“A” for addiction

Find out what causes addiction and who it affects

Andrea Watson from Life all day writes about Addiction

Because it’s not an area I cover, I’m delighted to be able to post this article about Addiction and who it affects. It’s written by Andrea Watson (see photo) from Life all day.

Andrea has a bachelor’s in psychology and loves applying psych to everyday life, helping other people, and breaking the stigma. Why not take a look at some of her other work.

Understanding Addiction in 2020

No, I’m not talking about applesauce here, dear readers, I am talking about addiction. What is it? How does it come into being? And most importantly, whose fault is it? Well, those are the questions we seek to answer today. And for this post, I’m breaking out the big guns; Peer Reviewed Journal Articles! 

This is no baloney, folks, addiction is prevalent around the world. And we’re not just talking about hard drugs here. We’re talking coffee, video games, cigarettes, pain pills, social media, sex; just about everything we can’t get through our day without. From here on out though, the main context will be hard drugs. So strap in and we’ll get through this together. 

Defining Applesauce. I mean, addiction.

The phenomenon of addiction is common and world-wide. Addiction can affect every area of a person’s life, including family relationships, health, public safety, and economic prosperity in an insidious manner. Some think addiction is purely neurological. Some think it is a moral failing, and some believe it’s society’s fault.

You can define it in different ways, but for this post we are going to stick with the theory that addiction is a syndrome that combines interpersonal, biological, and societal dimensions. You could even add family systems and spirituality in there and not be off the mark (Caan, 2012). For a more up-front and less scientific definition, consider this:

“Addiction is Hell. You want to die when you’re using and you want to use when you are sober. It’s like a perpetual merry-go-round of pain where everything blurs and disappears but the drug.”

L.P.

Who Does Addiction Affect?

Anyone. Everyone. Not only addicts, but families of addicts. Policemen and women and military personnel engaged in fighting America’s “War On Drugs”. The economy suffers. The black market prospers. Families of the drug mules are affected. Relationships crumble. Politics ignite tensions. 

Taxpayers spend money to support the upholding of the law (another subject entirely and a soapbox issue of mine). We see overcrowded jails and prisons as a result of addiction and bad politics. It is a plague in North America. Some countries deal with addiction far more effectively than the U.S. does. But here, we are all about punishment and making that money.

How Does Addiction Happen?

Isn’t it a bad choice? A weakness of character, a sin even? No. No, and no again. I’ll give you a hint: it involves compulsive behavior. One article by Kenada, (2019) with lots of huge fancy words says that addiction happens because the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus sends a bunch of different types of projections to the ventral tegmental area, which is associated with reward information processing and reinforcement learning. Too heavy a read for me. 

What does it mean? Basically the author was saying it’s all about brain chemicals. Not quite. It is most widely accepted that addiction stems from a combination of environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors.

So who you were born as plus what your environment is like plus how your brain changes after drug use equals addiction. I’m barely holding on here. So the hyper-focus on the drug combined with compulsive behavior patterns and lack of control make addiction what it is (Anderson, Penrod, Barry, et.al., 2019). There. 

So…Who’s Fault is it, Again?

The answer is…it’s nobody’s fault. It doesn’t even count as a fault as far as science is concerned. It’s a pathology. A real, true disease. The addict is no more responsible than you are. I know, it’s hard to believe. But trust me, this is science we’re talking about here. I read the big hard words and everything. 

So, Who, Then, do we Punish?

Nobody. Don’t punish anyone. The whole thing is counterproductive anyway, especially in the face of addiction. A better question would be, “What can we do to help?” Aha! There are answers for that. First and foremost, an addict needs love and support. Not, “hey, call me if you need anything” support.

The need real, actual support. Treatment. Education. Unconditional love from families and friends. Addicts need unconditional positive regard from providers. Shelter from the raging storm that is addiction. The addict needs a lifeline. Someone to be there without judgement for when they really need a hand up.

We may not be aware, but many of us know addicts in our own lives. Gamer? Possible addict. On prescription pain meds? Possible addict. Smoker, coffee drinker, overeater? Addict, addict, addict. Even eating disorders have been lumped in there during recent years. We can be understanding. We can be kind.

Over to you

ClipArt

Do you know an addict? Perhaps it’s someone in your family, a close friend or a colleague? What are your thoughts on their addiction? is it part of a dual-diagnosis? Do you blame them for the ‘state’ they’ve got themselves into? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on addictions and I’m happy to answer any questions.

Andrea @ Life all day

Author: mentalhealth360.uk

Mum to two amazing sons. Following recovery from a lengthy psychotic episode, depression, anxiety and anorexia, I decided to train as a Mental Health Nurse and worked successfully in various settings before becoming a Ward Manager. I am a Mental Health First Aid Instructor and a Mental Health Awareness Trainer, Mental Health First Aid Youth and Mental Health Armed Forces Instructor. Just started my mental health from the other side blog.

28 thoughts on ““A” for addiction”

      1. It can be discouraging… I try and employ safeguards against relapsing… it works much of the time with certain behaviors. With overeating, I haven’t found the glue that binds.

      2. Oh, overeating is a hard one for me, too. I recently began using this app called Noom. It uses psychology to adjust the way you think about and crave food. So far it’s working for me. I’ve lost ten pounds in about a week and a half. It’s a bit pricey, but so far it seems like it’s worth it.

  1. Nicely posted and written by Andrea! Thanks for the share.
    Loved this and don’t wish it on anyone“Addiction is Hell. You want to die when you’re using and you want to use when you are sober. It’s like a perpetual merry-go-round of pain where everything blurs and disappears but the drug.”

    L.P.
    ❤️ Cindy… come visit today for some fairy dust to sparkle and glow with . 🧚‍♀️🧚🏿‍♂️

    1. Thank you Cindy, I really appreciate it. Addiction is a pervasive problem in a lot of places in the world. This makes me sad and I wish I didn’t have to deal with any of it. But it does exist, so I must deal.

      1. You are most welcome Andrea! It is everywhere and some of it has been dispensed out at the very ones that are suppose to help us. It’s great you’re getting a handle on it while you are young ❤️

  2. This is an important topic that we should raise awareness on. So many people suffer from addictions. Unfortunately they look to blame someone or something. But as you rightly mention no one is to blame. It just happens as a coping mechanism. We shouldn’t be blaming but instead looking for alternative more positive ways to replace the addiction

    1. Thank you Helen. I agree that we shouldn’t be blaming in this. We do need to raise awareness and in many cases change the way we look at the problem, especially in the USA. It is such a huge problem here and we deal with it in all the wrong ways. It’s so unfortunate.

  3. Addiction is such a complicated issue, and yet so prevalent. Thanks for sharing Andrea’s discussion of the topic. The point about there being no one to blame is key. Punishing people for their addiction only adds to the pain they are trying to escape.

  4. A good summary. Thanks. Here’s a strange addiction: Believing the lies. Sounds weird, but think about it. If you are a #45 supporter and you believe him and discount the mainstream media, now today comes and you have a choice:

    1. Continue to believe his lies.
    OR
    2. Face reality.

    If you continue to believe his lies, it’s just following habit. Furthermore, as with opioids, you feel great! The pandemic is almost over. The economy is about to rebound. America is great. And you helped make it all happen. All’s right with the world.

    If, on the other hand, you decide, “Today’s the day! I’m going to take a good hard look. OMG! YIKES! We’re in the middle of a pandemic killing hundreds of thousands of Americans! And worse, the President is modeling bad behavior! And holding Super-spreader events! And millions of people are out of work! And he’s encouraging — actually encouraging violence! And other countries think we are the laughing stock of the world! OMG! And, worst of all, I helped put him there!

    You see the problem? It’s much easier to just shoot up, just this one more time. It’s easier to just keep watching him and watching Fox News and believing everything they say.

    Keep that in mind the next time you look at a newsreel film from the 40’s showing millions of addicts in Germany saluting “Der Führer”

    Politics isn’t the only place where people can have “mental addictions.” A related one is “Labelism.”If you’ve always been a racist, or sexists, or homophobe, it has become comfortable. If you change, you’ll realize that you’ve done a lot of cruel bone-headed things in your life. And you have to learn a whole new way to relate to other people. A little more detail in this link:

    https://petersironwood.com/2020/06/28/essays-on-america-happy-talk-lies/

  5. Happy Sunday! If you are interested, we are always looking for member to join our new #endblank recovery closed group for addicts and friends and families of addicts (of all kinds). Visit us at facebook.com/endblankrg for more info. <3 Stephanie

  6. It has effected me and my family since birth
    Please feel free to read my blog
    Puertorockunlimited.wordpress.com

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