Introduction
Psychology is not my profession, addiction is. But I learned early on with the help of my mentors that in order to treat the horrible disease of chemical dependency, I was going to have to develop an understanding of it and its cognitive processes.
A Broad Approach
I think it is important for the reader to understand my perception of addiction as a disease, in order to grasp the underlying reality of this article. The core of addiction is obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors that bring about harm to the addict, and usually those around them. Although I believe that there are many different dynamics to the addiction of many drugs of abuse, I do not discriminate against the addiction of certain behaviors, such as gambling, “cutting”, compulsive sexual behavior, video game and internet addictions. When you really get to looking at the mesa, limbic dopamine reward system, we can become dependent on the chemical imbalance of reward chemicals caused by certain behaviors just as easy as we can to nicotine.
A Common Misconception
We, as shallow as we can be sometimes, can easily view the more dramatic or visually evident cases of the cocaine, or heroin addict. And we will especially react to the methamphetamine addicts who have clawed the flesh from their forearms attempting to get rid of insects that don't exist (crank bugs). But let's not close our minds to the bigger picture here. There is much more to addiction than just what the eye can see.
We have to broaden our perspectives of what we are really dealing with here. When a person comes into my office with a marijuana problem, am I dealing with the drug marijuana? Or am I treating the disease? If I was only treating “drug problems”, then the only type of treatment programs that would exist would be solely for detoxification.
“Bad”, Or “Sick”?
It has been mistakenly believed for centuries that addiction was about “moral weakness”, rather than being considered as a disease. Today, substance abuse/dependence is a very harsh reality for millions that effects or society as a whole. The medical and clinical fields have had to evolve and adapt to society's heightened awareness of this plague, and so have the drugs of abuse.
Politics does not hesitate to utilize this controversial topic for its benefit. But is it really about morals? Are addicts' bad people who need to get good? Or might they be sick people who need to get well. I'm afraid that this debate will most likely outlive all who are able to read the print on this page.
Maybe you have known someone who has experienced some difficulties with substances. Most likely, if a person knew them before they began to use, they are probably a good person.
The real question is; have you ever known someone addicted who has found recovery? That person who everyone just knew would die, but somehow pulled out of it? Have you seen that particular spark in someone's eyes? The “Glimmer of Gratitude”?
