Understanding Addiction
Society is not very educated on addiction. It’s such a hush hush problem that many don’t like to deal with, yet it’s becoming a wide spread problem that society needs to start dealing with.
The un-addicted society is very uneducated on what addiction is. They believe that if you have a problem, or an addiction that you can or should just stop it cold turkey. This is impossible to do without help. Addiction is a disease. If stopping something cold turkey were that easy, nobody would have any of these problems to contend with in the first place.
Addiction comes from ones genetics and having a predisposition to the disease. One addict described it to me as being born a cucumber. Once a cucumber is made into a pickle, it can never become a cucumber again. The chemical dopamine plays a big part in addiction. It releases neurotransmitters that activate pleasure sensors in the brain which can lead to dependency and addiction. This is activated when the user abuses drugs or alcohol.
Addiction is an illness that requires treatment, education and understanding. Unfortunately, an addict cannot be forced to quit or seek help. Only they can make that decision for themselves. This can be very hard on the ones close to the addict, and they will try desperately to get the person help. The only option they have, if the addict can’t or won’t seek help, is to get a hold of an interventionist. An intervention is done with an addiction counselor or specialist. All friends and family members who care about the addict and want them to get help are encouraged to be there. They will form a surprise meeting with the addict and each tell them how their addiction has affected them in a negative way and ask the addict if they will go get help.
When and if the addict decides to get help, all family and friends involved should seek treatment themselves, as this disease effects them too. They are encouraged to go to Al-Anon meetings where they can talk with others who have been affected by a loved ones disease. There they will learn the three C’s of addiction. They didn’t Cause it, they can’t Control it and they can’t Cure it. Al-Anon teaches about co-dependency and the right and wrong things to say when someone is using. It helps them try not to focus their life on what or how the addict is doing and to learn to let go.
There is nothing easy about being around someone who struggles with addiction. The best thing anyone can do is to read everything they can get their hands on. Educating oneself on the disease of addiction is the key to understanding it, dealing with it, living with it, and helping those who are having trouble helping themselves. The most important thing to know, is the addict cannot do it alone, they have to seek help, and fight it the rest of their life, or it will get the best of them. If society can have more of an understanding of addiction, maybe those who suffer from it can get more help and compassion in working through their disease.
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Peter | Feb 7, 2009 | Reply
To help non addicts comprehend the power addiction has on the afflicted person I came up with a comparison that I could tell my co-workers who were frustrated because of another fellow on the crew who they cared about because he was a good; if sometimes unreliable; member of the crew. They knew that I’d been a functioning alcoholic most of my adult life until the alcohol wouldn’t provide what I was looking for and then turned to crack and heroin and, finally turned to re-hab and follow-up therapy. After coming up with the comparison I got the opinions of other recovering addicts who’d been reduced to the gutter (as I had) and who’d been abstinent for years. They all said it was the closest comparison they’d heard. Here it is. It’s like nothing exists except the drug. Friends, family, jobs, the ground underfoot – even the addict – do not exist. Once the addict gets the drug of choice into their body they exist for a while; until the high wears off. Once the peak ends we would lose the feeling that we exist – until we could get more of the drug into us. I think this should illustrate how pointless it is to try to get through to an addict with logic, compassion, stern talk, family loyalty or anything else that’s real. We (I include myself as I was when I was in active addiction) will only be able to perceive any of these things as a sort of fantasy which we needed to manipulate to get more drugs and use those drugs so as to feel real again. The only thing that could make us stop was when the pain of continuing would overpower the emotional pain that we hid from. In my case this was being umemployable, forty pounds underweight, homeless and being in fear of a dope dealer who I owed money to taking a baseball bat to me. For some intervention seems to work. If one does this I advise to get a competent professional.
Didee | Feb 22, 2009 | Reply
I too have had to overcome addictions. I overcame alcoholism a lot easier than smoking dope. Its been almost 2 years and still I get feelings of wanting it. However, I know from previous experiences of trying to give up that if I go and get some- even for one smoke – then I will want to go and get more, then back to square one. There is no such thing as ‘cutting down’. I was fortunate in that I had a very good psychotherapist and support of my GP, even though family members just thought…yeah yeah, believe it when we see it type of attitude..referring to previous attempts to get off it. I am still a smoker of ciggies even though I wish I could get off them. I have made many, many attempts, only to keep going back. Unfortunately there is no real professional help out there. I am the type of person who needs good moral support and personal incentive for this ciggy addiction…both of which I do not have. All in all a good article.