Addiction

Many people are confused about what exactly an addiction is. Understandably so.

It seems that today everything can be an addiction, that people can become addicted to anything. Mostly, this is true.

The only thing that limits what things can become addictions is your imagination.

For ease of understanding, there are two types of addiction; chemical and process.

Chemical

Chemicals we put into our bodies which create alcoholism, and drug addiction - these include prescription drugs and also drugs bought without a prescription at the chemist.

Process

Addictions include all things that can be done - activities - and these things are done to excess. E.g. exercise, over or under eating, sex, work, gambling, shopping - if you can do it, then you can overdo it, and then it can become an addiction. Gradually, instead of you controlling it, it controls you.

These two types of addictions used to be considered quite separate but the latest scientific studies have shown that all addictions are actually chemical whether the person is ingesting a chemical or not.

All behaviour and feelings in the human body are created by chemicals in our bodies. Basically, we are skin covered chemical reactions. It is well known that there is a phenomenon called 'runners high'. This is a chemical response to pushing the body past a point of pain and exhaustion. To cope with this enormous stress the body produces masses of chemicals called endorphins. They allow runners to push past the 'pain barrier' and continue running. In the days of dinosaurs this was a very good thing, - you needed this extra boost to not become dinner for a large and very hungry tyrannosaurus rex.

These chemicals (endorphins) are just like heroin or morphine, in their chemical composition. So, in effect, runners get high on the body's own heroin, as do all those people who exercise to excess. These people may spend hours and hours at the gym daily and feel very anxious if they can't. Regular exercise is wonderful. Anything done to excess can become an addiction and so, a problem.

We all know stories of people being able to exert extra human strength when in life and death situations - lifting enormous weights off people being crushed, for example. The ability to withstand incredible pain long enough to get help for oneself or others who have been hurt. Other chemicals produced in our bodies are responsible for this; like adrenaline. These chemicals helped our ancestors us to survive so that we are able to be here now. Internally, we are chemical soup and we have learned how to be pharmacists in our own private labs.

So, people can be addicted to a chemical they put into their body or the chemicals they produce in their own body while participating in an activity.

There are five criteria to look for to decide if a person is an addict.

The person needs more and more of the drug or the behaviour to get the desired effect.
(The desired effect usually is a reduction in anxiety and a departure from the problems and feelings they have before using. Later, the initial high feeling is gone regardless of the amount they are doing/using and they use simply to avoid feeling withdrawal symptoms)
The person experiences withdrawal when the addiction is not available to them anymore.
(This is usually a big increase in anxiety, and can have very unpleasant physical symptoms also.)
The person has more and more negative consequences created by their addiction. They continue the addiction despite awareness of this. There are increasing consequences, legally, socially and occupationally. If they must choose between keeping a job, a spouse, other things they used to value highly they will pick the addiction. The person spends more and more time thinking about the addiction, participating in the addiction, and usually, hiding the addiction.
The person may try to control or reduce the addiction without long term success and may succeed in the short term but always goes back to the previous level and frequently the stress of trying to control the addiction leads to an increase in the behaviour once the attempt to control it has been abandoned.

Being an addict is not a person's fault.

It's no one's fault. Looking to find fault and blame someone just holds up the recovery process.

No one chooses to become completely out of control in their lives. Initially, they most definitely choose to participate in the 'using' behaviour as it medicated them and helped them feel better. They had feelings and thoughts they couldn't tolerate and cleverly, they found ways to cope until they could get help.

When in the beginning stages of an addiction, the addict feels fabulous. They feel all warm and fuzzy and at ease. Before long..warm and fuzzy turns into .. lukewarm and scratchy..then...cold and prickly. Then, warm and fuzzy is a distant memory but the addict is desperate to recapture that feeling. Sadly, and desperately they continue the same behaviour that gave it to them in the first place but they can never get it back.

All addicts believe 'I can take it or leave it. I just choose to take it'. A little voice inside them may know the truth (that they've lost the ability to choose to stop) but this voice is drowned out but the loud booming of the addictive voice. Just like the old angel and devil on our shoulder when deciding whether or not to eat a piece of cake when we're on a diet. The more one sinks into addiction the more the devil controls what you do and say. Soon, the little angel is mute.

Being an addict is not an excuse for not getting well. It is just an explanation for how addicts got to the place they're at now. To regain control, addicts need to begin by taking personal responsibility for their current behaviour and have a real desire to become completely free of their addiction - no matter what it will take. Just like they used chemicals or activities - no matter what it took.

To be an addict is demeaning and soul-destroying. At Soul Centred Living we appreciate this and so our counselling style is honest, compassionate, and non-judgmental. Mostly, all addicts need outside help to release their addictions - we've found that most people have more than one addiction - over time one drug/activity may not be enough to create the desired effect so addicts may require some additional creativity to find more ways to numb or excite themselves further.

Treatment includes building a support system and providing the addict with alternate behaviours and abilities to manage negative or unpleasant feelings. We have found that the vast majority of addicts may also have experienced trauma/abuse/neglect/abandonment/life threatening illness at some point in their lives - this also needs to be addressed and resolved.

Here's a partial list of possible addictions - again these are addictions ONLY IF they meet the criteria listed above. And remember the addiction is not really to the drug or activity. The addiction is to the chemicals ingested or created inside our body when we take the drugs or do these behaviours.

Alcohol Nicotine
Street drugs
(too many to mention)
Prescription and non-prescription drugs (you buy at the chemist)
Nitrous Oxide
(the gas you can have at the dentist)
Petrol sniffing and other 'inhalants'
Food
Exercise
Sex
(includes serial affairs, and sexual anorexia, and internet sex)
Anger/Rage, Sadness, Self-Righteousness, Love,
(specifically, the high of a 'new' love)
Pain, Hate, Fear
(the chemicals created in your body when you have certain feelings)
Work
Busyness
TV
Reading
Internet Surfing (of any kind)
Electronic Games
Shopping
Gambling
Hoarding
Avoiding Things & People
Procrastination Religion
Fanaticism (all kinds)
Neatness