Psychological Addiction Essay

In section 2 we further our understanding of addiction by recognising and hopefully you will be able to identify with the physical/psychological characteristics of addiction. In addition recognise the progression of addiction, the importance of an abstinence-based recovery and alternative treatments to support recovery success. Finally the important key factors of addictions I want you to always remember. So let’s get started:

Physical Symptoms of Addiction
Physical symptoms of addiction are the result of the user’s body becoming dependent on something external to their inner self. Over time with repeated abuse the body craves more of the drug /alcohol to help them feel better about themselves, their life and others. Symptoms occur as a
natural progression of the addiction itself. Put another way, as the body naturally adapts to regular exposure of substances symptoms slowly but with certainty impair the user’s brain structure and functioning abilities.
When the time comes to put down their drug of choice, the user’s undergoes a detoxification process, usually with medical support. As the substances are removed from the body; the body undergoes what is known as withdrawals symptoms as listed below.
The body tries to re-adjust to the loss of the substances but unfortunately over time the user’s brain is addicted to their drug of choice, which in turn leads to the user craving for the drug to relieve the withdrawal symptoms. This is a vicious cycle that often results in the user relapsing because the chemistry of the body is altered to where the body (brain) develops a hunger for alcohol, drugs or both. To this extent the body (brain) craves to be feed on demand, as a way of avoiding the unpleasant physical symptoms attached to the withdrawal process, the user feels the need to relapse.
Withdrawal Symptoms
• The need to drink more than intended to get the same effect
• Intolerance which leads to cravings and urges
• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Depression
• Amplified sensitivity to pain
• Emotional instability

Psychological Characterizes of Addiction
The psychological characteristics of addiction become apparent when the brain is hooked into or “highjacked” or over time with repeated use, misuse and/or abuse has developed a life of its “own”.
This cause abuse of a particular substance or compulsive behaviour to make the user “feel good” or “feel better about who they are” or function better than they are capable of doing, without their drug of choice.
A psychological addiction can be characterised by the need to change his/her mood or how they feel about themselves or others, or fail to address the underlying cause of their emotional pain and suffering.
Please note this is a trap many people fall into. The trap is because they don’t have any physical withdrawal symptoms many think they don’t have a problem. Not so! The craving for their drug of choice may not be a physical craving, rather a psychological craving.
Let me explain. People can be addicted to many things. Wanting to feel a certain way, or can’t get emotionally the things they desire, want and need are a few of many reasons why a person use drugs, drink or act
out.
Feeling low, feeling depressed, anxious fearful, irritable and discontent are psychological triggers powerful enough for a person to look outside of themselves for something to “fix” them up. The problem is such desires; wants and needs cannot be “fixed” by external means. It’s an inside job to fix such things.
To avoid developing an addiction, rather than find something external such as drugs, alcohol or other behavioural activities to mask the pain of not feeling good about who you are, or to take away the emotional pain, the better option is to seek professional help, and resolve the emotional pain, rather than walk the road of addiction.
What you don’t know, but we know as we have walked the road, at the end of the day, seeking a solution external to yourself, is not the answer. I don’t know why, but unresolved emotional “stuff” be it childhood sexual abuse, physical, emotional or verbal abuse somehow learn to swim in drink, or hide in drugs.
In no order of importance below are characteristics of psychological addiction
• Loss of emotional and mental control
• Blackouts (memory loss)
• Unable to recognize behavioral problems
• Relationships problems
• Negative emotional responses, including anxiety, panic attacks depression
• Unmanageable ungrounded, unfounded and unknown fear
• Overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, superiority, inferiority
• Self-loathing and self-hatred
• Debilitating conscious or unconscious self-destructive beliefs or behaviours
• Engaging in risk taking behaviour
• Acting out other addictions
• Backward addictive thinking
• Limited and/or restricted forward thinking
• Continued use despite negative consequences
• Recurrent arguments, fights and violence with family members, friends or others

Addiction Is Progressive/Predicable
I want to begin this segment by sharing my favourite Irish proverb. In a few words this proverb explains the progressing of addiction much better than I can, for example:
“A man takes a drink, the drink takes a drink, and the drink takes the man.”
The progression of addiction is as predictable as the course it takes.
• Progressive - it rarely gets better only worse
• Predictable -it follows a course of action that is predictable
Research shows addiction is progressive to the point of destruction. It rules the roost. Priorities change in accordance with the drive to use or abuse. A lack of immediate treatment allows the addiction to move unnoticed through the early stages, middle stage and the final stage of addiction. In the final stages the effects are often irreversible. Here in lays its predictability.
Without permanent intervention the odds of breaking this predictable and progressive cycle, is highly unlikely. To break the cycle you must break the thoughts and behaviour patterns and replace them with new, fresh and positive information.
Listed below are the three progressive stages of an addiction, each stage builds on the previous stage. Without treatment the outcome is predicable. Be aware short of an effective intervention (abstinence) when it comes to the below stages, no exception exists.
1. Early Physical Appearance Changes
• Deterioration in hygiene
• Disheveled appearance
• Unclean clothes - not showering
• Headache, anxiety, insomnia
• Nausea, flushed skin and broken capillaries
• Husky voice; trembling hands
• Loss of body control
• Vomiting blood
• Bloody or black/tarry stools
• Chronic diarrhea - Constipation
More Early Warning Signs
• Drink /drug/act out alone
• Gulp down the first drink fast
• Anxious for next hit or fix
• Sneak drinks/drugs, or minimize the amount consumed
• Blackouts are part of everyday use
• Lie to protect their stash, increased of alcohol/drug/or activities
• Personality changes
• Make excuses for inappropriate behaviour
• Hang out with other users
• Preoccupied with drinking/ drugging/acting out
• Others alarmed by increased use
• Believe their own story
• Your turn

2. Middle Stage Signs
• Morning use, in secret or alone
• Unexplained injuries or accidents
• Priorities change
• Eat less- physically unwell
• Wake up with the shakes or tremors
• Sex drive diminishes
• Addiction more important than family, friends, self and other things
• Increased feelings of guilty, remorsefulness, shame etc.
• Irrational, negative thinking, discontent within
• Can’t guarantee behaviour - unreliable
More Middle Stage Signs
• Associate with people you wouldn’t once do
• Remorseful, make promises - break promises
• Loss of days, weeks, months
• Drink or drug or act out alone
• Thoughts all over the place
• Unable to remember the lies
• Feel resentful, anxious, jealous, angry stressed out
• Stop hanging out with family and friends
• Irregular work attendance
• Lack of personal responsibility
• Your turn
3. Last Stage Signs (Dependency)
• Tolerance levels down need more to feel normal
• Inability to make healthy decisions
• Over all-wellbeing in crisis
• Ungrounded and unfounded fear, panic attacks, anxiety
• Unable to hold down a job
• Relationship breakdown, divorce, children removed
• Not welcome in family home or at friend’s place
• Financial ruin
• Homeless living in the streets

More Last Stage Signs (Dependency)
• Self–destructive behaviour -sell their soul to the devil (addiction)
• Loss of values, morals, respect of friends, family and self
• Loss freedom of choice, unable to stop or stay stopped
• Sell their body for a drink or a hit
• Left on their own, loveless, lonely, isolated
• Desperately want to stop but can’t stay stopped
• Hospitalized, rehabilitation, revolving relapse door
• Your turn
Please note if you have more than three of the above signs, symptoms or characteristics you are addicted to something. Your number one propriety is then seeking effective treatment. Don’t put it off till tomorrow. Put down the book and seek professional help, now.
Abstinence Works Best!
Sad, but true to date there is no cure for any type of addiction. Other than total abstinence no known cure is available for any type of addiction. That said, any type of addiction can be arrested on a daily bases. For the following four reasons abstinence is the preferred method:
1. There is no cure for any type of addiction
2. The prospect of rebuilding a shattered life is nonnegotiable, if regular use continues
3. Relapsing causes the reversing the “flicked” neurochemical switch in the brain, thus increasing brain damage ten-fold
4. Brain damage can be repaired but it works only in conjunction to unbroken sobriety

Abstinence in and of itself is not a cure. But it is at best a daily reprieve from active addiction. If you want to fully recover from any type of addiction and be happy, abstinence works. But it doesn’t stop there. To be able to guarantee your sobriety long-term there are certain things that need to be addressed, for example: resolving the underlying reasons, causes or excuses for why you picked up in the first place, is a sure way to guarantee sobriety.
From My Perspective
Living a life of abstinence allowed me to grow-up. For example, I accept responsibility for the harm my drinking caused myself and others. As a drunk, there was no way I would have accepted responsibility for anything including my behaviour; it was always somebody’s, fault but never my fault.
Personally I totally enjoy a life of abstinence.
Not because I don’t have another drink in me, but because I don’t have another recovery in me. Picking up is a risk I choose not to take. Perhaps you feel the same? I have learnt my lesson. What about you? Are you choosing to look on recovery as a positive step going forward, rather than grieving for the loss of what may be on offer?
Clearly not all agree with these findings. That’s okay. We’re all individuals. Things would be pretty boring, even mind-numbing if we all agreed with each other. Nonetheless, it is vital that you understand the complexity of addiction and realise your life is at stake, if you should choose not to abstinence from your drug of choice. I say this because working in the field for many years I have witnessed many people dying a very painful and slow death, simply because they chose not to accept abstinence as a viable alternative to their addiction problem. To name a few things they had in common are listed below:
• Most failed to realise addiction is the most insidious, tricky and dangerous disorder, known to
humanity
• Others thought they were unique
• Some had a closed mind so learnt little
• Others underestimated the power of addiction
• Some swapped the bitch for the witch which led them back to their primary addiction
• Others overestimated their ability to recovery
• Others couldn’t get pass the stigma attached to an addiction
• Many died proving to themselves, they were not what they were
Supportive Treatments
With the advancement of treatments, we have a variety of alternative treatments that have gained recognition in recent times, because they support both traditional and modern scientific techniques suitable for the individual recovery needs and life choices. Regardless of your individual recovery choice, be always mindful that consistency, effort, commitment to your choice is essential to achieving recovery success. That said, be mindful to check with your doctor, first. Treatments that support abstinence based recovery, are as follows: Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is an excellent treatment for those in recovery. It is relaxing and effective in reducing anxiety, or recalling blocked memories with suggestions upon the unconscious mind to release the same. It helps reduce cravings, reframe situations and increase personal awareness to help remove stubborn perspectives thus increasing the healing process
Yoga
Stress is renowned to be an emotional trigger capable of inciting an unwanted relapse. With the aid of yoga it is possible to avoid relapsing because yoga teaches you to calm the mind by focusing on the breath, the mind remains calm. A calm mind signifies a manageable day, as opposed to an unmanageable day trigged by every day stressors.
Yoga, is for young or old? It assists both the body and mind. It is a form of exercise that can become a positive life- time choice, as you will discover for yourself, if you chose to. It is a very popular recovery technique. As it helps to effectively reduce stress, tension and relieves anxiety levels. Regardless of age or physical strength most anyone can practice yoga and benefit from this ancient practice using muscles, you forgot you had. The more you stretch those forgotten muscles and align them with other parts of your body, the more the mind can be controlled and remain calm and free from the racing mind of active addiction.
Next time you face an unmanageable day, be aware of the danger of a stress related relapse. To avoid stress and remove the risk of an unwanted relapse, stay focused, concentrate on the moment, breathe, feel your mind and body be calm and relaxed. Yoga works because it centers on gentle stretching and yields an effective harmony between the body and the mind. Imagine, if you can, something that takes only a few minutes to learn – but offers a lifetime of reduced stress, tension and anxiety and easily to master.
Surely learning this skill can be transferred to other parts of your life, thus helping you to remain clean and sober, even under the most challenging times. Applying these techniques has and did support me to succeed in my recovery journey, and it can be the same for you.
Meditation
Meditation on the other hand helps an individual center inwards thereby assisting the recovering person to ease the mind and become tension free and clear mentally and emotionally. When the individual center his/her mind on studying deeper truths of who they really are, as opposed to who they think they are such truths of Self tends to equip the alcoholic/addict with a great insight to the Self, increase inner strength to help him/her master any form of temptation to relapse with relative simplicity.
Nutritional Counseling
Nutritional counseling may help after individual choses to abandon the habit of addiction. how it works, is the individual is assessed for counseling and is apprised of a diet to follow as to return to a healthy and strong life. This includes the equilibrating of the sugar level in the blood of the individual who is on the road to recovery.
Many inadequacies related to nutrition spring up due to excessive ingestion of alcohol or other substances. The body of the alcoholic/addict slows down when it comes to absorbing crucial nutrients which helps them to regain their health and well-being. This is due as a result of the abuse of substances because the small intestine is incapable of absorbing effectively the nutrients necessary to sustain a healthy gut.
Traditional Treatments
When you take into consideration how difficult it is to win the war on addiction the most effective treatment approach to recovery must be based in the biological, behavioural and social-context components. The reason being addiction is a brain disease with its roots entrenched in the behavioural and social aspects of the disorder itself. Traditional treatments include:
• Detoxification and medically supervised withdrawal
• Abstinence – based recovery
• Recovery coaching
• Individual or group counselling
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy
• Contingency Management
• Outpatient treatment programs
• Long-term residential treatment
Key Pointers of Addiction
To finish off this section listed below are some key pointers of addiction best not to forget, when recovering from any type of addiction, here you go:
• Addiction is a controlling, destructive, and debilitating progressive problem that causes harm, to self and others in every area of the user life and lifestyle
• Another persons’ addiction seriously affects the lives of those closes to the addict
• The loss of choice comes before an “addicted brain”
• Addiction develops a life of its own – which means you lose
• Warning signs include: o seeking that “feel good” feeling, mood swings, personality changes, physically unwell, low tolerance = increase usage, want to stop but can’t stay stopped
• Continual use despite knowledge of persistent or recurrent physical, psychological, financial, and relationship problems caused by or made worse by using
• Psychological changes include: o dependency, lying, secretive, argumentative defensive attitudes, denial and unable to fulfill obligations at home, work, or school
• Best to pay attention to: o Cravings, urges, desire to use, increased amounts of substance to get the same effect, and withdrawal symptoms, then seek help not to use or abuse
• Be aware of the serious consequences before you’re pleasure becomes your pain
• Realise addiction is a body that can’t take it and a mind that can’t leave it alone
• When the brain gets addicted the lost freedom of choice to use or not, is removed
• A chemically addicted brain becomes the master over your life and you its slave
• No known cure for any type of addiction – but can be arrested with total abstinence.

See you in the next chapter!