What Is Addiction part1

The information in this article is for the family and friends of those suffering from some form of addiction and for the addict. These addictions include: Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, Compulsive Gambling, Eating Disorders, Compulsive Spending and Credit, and Deliberate Self Harm. Please take a couple of minutes to read through the information below. By learning as much as you can about Addiction and Recovery, you will be better able to understand what is happening to the addict and be better prepared for the recovery process.



Addictions not only effect the sufferer themselves, Addiction also impacts on those close to the Addict. When Addiction arrives in the life of a family or friend then, everyone suffers.



I know that you will have tried many things to help your addict quit. Most of those attempts will have achieved a temporary benefit at most and ultimately no long term changes. You have been caught on a merry-go round of Denial. The addict's and yours and you will be feeling under stress, unhappy, frustrated and at your wits end.



At the moment your friend/partner/child may accept that they have an addiction problem or they may be in some doubt. Perhaps you and they are hoping that their problem is not that bad yet or maybe, if we can clear up the stress or depression or whatever difficulties are being experienced, then normal drinking or behaviour can recommence. Of course, at this stage, that is difficult to tell. The chances are that you do not have enough information to make that decision yet. The likelihood is that abstinence is the first part of the solution.



In my experience most people want to minimise the extent of their problem and have a distorted view of the severity. Your help will be needed at some time to enable the addict to take a hard and honest look at what has been going on in their life before making that decision. By reading through this article and thereafter, following that with the rest in this series (available free for download at this site or from my website www.quitwithmerlin.co.uk ), you will be beginning the process of "what can I do to help", that may make all the difference this time. The more information you become familiar with, the better able to help you will be. If you are in anydoubt, please contact a qualified addiction specialist.



It is my belief that abstinence is certainly the most effective primary solution to dealing with addiction problems. This is followed by, and supported with, inner emotional healing, developing healthy lifestyle skills and a commitment to building positive nurturing relationships with self and others. This will take time, commitment, persistence, self honesty and a lot of help and support.









WHAT IS ADDICTION?

Illness disorder habit?

Addiction was thought of as a self-inflicted weakness. Some lay people may even continue to think this way. Most professionals in the field of Alcoholism recognise that those who suffer from this condition can become ill and have difficulty breaking the habit. Some people have become physically addicted, although many who have an alcohol problem do not shake in the morning, do not necessarily drink every day, often hold down good jobs and otherwise function fairly well. It is widely accepted that once a person has developed an addiction problem, they need to stop for good.



It has a recipe of causal factors

Addiction develops in many ways and seldom has one cause. For most people there is a recipe of causes which lead to the development of the problem.



We know that some seem to inherit the problem. They are likely to find there has been a history of alcoholism or some other addictive process active in the family. Others learn that drinking, using drugs, gambling or overeating, are ways to cope with problems, feelings and difficulties such as stress. While others come from heavy drinking cultures such as Scotland, Ireland, and Sweden or heavy drinking communities. In this same way, some occupations carry greater risk due to either, high stress factors or a heavy drinking or using culture. The key to how rapidly the problem develops is the intensity of emotional investment in the addictive activity. In other words, how emotionally important is the behaviour to the individual.



Some people, although certainly not all, begin their drinking in order to self medicate traumas or stress that arises from unresolved pain and confusion. Others may drink heavily due to anxiety or depression. In these cases it is important to realise that the depression or the trauma, the work or the stress are not the causes, they are strong factors which contribute. The area to look at in order to enlighten us about cause, is in fact more in the changing neurology and brain chemistry of the person with the problem.



Anyone who drank, used, gambled, self harmed, overeat, indulged in excessive sexual behaviour, or other addictive type behaviours, would become addicted – given enough time, and all things being equal. The time factor is shortened by the intensity of behaviour, which in turn is governed by emotional, social, cultural and personality factors.



It is a primary condition

Whatever the ingredients of the recipe, addiction to alcohol or any other substance or behaviour becomes of itself a Primary problem. This means that in order to stop, attention has to be paid to the drinking, the need to quit and the emotional, behavioural, physical and neurological factors that keep the process of addiction going. It used to be thought that alcohol problems resulted because of deep unresolved childhood complexes. Those that believed this felt that the drinking would be fine if, through analysis and therapy, the traumas were resolved. This proved very unsuccessful because it failed to recognise the primary nature of alcoholism. Most who get sober and heal from the damage that the drinking has caused, find that they have no more problems than those without alcoholism. There are no more incidences of psychiatric problems amongst recovered alcoholics than in the rest of the population.



Modern thought is that the addictive behaviour needs to be addressed as a problem in its own right, followed by the damage it has caused, any then any problems that existed originally.



The course of addiction is predictable

Throughout last century and this, our understanding of addiction has increased dramatically. This was due to several factors. The terrible cost of alcohol related problems to society and the drug epidemics of Heroin, Barbiturates, Cocaine, Amphetamines and prescribed benzodiazepines and that the problems of addiction were always on the increase refusing to be ignored. In one sense we were forced to 'pay attention' and learn about the devastating consequences of dependency problems, about how addiction develops and progresses and to learn about how recovery is achieved. Through this study we can see that addiction has predictable patterns. This means that we can tell what is likely to happen to an individual or groups who suffer from the problem and we can predict well what is likely to happen if they continue to use. Put simply, we know that if those who are suffering do not quit, then things are generally going to get increasingly worse.







It is progressive

If you suffer from alcoholism or addiction we know that the problem overall has got worse and it may progress even further. If you are a 'binger' then the binges could get longer and move closer together. As your tolerance increases so does your consumption. If you occasionally lose control and drink or use more than you intend to, then the episodes of loss of control often tend to increase. If you are a topper upper then it is highly likely that you will need increasing amounts to achieve the same results and effect.

If you have anger when drunk or stoned, it will often worsen and if your self-esteem is low due to drinking or using, your self-hatred will usually deepen. If you use your addictive behaviour to alleviate anxiety or depression, ultimately they will get worsen. More and more, worse and worse is invariably the pattern.



Addiction is chronic

People do not have an acute attack of addiction. Once developed it becomes a chronic problem that at times, if you take a snapshot of it, may seem better or more in control, but, overall, the complete film shows us that it is getting worse.



Often an individual will talk of their problem as though it just happened. They usually put it down to this stress or that situation. When we look more closely we will find that the problem has existed long before and has been developing so gradually as to blind us to its existence until such time as it is so obvious that we cannot ignore it any longer.



There will have been previous loss of control along with personality and mood changes. There will have been increased tolerance and a subtle preoccupation with use. There will have been previous behaviour changes and crisis will have occurred. Often family members confuse the situation by hiding the true extent of the problem to the drinker and others, fearing the worst.



For some it is terminal

Sadly some do die from their drinking or using. Drinkers may die from suicide, car accidents, incidents of violence, DTs' & other physical complications; users, from overdosing, poisoning, suicide or violence. However, many people do recover and the first step is stopping the substance use.



It is certainly treatable

Yes people can recover from the illness resulting from their drug or alcohol problem. Some do this alone and others do so with help. Those that require detoxification will most certainly need medical help



If you, your friend or family member is suffering due to addiction, you must seek help from qualified addiction professionals. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or visit our website for free information downloads on all aspects of addiction, Treatment and Recovery

Alistair Rhind

Addiction Treatment Consultant

Web Site: www.quitwithmerlin.co.uk

Email: info@quitwithmerlin.co.uk