When you hear the word addiction, the first thought that comes to mind is probably a junkie shooting up, or someone living their life at the bottom of there particular bottle of choice. If this is the case then you aren't alone. The majority of people perceive addiction as an urge or compulsion to continuously do or use something without regard for their well being, or the well being of people close to them. Though this is true, this is not where addiction ends, or begins. The true nature of addiction stretches far beyond the pills, needles, and bottles. Addiction can and does strike millions of people in the one place they thought they were safe. Their minds.
At First Glance
That current adopted belief as it applies to addiction is definitely not new. It's also something we see on a daily basis in movies, cartoons, books, and even children's shows (the Hamburgler, Cookie Monster, etc...). The truth is, there are over 22 million people suffering from some form of substance addiction or another in the United States alone. Over 100,000 deaths a year accumulate just from alcoholism related accidents. These numbers are enough to scare any person straight right? Unfortunately not. As time moves forward overall addiction is not decreasing. Younger kids are able to get their hands on drugs from medicine cabinets, and even school supplies. Huffing has become one of the major drug issues in suburban America.
To combat these issues we constantly hear about "The War On Drugs." Well, this isn't a myth as far as I'm aware. Over $19 Billion dollars was spent to combat the distribution and use of drugs in 2003. That equates to $600 a second! Despite this, the drug market continues to be a multi-billion dollar industry. In fact, the value for the global illicit drug market in 2003 was counted at an estimated $13 billion US Dollars at the production level, and $94 billion at the wholesale level. This is taking into consideration all seizures and losses into account, and at $322 billion based on retail prices.
So, it's safe to say that the war on drugs is not being won on either side of the equation. So how to we combat this issue? Awareness. It takes an awareness and constant education to the youth to truly put a damper on the drug issues we face. With more and more substances being consumed to reach that desired state of euphoria, it's our job to educate the youth and our peers about the dangers of these drugs. As parents, monitoring what your children are watching, and reading is crucial. On top of this, beginning to educate them at a young age, and potentially before YOU believe they are ready to hear it, can have a monumental impact on slowing this growing trend down.
All this aside, there are still a number of issues we have to face as a community. These issues are not coming from the things we are putting into our bodies, but our lack of awareness to our own thoughts. The major addictions we face are instilled within our own thought processes, and it is most of the time overlooked or pushed to the side. We all suffer from some form of addiction or another, and many of us don't even realize it.
The Nature of Addictive Personalities
Understanding that addiction is a real issue is the first step. The second is understanding that addiction it self is not limited to substance abuse. It is a common belief that many addicts use to escape their current reality. When you are in that state of euphoria the real world issues no longer affect the person using. They feel free, and absent. Once this high comes down, they realize that not only are they still living in the "real world," but they still have to deal with these issues like stress, finances, school work, relationships, etc... So they use again. We see this process continue and repeat until the person in question no longer has any bearing in our daily lives. They fall away from the work force, end up homeless, or dead.
Stopping these issues has to come not from reducing the availability of drugs (couldn't hurt) but from tackling the psychological issues they don't even know they have. How do we do this? By first realizing that the possible junkie in the subway, or the alcoholic begging for change on the corner is not a stranger. They are you. Quite possibly, perhaps not to that extent, but the truth is that we ALL have with us the nature to become addicted to one thing or another. For some this unseen addiction is stress. For others, turmoil, fear, depression, even happiness. We have personality faults that forbid us from realizing this, and because of it we constantly fail because these addictions impede our view on reality.
If someone is complete and utterly addicted to that feeling of blissful happiness, we may see them completely ignore the very real emotional urge to cry. Instead, they may smile and laugh it off. Well, this may seem completely fine and encouraged, but the act of crying to expel feelings of sadness is completely human. Eliminating this from our lives can have terrible psychological affects that lead to therapy, denial, and even an inability to show sympathy. Understanding that we all possess with us an addiction like this is definitely not the easiest task. I personally discovered that I was innately addicted to being angry.
I grew up in a rather bouncy household (to put it nicely). My father left when I was young and popped in randomly, he was addicted to heroine and alocohol, and when I turned 12 my mother fell victim to alcoholism in a horrible way. This addiction continued well into my college years and she is currently recovering. The situations these issues put me in were harsh, and to deal with my own feelings of resentment, sorrow, and depression, I turned to anger. I was angry all of the time, even if something was completely fine I would find irritants in nothing, just for an excuse to yell, to scream, and to take my anger out in a rage on a punching bag.
All the meditation in the world wouldn't help me. Why? Because I had no idea that I was addicted to this! No body told me, sat me down and let me know that "Chris, I believe you have an anger problem" and realistically, if they did would I listen? I can almost guarantee you that I wouldn't. Truth is, we need to uncover these issues for ourselves. Getting someone to help us can be of great assistance, but unless we are consciously prepared to hear another persons criticism, and make the changes we need to make, all the advice in the world will become irrelevant.
Breaking the Cycle
Breaking this horrible cycle of growing into these personal addictions which can sometimes lead to serious life issues needs to begin with a single step. That step being acceptance. No body is perfect in our world today, and understanding that you have faults is step one. I don't mean just saying "yeah I'm not perfect, I know that," I mean literally sitting down and consciously naming your faults with no prejudice. I often recommend utilizing a method offered within the Soul Mirror for this step.
It can be somewhat time consuming, even upsetting to do this, but it can have a profound impact on your life. It can bring so much clarity into an otherwise overlooked area of your life it's completely worth the work. After you have completed this, you need to take one step at a time to tackle these issues. If you were otherwise afraid of crying, try to cry at least once a week, once a month to start if you need to. I'm not saying you need to sit there and boohoo, crying into a pillow and screaming to the top of your lungs (not unless you want to), but consciously crying can have amazing positive affects on your life.
The same goes for any other issue you may be facing. If you are just prone to a lack of patience, then take steps to developing patience. If you are angry, calm your self. Learn how to walk away from situations that set you off, and if you cannot avoid them take time to think and breathe before you speak or act. I never said it was an easy process, but it's one you will value and appreciate taking for the rest of your life. One more vital component in stopping this horrible cycle is telling your peers. Let your peers know the dangers of ignoring your faults and dismissing your own issues. Let them know what kind of harmful affects it can have you their lives. I don't mean for you to blame yourself for every thing that goes wrong in your life. Just don't let yourself not take accountability for the things you can consciously work to change for the better. It may take some time, but just work at it. We all need to, and we're all in this together. So with that, I'll see you on the other side :).
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This is interesting. I've often thought that we can become addicted to our own behaviors without realizing that's what we're doing. Do you think that there's a part of the brain that naturally seeks out addictive behaviors? I'm not a scientist, but I think I've read somewhere that the the mind is structured to find patterns; to order our universe so that we can perceive it. And what are addictions other than behavior patterns?
Well, you are right about that. The part of the brain often associated with addiction is probably the "Insula" according to research conducted by scientists about smoking and brain activity. I'm not quite sure though. To my knowledge the actual area is kind of iffy, I do know however that the mind does have an incredible problem solving mechanism that leads us to find patterns in anything we want to and some things we don't.
I'm also aware that substance addiction it self is often attributed to a chemical imbalance. My mother recently took part in some research to pin point this possibility and they ended up discovering a lot of interesting stuff. Conclusive? Perhaps not, but I'm not entirely sure as of right now.
Another significant piece to the pie is how the brain has the ability to essentially "rewire" itself based on actions. This can cause habits to be developed and it takes an estimated 28 days to break said habit. I think somehow all of these things play a roll in addiction it self. Either predisposed chemical imbalances that substances like alcohol correct and thus instill some dependency on the person, or a chemical imbalance is created for the substance abuse and then the person needs to continue it to feel "normal." This, along with the amount of time it takes to break a habit in general.
It's a very interesting topic that's still being researched today, but there are a lot of good ideas about it floating around right now.
Our society seems to encourage self-medication. It's no wonder we have so many addicts. If bliss (or even a reasonable modicum of joy with just being) were readily available, people wouldn't half-kill themselves to find it. Society at this point in history is weird and toxic, IMO. It probably was in the past, too.
I doubt the war on drugs will ever work, I'm not convinced it's designed to. If you eliminated every drug people use today to escape, tomorrow there would be a whole new crop of things people would use. To the addict the fact that it might, or is going to, kill you is actually a benefit, FWIW.
I'm glad you realize you have a choice about how you react and feel about the world, you're lucky to have your eyes open.
Drug addiction causes the dopamine receptors in your brain to kind of shut down. So you need a lot more dopamine to feel reasonably okay. This is part of why it's so very hard to quit, and people go back even after years of sobriety. The world is ugly, much more ugly to the addict than it is to someone who has never been in that dark place.
I wonder if rage addiction has the same impact on brain chemistry, and that's why it's so hard for people to get their tempers under control, even when they know it's destroying their lives.
Interesting topic.
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@Sylvie, yes, I fully agree with you. That need to fill the hole Dopamine leaves is incredible. It's why I promote the pursuit to increase Oxytocin levels so much more. In the end it's so much more gratifying but some people just don't realize the horrible affects "needing to feel good" can have. Coming down off of that dopamine high just causes so much frustration, irritation, and anger. People get so hostile and it has been shown to create immense issues in relationships. Not that the fault is all on them, it's just a horrible position for anyone to be in.
I also agree with you about the war on drugs. It truly doesn't seem effective at all and I doubt such a thing could ever be won like you say. That question though, if rage addiction could have the same affect on brain chemistry is really interesting. I'm not sure if any studies are being done on addictions like rage and the relationship to other addictions or the effects on the mind. I'm sure someone has asked the question but it's definitely worth looking into. I'd be very interested in the findings.
@Karl Zada, thanks for the comment. I thought that the color scheme of this blog might make it difficult for some people to read but as of right now I'm not quite sure what to change it to. I am contemplating altering the entire layout. My only issue is that currently this one makes the site a bit more unique than other more generic white layouts, so I'll just have to throw some ideas around. Thanks for bringing that up though :).
Hey Chris, great read. My fathers a recovering alcoholic, he's been clean going on 20 years now. He became a drug and alcohol councilor some time after deciding to be clean, he did that for 5 or so years. But I think what he realized, even with his guidance, a lot of people coming through used the group as a substitute for their addictions, using it as a replacement for their substance abuse instead of a time to work through and realize things.
My father instilled a pretty good understanding of addiction in my bother and I, but that really didn't stop us from going down a similar road with alcohol, as with the Kiwi culture me and my brother are raging binge drinkers, but I think we're slowly coming to terms and understanding what we're doing to ourselves.
On another note, the war on drugs I don't think will ever be won, it's just not your typical war, the enemy is fluid with multiple groups fighting for their share, not one group fighting for the same cause. Much like the war on terrorism.
Cheers for the great read Chris, check ya later.
Thanks for stopping by :). I definitely agree with you. About how many people who suffer from addiction may use such groups as replacements. Unfortunately, I see so many people who are "recovering" stop their drug of choice, but never stop the habits that go along with their drinking. The stress, paranoia, etc... Everyone has something, some issue they fail to deal with. Not saying everyone fails to address these issues, just making note that a lot of people do. It's one of the main reasons people fall back into their addiction, because they don't address other lingering issues and continue the same destructive habits. An entire life change is in order most of the time.
It's somewhat ironic that you can read this, understand it, and reply so intelligently, but says something like "we're slowly coming to terms." It gave me a good laugh because it would seem as though you already DO understand what you're doing. But I suppose knowing and really KNOWING or accepting it, are very different things. I'm glad you mentioned that, hopefully someone reading will notice it. It's
Yes, the war on drugs most likely won't ever be won. It's probably worse than the war on terrorism, but they are very related. Good example. I'm almost curious if the government even WANTS it to be won. They must have an understanding of this. But at the same time, not fighting it wouldn't be helping out communities either. It seems like we are such in a perpetual give and go, just teetering on the seesaw. Better than drowning in a pool of illicit drugs with everyone bouncing around in some eternal state of euphoria. :P
Man this is a really good post! I really like your blog a lot!
No probs, you're exploring some great topics, topics I'd like to write about on my own blog, but I really can't write past a few paragraphs before everything gets a little confusing.
"slowly coming to terms" was probably not the right wording for what I was trying to get across, but I get what you mean when you say knowing and really knowing are two different things. You could know all this stuff and still not realize you're living it.
Coming to terms was kind of meant to be about the future, the path we see ahead of us, because we have to come to terms with literally leaving all our friends behind, because we only drink when we're with them, hopefully some will follow.
The war on drugs and terrorism is a business, there are so many private organizations making huge government cash off of these two wars. Solve the problems and they all go out of business, they're not about to let that happen.
A good example is the private prison system, less prisoners means less profits, so it's in their best interests to have high crime rates.
Dang five paragraphs, my tone is all over the place and I must go.
Cheers Chris.
Rand, not at all. You're reply was very understandable and cohesive. I fully agree with you about how the "war on drugs" doesn't even make sense to win, nor is it very possible to win for that matter.
I also understand to your dilemma when it comes to drinking. That's a common problem for a lot of people suffering from any kind of addiction. They use in social situations but then they go back and use it privately and the problem progressively gets worse. I'd look at all the major rock groups twenty or so years ago. Was the main issue because once they stopped they fell out of that "crowd."
At the same time though, a lot of people that were in those circles ended up dying from their issues too. So, I'd say making some new friends would probably be well worth it. After all, common sense tells you that if they don't stick around because you don't drink, they aren't real friends anyhow.
I've been thinking about your post -- yes, this one -- for awhile. I recently went through a period of clinical depression, didn't know how to climb out of it, and didn't understand that the depression grew from my own addiction to anger! I was addicted to anger and did not realize it! I was mad at my past, my family, and myself, and those thoughts led to something much worse. After an agonizing, debilitating few months, the depression lifted, and I thought, "Wait! Was I addicted to my anger? Is that what started my downward spiral?" I looked through my journal and saw page after page of frustration and rage. It's amazing how thoughts can trap a person and color one's perception of what's real. You, among others, helped me see that. Thank you, Chris.
That's great news :) Not so much the desire and attachment to Anger, but the newly found awareness on the matter. Just opens up a whole new world of self discovery for you. I'm glad I could help in playing some role in you discovering that.
I do feel it was probably attributed more so to our dialogue in which you had a platform to think out loud. But how you arrived here isn't nearly as important as the simple fact that you DID arrive here. Congratulations :)
Very interesting, I think I am going to try this and see what I find out about myself. Thanks for sharing this.
Love and Blessings,
AngelBaby
Sounds like my little brother and his video games =) (My mom is also addicted to video games). Now, while not as much of a health concern unless one counts gaining weight, it still wastes MASS amounts of time. Changing addictions and habits is very hard. I think if a person can grasp and employ some buddhist philosophy, it becomes a little easier to break the cycle.
@AngelBaby, Good luck with that! :) A little self exploration is always a good thing. No problem for sharing, thank YOU for reading :).
@ariwat, Weight gain is indeed a health concern ;). But I understand, my little brother went through that phase too. I also agree with the Buddhist Philosophy thing. Of course, this would depend on which philosophies we are talking about :).