About Addiction

Call today for an appointment 401-484-0407.

What is addiction? Where did I loose control? Can I ever live a normal life again?

The best definition of addiction I’ve heard is from the movie ‘What the Bleep do we know.’ Ramtha, a mystic, philosopher, and hierophant simply states, “An addiction is something you can’t stop.”

Addiction effects all races, all ethnicities, and has no consideration for socioeconomic standing. However, its been empirically proven that some folks are more susceptible to addiction and alcoholism than others. The three main factors that may propel someone towards addiction are biological, environmental, and situational. We will take a look at these factors as well as how addiction works in the brain.

Biological

There’s little question today that addiction has a genetic factor. Scientific twin studies (1) have clearly shown about a 50% genetic link in the disease of addiction. Unfortunately we often see families ravaged by generational alcoholism. Other studies (2) have determined that a child of an addict is eight times more likely to become an addict themselves. But blaming our parents gets us nowhere when it comes to recovery, in fact, blame is a form of abuse. We need to take responsibility for our choices and actions today and learn healthy behaviors no matter where we come from. I’ve witnessed folks triumph over addiction despite all odds against them. You, or your loved one, can too.

Environmental

Access to drugs and alcohol can be a huge factor. People who live and grow up in an environment where drugs are not only accessible but part of the culture, will most likely experiment. Some business culture is still surrounded by alcohol, where the martini lunch and the drink flowing dinners are part of making the deal. Aside from the biological aspect, there are those who believe a person can drink themselves into being an alcoholic. However you get there, there is a way out.

Situational  

Situational is a term I use to describe people who have suffered great trauma or abuse and learn to cope with their situation by numbing it out with drugs and alcohol. This is a particularly challenging place to get out of because the situation may be unbearable without a numbing relief. This coping mechanism sometimes becomes the anchor that prevents a person from discovering new coping skills or from finding the inner strength and outside supports to move on to a better life. Another situation that is all too common in todays world is the person who has a medical issue and is prescribed pain killers. It always starts innocently, taking prescribed medications appropriately, but before long a new kind of unexplainable hell takes over a persons life causing them to behave in ways, they themselves, don’t understand. I know this all too well and have worked with countless folks in both of these situations.

This is your brain on drugs

Alcohol and drugs effect the reward pathway in the brain. This is the area of the brain that responds to food and sex, and propels us to secure the necessities of survival. Have you ever behaved strangely, or witnessed a friend behave out of character, in order to be noticed by someone they were attracted too? After which wondering why they did such a thing? Sometimes instinctually we behave in odd ways in an attempt to gain attention and potential procreation. This is due to the reward pathways of the brain. The same pathway is activated in addiction. The brain becomes convinced that it needs the drug in order to survive, the way we need food to survive. Because of this, an overwhelming craving can come over us, so strong that the addicted person acts in ways that they themselves don’t understand. Often times these behaviors cause a person to feel like a bad person. The addict is sick, not bad. Rediscovering yourself and your associations in recovery is a journey. A journey towards love, positivity, and forgiveness in your life. Lets begin the journey.

Call today for an appointment 401-484-0407

“The actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception, will be absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge. This is a point we wish to emphasize and re-emphasize, to smash home upon our alcoholic readers as it has been revealed to us out of bitter experience.”

Big Book, Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 39

1) Prescott, C. A., & Kendler, K. S., Genetic and environmental contributions to alcohol abuse and dependence in a population-based sample of male twins. Am J Psychiatry, 1999. 156(1): p. 34-40.

2) Merikangas, K. R., Stolar, M., Stevens, D. E., Goulet, J., et al., Familial transmission of substance use disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 1998. 55(11): p. 973-9.

Connect with me on LinkedIn to learn more about me.