Addiction and Recovery
Addiction affects us many ways. We work too much, eat too much, and drink too much. We look for ways to self medicate when we feel the slightest of uncomfortable feelings. Society doesn't really encourage us to feel what is really going on or to stay in touch with what is really important either. To be sober, or soberminded, is to be in touch with reality. It is to see what really is there, hear what is really being said and to experience our feelings. We don't need to always follow our feelings; but they do provide us with information. It is what we do with them. Christ despised the shame, but still experienced it.
Recovery is the process where we are tired of using and we say good by to our 'drug of choice.' The process of recovery is three-fold: Physical, Emotional and Spiritual. Some substances have a direct effect on our nervous system like alcohol, pot, street drugs and prescription medicine. Other addictions are called process addictions as they involve behaviors like sex, gambling, spending, work and Internet use. Don't be fooled. These behaviors can be very addictive and affect our brains just as much.
Emotionally, addicts are numb. That is why many people with addiction look so good. They function pretty well. They appear even tempered at the beginning stages, because they are sedating ourselves with the glass of wine at night, the porn fix weekly or the "shopping therapy" on the weekend. They really don't really think that there is anything wrong. This is what is called denial. A spouse, parents or concerned person begins to feel more than they addict is feeling.
As the concerned person becomes more motivated to help the addict, the addict
does less to help their own life. The need to be "independent" and not controlled is a very strong need. It surpasses rational thinking and logic. They unconsciously choose to continue in their addictive cycle rather than look at the reality of what is going and doing what their spouse wants. Thus feeling "independent," they are actually dependent on the eating, drinking, working, shopping, gambling, lusting or drug use.
The Physiology of Addiction For instance, there is a center in our brain called the
"Cingulate Gyrus." This area has to do with attention. It is the "channel changer" in our brain. When this works well, we are able to see options, have cognitive flexibility and be able to shift our attention from one idea to the next. When it doesn't work well, we get
STUCK, not being able to get a thought, worry or resentment out of our minds. People who struggle with "Cingulate Gyrus" problems tend to hold on to resentments from the past, worry a lot, and their brains gets into a lock-in mode. These people often come from alcoholic homes. Addiction is appealing to them. It momentarily takes away the obsession and resentment and numbs it with pleasant feelings. But the obsession become switched to the obsession to use or compulsion to act out. We know that sexual addiction and compulsive gambling affect the same center of the brain, "Cingulate Gyrus," as in cocaine addiction. Dr. Daniel Amen, a psychiatrist whose clinics have looked at more that 20,000 SPECT brain scans of individuals, has provided us with a lot of useful information regarding addiction. His website,
brainplace.com is very helpful.
Brain Damage
No one wants to think about brain damage from alcohol and
drug use. It is a great way to bring the part down. But it is
the truth. Drug users and alcoholics who have used think that once
they stop using their brains get reset back to their original state.
This is not the case. To be fair, there is evidence to say that
antidepressants and other psychotropic medication alters physical structures
of the brain. People take fish oil, Omega 3 which contain the fatty
acids Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which are
the building blocks of the brain. So, what we put into our bodies has
an effect not only on our body but our brains.
MDMA - Ecstasy
Let's look at the damaged caused in the brain of a monkey
that was given MDMA (Ecstasy). Ecstasy affects serotonin levels.
It is like getting four days of serotonin in four hours. Although it
is pleasurable, it is like an "ice cream scoop to the brain" as one
colleague put it. Fig. A shows the brain of a monkey before the MDMA
was administered. Fig. B is two weeks after the after the monkey was
administered 5mg of MDMA twice a day for four days. There is a
reduction of serotonin fibers of 83% - 95% in the brain. After 7 years
it appears that the brain is regenerating, but much of the damage is still
there. This may be really disturbing if you are one who has used
Ecstasy. I would encourage you that it might be better for you to know
this than not. This will help you realize how to recovery physicially,
emotionally and spiritually. I have counseled with people who have put
their lives back together. They used every thing than can from
medication, exercise, supplements, fish oil, brain boosting products and
brain exercises. We know that our livestyle can influence brain
growth. So be encouraged.
To read the full article this image was taken from, click
here
12-Step Programs
Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step programs have helped countless individuals who have struggled with addiction. The steps are simple spiritual processes that when utilized help people overcome what they could not do on their own. These principles, even though they appear simplistic, are pretty profound and life changing once they are explored, understood and practiced. The recovering addict claims "spiritual progress, rather than perfection." (taken from the book
Alcoholics Anonymous) Perfection was part of the disease. Addicts could not admit many mistakes, imperfection or any problems prior to recovery. Why? Shame is a big part of it. We tend to use the word shame to describe what in fact is really, "toxic shame." Healthy shame reminds us that "we are not God." Most of the shame addicts experience is this "toxic shame," that is not being human. To compensate for the sense of shame, they are perfectionists. It is difficult for them to be honest with themselves about their faults, their shortcomings and the life in general. Without honesty, there is little growth. So unrecovered addicts tend to repeat the same mistakes without ever learning. Shame makes them arrogant, prideful and "better than life." They are in a "better than/less than" dance. You are either better than them or less than them. Health is recognizing that each person was created by God and that we have all been affected by the fall. This disease has affect us all. Since we have the serum, the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, why then do we pretend to not have the disease. Shame? If we can only see ourselves as we really how, think how much more we could repent and make progress. In a shame-free
environment, there is acceptance. Acceptance of another human weaknesses and strengths. By accepting we don't meaning condoning sinful behavior, but acknowledging and dealing with it. Because of shame we don't even want to deal with it. We bury it. We repress it. We actually don't think it is there. That is why so many alcoholics don't really think that there is a problem. Shame is the experience of being a "defective human being." Recovery helps us see that we are a "human being with defects." This shift in our approach to ourselves, helps us see ourselves as we really are and then repent and recover.
The Illusion of Control Another element that addicts experience is that they feel so out of control, that they overcompensate by trying to control the externals--people, place, situation. Letting go is foreign to the life of an addict. In essence, they are "control freaks." We tend to think of negative situations involving control. But control can be trying to make everyone happy. Not ever really telling people that we are upset, because we don't want to upset the proverbial apple cart which would ultimately make us feel out of control. We don't want to be rejected, so we lie. Lying could be seen as form of control. We would any of us lie, except to alter peoples perceptions of ourselves. God knows that truth. We try to control our feelings. The more we seem to control, the more out of control we feel. We use our drug of choice, to give us a false sense of control.
An
Addiction: Friend or Foe?
I have heard it said that an
addiction is like a friend. It is always there to comfort, to be there
at all hours of the day and to help you solve your problems. I think a
better way to think about it is like it is like a companion. It
seduces us into thinking it is a friend to us, but really it just wants to
be near us. The addiction says:
"I promise to comfort you
when you feel like no one else will."
"I will take you away from
your problems."
"I will reduce the stress in
your life by making life easier."
"I will make you feel
special, attractive and loved."
"I will never leave you."
Guess what? Our addiction
is no friend. There is not one of these promises that are true except
one--"I will never leave you." In fact, it will try to destroy you
even though you don't think it will. It will bring more distress and
discomfort than it will relieve. It will make you feel worthless,
ashamed and special in the wrong kind of way. It will make life
harder, not easier. Whatever it numbs will get that much stronger and
more difficult to deal with, once you wake up from its trance.
The beginning stages of recovery
are difficult. You say goodbye to this companion. You leave it
and divorce it from your life. You do not negotiate with it or decide
who gets what. In this case, a quick goodbye is better than a long
one. But. . as difficult as the beginning way, the journey gets
better and easier in some ways. It is not that life is not constantly
throwing curve balls at us. It does, but I guess we get stronger as we
continue to admit our weaknesses. We get stronger and we depend upon
God. We get more comfortable with letting go of blame, shame and
taking responsibility. In the long run life gets easier when you have
developed the skills and the 12 steps have become a part of your life.
The Four
Paradoxes in Recovery
In recovery, paradoxes become evident.
We surrender to win.
We give away to keep.
We suffer to get well.
We die in order to live.
We SURRENDER TO WIN. We need to
totally surrender unconditionally. We acknowledge that we cannot win the
battle against addiction and have totally made a mess of our our life. We
are better off if we stop running our life and let God run it for us. We
pray in Step 11, "asking only for God's will and the power to carry it out."
We are like a prisoner of war who who surrenders with our hands up and we do
whatever our higher power tells us to do.
We GIVE AWAY TO KEEP. This strange expression identifies our selfishness and
understanding that we can only be healed as "we give away what God has given
us." "Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8)
When we are hoarding, greedy and stingy we are likely to use our addiction again
as we have left a state of Grace.
We SUFFER TO GET WELL. There is no way to escape pain or suffering in this life.
It is a truth that most alcoholics as well as most people try to ignore.
The alcoholic, drug addict and sex addict use their substance to avoid
suffering. This is why they use. Many people reserve the term
alcoholic for those that really suffer--shaking, needing another drink, getting
sick from drinking. But perhaps they are numbing themselves in minor ways
and are too out of touch with themselves to identify that they are drinking as a
form of self medication. To recover, we must go through the pain. We
must learn to be mature and to face reality. Thankfully, the 12 steps help
us face reality with the Grace of God.
We DIE TO LIVE. This beautiful paradox comes right out of the biblical idea of
"losing our life" (Matt. 10:39) and denying one's self and carrying one's cross.
(Matt. 16:24) The harder we hold on to our life, the more it slips through our
fingers without us realizing it. (We call this white knuckling it) But
when we empty ourselves of our ego, and die to our dreams, our will and our
ways, God will give us life. We must die daily. While we may decide
to surrender at a certain point of time, we must surrender every moment, so as
to acquire God's grace to keep us sober. This only comes through death,
his and ours.
This chilling letter from the disease of alcoholism and drug
addiction wakes the addict up to the damage addiction causes and the battle that
takes place in recovery.
Treatment for
Sexual Addiction-mp3 recording. This talk was given to the
Stephen's ministers at Northcreek Presbyterian Church. The above handout
on Treatment for Sexual Addiction can goes with this talk.
NEW!
This list covers
from the Eastside (North Bend) to West Seattle. From the North (Shoreline,
Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mill Creek) to the South (Federal Way, Enumclaw).
Open the list the day you want the meeting for.
Treatment for
Sexual Addiction-mp3 recording. This talk was given to the
Stephen's ministers at Northcreek Presbyterian Church. The above handout
on Treatment for Sexual Addiction can goes with this talk.
NEW!
