse — including neglect — that is statistically connected to the development of both behavioral disorders and substance use disorders. There is a connection between addiction and stress. Both SUDs and behavioral disorders begin as attempts to displace stressful energy.

Once techniques for soothing stress are learned, they can damage reward pathways and become compulsive. They become addictive when abstinence itself is a source of stress. In March, the journal eLife Neuroscience published research that the authors claim “reveals a previously unrecognized pathway” for stress-induced changes to the brain’s reward mechanism.

The research team was led by Dr. Jun Wang, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics at Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine. Dr. Wang was interviewed by Texas A&M Stories about this new research. He describes the nature of their discovery:

What we’ve identified is a direct line of communication between the brain’s stress centers and the region that governs habits and actions, a connection that wasn’t previously understood well. Seeing stress signals travel straight into this decision‑making system gives us a clearer picture of why stressful experiences can so strongly influence behavior, sometimes in ways that become unhealthy.

Researchers followed the path of CRF (corticotropin‑releasing factor) in the brains of mice. When “overwhelmed, anxious, or threatened,” two areas of the brain send CRF to the dorsal striatum, where it excites CIN neurons associated with decision making and behavior.

“Under normal conditions, this stress signal actually helps the brain stay flexible, not rigid,” says Dr. Wang, in one of the clearest explanations of the benefits of stress. Stress results in a departure from automatic behavior and requires thinking through a situation, resulting in “better decisions.”

Alcohol dulls the brain’s response to stress, researchers find. It disrupts the CRF/CIN bridge between stress and behavior. “When that happens,” Dr. Wang told Texas A&M Stories, “the brain loses some of its ability to respond to stress in a healthy way. This may push a person toward automatic or habitual behaviors, like drinking.”

The disruption of the CRF/CIN pathway leads to a rigidity in the brain’s response to stress. Behaviors become hardened and difficult to reverse. Dr. Wang posits this is why stress so often leads to relapse.

One curious finding of the research is that “withdrawal can make stress feel worse.” Obviously, withdrawal from addictive behaviors is stressful, but I have not seen research before that indicates withdrawal magnifies ordinary stress. This would seem to indicate that substitution or moderation might be a better strategy than abstinence.

Dr. Wang hopes his research will lead to methods for targeting the CRF/CIN pathway to “help people build resilience against addiction or relapse.” His research shows clearly the connection between stress and compulsion. While some stress is beneficial to mental flexibility, chronic stress damages decision-making. The best way to reduce addiction is by reducing chronic stress, particularly in childhood.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published April 10, 2026.

Sources:

“Alcohol attenuates CRF-induced excitatory effects from the extended amygdala to dorsostriatal cholinergic interneurons,” eLife Neuroscience, March 23, 2026.

“Stress and addiction: New research reveals what connects them,” Texas A&M Stories, March 30, 2026.

Image Copyright: zzzz17.