Addictions have been around since man pressed grapes, chewed coca leaves, smoked opium or marijuana. It is just in modern society certain behaviours, beliefs, and societal norms have changed, and the behaviours that might have been acceptable and forgiven, no longer are. Addictions are still stigmatised, misunderstood, looked down on, and most generally feared as, “It will never happen to me”, when in fact it might. There is a belief in certain circles that you are never more than three people away from someone with an addictive process. Here is a brief introduction which is enlarged upon in the relevant pages.
All addicts start as a defence, consciously or unconsciously, against some psychological, social, or spiritual pain. No one wants to be a drug addict or alcoholic, suffer from sex addiction, an eating disorder, be a compulsive gambler, smoker, or loose themselves in co-dependency, but this doesn't stop people from getting addicted.
The most commonly asked question is simply how does this happen? How could my son, daughter, father, mother, friend, sister, or brother become a liar, a thief, someone who cannot be trusted, self destructive, difficult to be in the company of, unseeing and unthinking? How could this happen? And why won't they stop?
The first thing you must understand about addiction is that alcohol and other drugs, and mind or mood altering behaviours such as food, starvation, sex, co-dependency, gambling, caffeine and nicotine are basically painkillers. They chemically kill physical or emotional pain and alter the mind's perception of reality. They make people numb.
An individual may try something once or twice and never go back to it. Drinking, smoking, and so called recreational drugs are frowned upon in certain social sectors, but forgiven and the norm in others. Young people with life stressors, peer pressure, and punishing family messages may be more susceptible to returning time and again to addictive substances or behaviours. People who have been traumatised by an event or a slow trickle of stress may turn to something to help them through. People suffering from a co-existing mental health illness may abuse their medication or use other substances to alter how they feel. Older people, who face life changing experiences such as loss of a job or loved one, retirement, lengthy illness may medicate with something that ends up being unhelpful to them and their loved ones.
Any time of life can be the moment when someone used an addictive behaviour or substance to self medicate. Then, if the behaviour or substance is repeatedly used, tolerance builds and more of the same is required to have the numbing or euphoric effect. Then, the brain plays a cruel trick by noticing the lack of that substance or behaviour, giving the person growing discomfort with withdrawal and cravings for more, so the person acts out again. This in turn creates a growing feeling of shame and guilt, “why can’t I stop or control this like others’ can?”
A great truism for most people, is that when they cross the invisible line from recreational use, or experimentation into dependency and addiction, they need help and support from an external source to stop and recover. They may need detoxification, treatment, therapy, social support, or a collection of all of those. As there is no one definitive clinical cause for addictive illnesses and many diagnosis, it is perhaps simpler to focus on the solution, recovery rather than the problem. Addictions are all classed as mental illnesses that can be recovered from, but have the potential for relapse. With this in mind support in absolutely essential. TRN can help you, a friend or loved one with this, as can your local addiction team, GP, and Anonymous Fellowships.
The TRN web site is full of information, lists of support available, and, above all, people to talk to who know how it is for you through their experience. Join us for the support, whichever side of the illness of addiction you are on.
