This is a video segment from the movie “What The Bleep” on the neurochemistry of emotions. If you watch the end you will see a brief bit on the fact that emotions produce chemicals that we can become addicted to – even if they are fear – anger – sadness and other powerful emotions.
Just as people who smoke and drink are harming themselves but have to satisfy the drive for a certain chemical intake to remain “stable” we can also do this with the molecules of emotion. Hence the term “Drama Queen” or learned negative bias.
Many addictions do not involve chemicals and are called process addictions – having a childhood neural memory can be one we repeat to get the same chemicals that our cells have become accustomed to ...even if they are destructive.