Addiction - Part 1

Addiction:  the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

Welcome back folks we hope that you’re ready to embark on Addiction.

Being enslaved….sound familiar?  Addiction isn’t the normal Friday night high or buzz.  When we are addicted to something we are enslaved to it.  We must have it, at any cost.  But before we get into that, let’s take a look at some information that we found on About.com.   The following information is excerpts from this article and give a very good explanation on Addiction.

 

*Although the precise symptoms vary from one addiction to another, in clarifying what is an addiction, there are two aspects that all addictions have in common.

Firstly, the addictive behavior is maladaptive or counter-productive to the individual. So instead of helping the person adapt to situations or overcome problems, it tends to undermine these abilities.

For example, a gambler might wish he had more money –- yet gambling is more likely to drain his financial resources. A heavy drinker might want to cheer herself up –- yet alcohol use contributes to the development of her depression. A sex addict may crave intimacy –- yet the focus on sexual acts may prevent real closeness from developing.

Secondly, the behavior is persistent. When someone is addicted, they will continue to engage in the addictive behavior, despite it causing them trouble.

So an occasional weekend of self-indulgence is not addiction, although it may cause different kinds of problems. Addiction involves more frequent engagement in the behavior.

*Because the media, in particular, have portrayed addicts as hopeless, unhappy people whose lives are falling apart, many people with addictions do not believe they are addicted as long as they are enjoying themselves, and they are holding their lives together.

Often people’s addictions become ingrained in their lifestyle, to the point where they never or rarely feel withdrawal symptoms. Or they may not recognize their withdrawal symptoms for what they are, putting them down to aging, working too hard, or just to not liking mornings. People can go for years without realizing how dependent they are on their addiction.

*Addictions are harmful both to the person with the addiction, and to the people around them.

The biggest problem is the addicted person’s failure to recognize the harm their addiction is doing. They may be in denial about the negative aspects of their addiction, choosing to ignore the effects on their health, life patterns and relationships. Or they may blame outside circumstances or other people in their lives for their difficulties.

The harm caused by addiction is particularly difficult to recognize when the addiction is the person’s main way of coping with the other problems they have. Sometimes other problems are directly related to the addiction, for example, health problems, and sometimes they are indirectly related to the addiction, for example, relationship problems.

Some people who get addicted to substances or activities are very aware of their addictions, and even the harms caused by the addiction, but keep doing the addictive behavior anyway. This can be because they don’t feel they can cope without the addiction, because they are avoiding dealing with some other issue that the addiction distracts them from (such as being abused as a child), or because they do not know how to enjoy life any other way.

The harm of addiction may only be recognized when the addicted person goes through a crisis. This can happen when the addictive substance or behavior is taken away completely, and the person goes into withdrawal and cannot cope. Or it can occur as a consequence of the addiction, such as a serious illness, a partner leaving, or loss of a job.

You can read the full article Here 

We hope that this information has been a helpful introduction into Addiction.

Join us again soon.

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Remember:  “It is what it is and “it ain’t nothing but a thing!”