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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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