Addiction?

There have been many books on addiction... many opinions on addiction... much research done on addiction... many questions about addiction....
I majored in addictions at college and worked for many years at an addiction treatment hospital and with many clients in my private practice over the past 20 years...
I, like many others, don't have to look far to see addiction in my family & friends...
But still no satisfactory explanation...
We have addictions for alcohol, nicotine, food, sex, narcotics, coffee, work...
There seem to be addictions for just about everything!

The best explanation I have for addictions is that it is a complex blend of biopsychosocial components that seems different for every person.
The similarity for all seems to be a loss of impulse control.
We all need to remember that we can justify anything in our minds!

When we have a pre-existing conclusion embedded in our minds, we will then naturally go to the supportive evidence to justify the behaviour.

Take the example of an anorexic who, in spite of contrary information, will insist that they are fat when looking at their body image. It doesn't seem to matter what information it is or whom it may come from, the illusional "fat" image exists. Our minds are very powerful indead!

Addictive behaviour needs to be addressed. It has a pattern of becoming problematic in and of itself. It will easily become the focus and the label and has its own set of negative trends of behaviour and cognitive dysfunction.

Say with drinking (a common problem), the obvious solution is to stop the problematic behaviour. Even the person with the problem will often admit this... why then is it sooooo difficult?

The biological component of the assessment trio is the easiest to determine. There are definately substances which are physically addictive and cause impulse control and tolerance issues. Detoxing from these substances is essential to have a sense of clarity to the mind.

Family histories can indicate genetic predispositions that need to be taken into account. There may be physiological issues that need to be balanced like thyroid, seretonin, diabetes, etc.
In the end for most who are dealing with addictive issues, it really doesn't matter if addiction is a disease or not, it remains an issue that needs to be dealt with and there are effective methods to do this. For an excellent paper written on the biological components of addiction see:
http://www.fas.org/ota/reports/9311.pdf


Situational, circumstantial, habitual and emotional triggers are helpful to identify. Understanding the self-destructive and problematic behaviours is helpful will lead to treatment that is effective with a prolonged effect.

You need not feel alone in this process. It can rarely be managed by doing this on your own. Seek out appropriate help.
Peel through the layers of the defensive thoughts and be aware of the "ya but" response.
Do not give up on creating a more positive and workable approach.








Until later,
Leland
http://www.counsellingandmediaton.com/
info@CounsellingandMediation.com
(905) 510-9117
(705) 443-8290