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The addictive process is a recognizable
psychological and behavioral syndrome that expresses itself in a particular
individual in regard to specific substances or processes but which exhibits a
striking similarity and commonality among addicted individuals regardless
of their specific circumstances and particular addictions.
Addictions may be subdivided into:
Crossover, switching of addictions, multiple addictions and a changing pattern
of addiction are common but not universal features of an underlying
addictive illness with recognizable structural features of its own. In depth
understanding of addictive processes must begin with the general and common
features of addiction and move to the specifics of the addictive expression in a
specific individual. Whether the addiction is single or multiple, substance or
process, legal or illegal or an unstable and shifting combination of all the
above, certain recurring and recognizable common features distinguish
addictive from non-addictive processes.
Characteristics of the addictive process are:
- salience, obsession, abnormal or pathological importance of the substance or
behavior
- persistence, rigidity, stereotypy, inflexibility and repetition of
the particular addictive behavior
- relative immunity to adverse consequences
and resistance to learned modification of behavior
- the invocation of an interrelated system of psychological
defenses which, like a string of military forts,
function in concert to protect the individual from the full realization
and acknowledgement of the self- and other- harmful nature of
his addiction and hence provide cover and concealment for the
continued expression of the addictive process.
Addictive fascination and fixity of interest
have been justly compared to the more commonly known stage of romantic or
infatuated love in which the lover thinks constantly of the beloved and pines
and suffers when not in their presence. An individual in such a state of mind is
said to be obsessed with their love object and to subordinate every other aspect
of their existence, including at times their health, work, and other
relationships to the fulfillment of the almost unbearable need and longing to be
united with their beloved. And we know from life as well as literature that so
passionate and frequently desperate are such lovers that at times they
even die as a consequence of or for their love.
Anyone who understands the terrific drive and
intensity that underlies and propels well-established addictive illness will not
be surprised at the difficulties individuals encounter when attempting to
control or terminate their addictive behaviors. In such situations the old
saying 'The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak' is an apt description of
affairs once the individual has reached the stage of recognizing his addiction
and the need to do something about it. And in many if not most cases, such a
recognition of harmful addiction may itself come only very late in the course of
the addictive process, which has long managed by means of the psychological
defenses mentioned above to conceal and therefore protect itself from the
critical recognition of its host.
There are many paths and ways to recover from addiction but all require the
capacity for honesty with oneself and the willingness and ability to bear the
temporary but often intense discomforts associated with the loss of a love. And
in almost all cases the recovering addict must find ways to replace what he has
lost with new and healthier ways of relating and dealing with life. Simply
stopping an addictive behavior by sheer force of personal will power is
effective for some but certainly not all, and probably not the majority of the
addicted population. Such frontal assaults on the addiction are not infrequently
successful for a while - but if nothing else changes, the addiction is likely to
reassert itself and perhaps in some cases grow even stronger.
The modern medical understanding of addiction is called the medical model
of
addiction to distinguish it from the traditional and still widely held moral
model of addiction. Although scientific evidence is steadily accumulating
incriminating physical, physiologic and genetic(hereditary) factors in
addiction, in many quarters addicts are still viewed as weak, bad or immoral
people. Worse still, that is the way the typical addict tends to view their own
behavior. Ironically, the painful feelings of guilt, shame and fear resulting
from the conflict of addictive behavior with the individual's own values often
create states of unbearable inner stress that make it harder for the
addict to refrain from resorting for relief to the very addiction that is
causing the negative feelings.
Addiction is now viewed by the scientific and medical community as a disorder of
brain functioning that, like all other disorders of bodily organs is
significantly influenced and impacted by a wide variety of personal,
environmental, psychological and physical factors that may have nothing directly
to do with the addiction itself but which indirectly may advance or retard its
expression in behavior and also influence recovery or remission of the addictive
illness.
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