The Nature of Addiction
The following is submitted with deep respect for the painful struggles of those human beings - whoever they are, where ever they are - who are struggling with any of the multitude of addictions and/or compulsions that plague the human family.
It is quite evident that, despite the wide variety of "things" one can be addicted to, the basic nature of these addictions is common among them.
Let us look at the word "addict(ion)", and its root meaning.
addict(ion):
[1529, adj., "delivered, devoted," from L. addictus, pp. of addicere "deliver, yield, devote," from ad- "to, toward" + dicere "say, declare" (see diction), but also "adjudge, allot." Modern sense is really self-addicted "to give over or award (oneself) to someone or some practice" (1607). The noun is first recorded 1909, in reference to morphine. Addicted is from 1914. Addiction in modern (narcotics, etc.) sense is first attested 1906, in ref. to opium (there is an isolated instance from 1779, with ref. to tobacco).]
1. To cause to become physiologically or psychologically dependent on a habit-forming substance: The thief was addicted to cocaine.
2. To occupy (oneself) with or involve (oneself) in something habitually or compulsively: The child was addicted to video games.
n. (ād'ĭkt)
1. One who is addicted, as to narcotics or a compulsive activity.
In short, an "addiction" is a condition wherein the "addict" is operating on thought patterns and/or mental associations that "speak toward" the thing he or she is "addicted" to, so that the person feels compelled to engage the object of the addiction to an extreme, unhealthy degree. There is also a physiological aspect to it, but MOST of it is mental, or psychological.
When a person acts in a certain direction, it is the result of a
choice, and that choice is the result of a calculation. If the
calculation is faulty, the choice will be irrational (incorrect), and
the action will be more destructive than constructive.
If we can find the flaw in our calculations, we can make better decisions, and act in a more productive manner.
The Proper Knowledge can, if rightly understood and applied, expose and uproot the "causes" and "perpetuators" of addiction. Of course, this requires a conscious and determined effort on the part of the one struggling with the addiction.
There also must be a support system in place to help the person analyze and understand the circumstances that gave "birth" to the addiction, and to help him or her establish healthier habits or behavior patterns.
Once those circumstances are understood and resolved, and the irrational "equations", associations, and/or decisions that the circumstances evoked are dissolved, then the "addiction" has nothing left to draw life from.
In the case of chemical (substance) addiction, the physical/chemical "residues" of the addiction must also be eliminated from the body as much as possible, in order to minimize "restimulation" by present-time problems that resemble the circumstances that gave birth to the addiction.
This, of course, is a simplified explanation of a complex issue...but it seems to boil down to a common theme: "It's about our choices...and the elements or forces that affect our choices."
For example, an individual who is continually and extremely frustrated over his or her inability to find employment, combined with the anxiety of what might happen to himself or herself, and his or her dependents, if no employment is found, may develop feelings of overwhelm or "burnout", and in the absence of a solution to the problem, may turn to an "escape" from the problem, designed to lessen the emotional pain of his or her frustration.
If such a person turns to "alcohol" as an escape from an unpleasant or painful reality, then the circumstances of that painful reality become powerfully associated with the alcohol that is being used to escape the pain of those circumstances. As a result, even if such a person has been "clean" for a considerable period of time, being presented with circumstances in the Present, similar to those circumstances surrounding the birth of the addiction, can easily restimulate the addiction.
In other words, the person in the example given, even after being "sober" for months...if he or she finds himself again without income, or faced with demanding family members, or feels generally "powerless" to improve his or her situation, or any combination of these...he or she could relapse. Not because that is a "natural reaction" to such stressors, but because it is a "conditioned response".
Therefore, any effort to overcome an addiction should include asking, and answering, the following questions:
1) What were the circumstances surrounding the decision to engage in the behavior that has become an addiction?
2) What was the person's emotional state at the time?
3) Which, if any, of those circumstances or emotions are still present in the person's life?
When the answers to these questions are obtained, then one has a pretty good base on which to formulate a plan for recovery.
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God Bless!
