I would like to start by saying, absolutely there is hope. Addiction is a complicated process. In this post, I’m going to do my best to bring clarity to this question about Addiction: Is there hope?
I’ve had the opportunity to serve men, women, and youth who have struggled with addiction over the past 20+ years of my career. I hope I may offer some comfort by saying I know hundreds of more people who have won the battle with addiction than have lost it. There is absolutely hope.
Addiction is a fight no matter how you look at it. I often call it the war between our ears. A person in addiction has a lot against them. I think the best place to start is a simple definition of addiction.
This definition comes from the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). ASAM is widely known and accepted as a universal standard in the addiction field. They define addiction as “a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences.”
People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences. Addiction is an inability to stop using a substance or engaging in a behavior even though it is causing psychological and physical harm.
Many people, but not all, start using a drug or first engage in an activity voluntarily. However, as addiction begins to take over it reduces a person’s self-control.
People with substance use disorders can develop distorted thinking and behaviors. Changes in the brain’s structure and function are what cause people to have intense cravings, changes in personality, abnormal movements, and other behaviors. Furthermore, Brain imaging studies show changes in the areas of the brain that relate to judgment, decision-making, learning, memory, and behavioral control.
Here are a few definitions of some of words from above that may be helpful.
Chronic – persisting for a long time or constantly recurring.
Medical Disease – any harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism, generally associated with certain signs and symptoms and differing in nature from physical injury.
Genetics- the scientific study of genes and heredity—of how certain qualities or traits are passed from parents to offspring as a result of changes in DNA sequence.
Compulsive- resulting from or relating to an irresistible urge, especially one that is against one’s conscious wishes.
The grip of addiction in a person’s life
Let me try and put this even simpler. There is this voluntary point in the beginning stages of addiction. Some may use the word “choice.” After some continued use, there is this reduction of self-control. Somewhere between the two (choice and reduction of self-control), there are processes that take place, because of the use. This process begins to make changes in brain structure and function. What begins to result is problems with judgment, decision-making, learning, memory, and behavioral control.
During these processes, psychological withdrawal and physiological withdraw effects start to happen. In simpler terms thinking becomes distorted a person begins to think they need the substance to prevent withdraw or adverse effects (which is true). The body begins to react when the substance isn’t present, again withdraw.
When a psychological or a physiological change happens to the body it can paralyze us. Let me give a practical example. Let’s say you’re at a presentation, a sports game or some activity around a large number of people and you have to use the restroom. Now let us say the urge is intense and you really have to go right now. You no longer are thinking about what’s going on around you (all you become worried about is using the restroom). This is much like addiction on an extremely small scale. A person in active addiction will not be able to function until they get the substance or engage in the behavior they are addicted to. They cannot function until their psychological or physiological needs are met. The only way in addiction is to get the substance in their bodies.
Hope
Our brains are complex, and we are still learning about them. What we do know is that the brain eventually begins to compensate once use or behavior has stopped. When a person gets distance between their last use or behaviors and the present moment, they begin standing a better chance of recovery. If you want to gain a better understanding of this search Neuroplasticity. (Here is a video from you tube on Neuroplasticity that is very informative),
Even after a person stops the use or behavior they may be left with triggers, cravings and urges. Furthermore, post-acute withdrawal strong urges, cravings, intense flashbacks, dreams that could last up to 3 years or longer. All of these can lead to a lapse in judgment or even relapse. Just remember the brain continues to compensate when you get distance from the last use.
In my experience treatment works best for people who have had enough and want a change in their life. It’s much more difficult when a person doesn’t think they have a problem. Sometimes they just don’t want to give it up. Some people are so deeply caught in a cycle it’s much difficult to just step away from addiction. I know it can be frustrating. We should always meet these men, women and youth with nothing less than compassion.
Conclusion
From what I have experienced in my career. I truly believe the best method of change is community. Enough people stepping up to the plate and reaching out. I don’t have all the answers and neither do doctors, priests/ministers, nurses, other counselors, friends, and family. Together we stand a much better chance of combating a person’s addiction and ultimately saving their life.
There are many different articles on this website ThinkingDeeplySelf-Critically.com. These articles may help you gain clarity into persons thinking and behaviors struggling with addiction. This website is ultimately designed to help us all become the best version of ourselves.
Our Responsibilities to Us is a series of articles that can help us reflect on our part helping battle addiction. More specific articles in this series that might be helpful is A plan for change part 1 and part 2. The Foundation is the lens we can look through to help cultivate compassion for others and their situations. The Foundation are profound building blocks that help us truly become the best version of ourselves.
There can be a lot of crises in addiction. You may find the series on Facilitating Crisis and Our Responsibility to Others useful.
Winning the war between our ears and Instilling Hope (Foundation) are other articles you will find on this website that can help give you ammunition for the fight.
I hope you enjoy this article. Thank you for your time. Never stop becoming the best version of yourself and helping others!
