Firstly there was a piece in the Huffington Post last week - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/the-real-cause-of-addicti_b_6506936.html
The author claimed that addiction was due essentially to a deficiency of love and belonging. They claimed the cause of addiction was more about environment and circumstance than an actual medical condition. In which case 3/4 of the world would be addicts as those are two of the things this world is sorely lacking.
Then I read a brilliant repost by an Addiction Programme Director of a Treatment Centre, who rubbished the article with medical research that addiction was in fact a disease that is caused by;
- A POORLY FUNCTIONING DOPAMINE SYSTEM
- LEADING TO CHRONIC FEELINGS OF LACK OF REWARD, PLEASURE, MEANING, BELONGING AND PURPOSE
- LEADING TO THE NEED TO SELF-MEDICATE THAT SITUATION
As a recovering alcoholic, 14 years into recovery, you will guess which way I lean when it comes to addiction. I believe it is a disease, not a choice and it centres in the mind long before the drug of choice is picked up (and long after it is put down) That is merely the tool for it to come out, as explained beautifully in the article.
For me it is genetic. My male linear in the family is riddled with it. Lives have been lost, families ripped apart with generations of damage. Try telling me that it's not a disease when it has dominated the family for 40 years? Try telling me it was choice when I buried my father I hadn't seen in 20 years in 2009. Stand on the front line. See the horrific effects. Understand the ripple affect and then let's have a discussion it's a choice thing.
I also know people who have no history of addiction in their family, so I'm not saying it's a one size fits all, it can afflict anyone. No matter colour, race, religion, social standing or environment. if you've got it there is no hiding place.
Many people believe addiction to be a choice, because they are not addicts nor think like one. They may see people in addiction as weak and lacking in personal responsibility. After all if they can not drink, or stop taking drugs or eat healthily or have healthy relationships and make good choices then why can't others?
Fair enough, I get that point of view. Addiction is annoying. It is a drain on emotion, understanding, patience and compassion. It's hard to feel compassion for someone when they are arrogantly shouting down at people when pissed out of their head. Its hard to feel constant compassion when you have put up with an addict family member for years stealing money, lying, cheating, abusing or owning the whole attention of the family. It is hard to understand. I get that society finds it hard, because it is.
Addiction is a self centred, self based disease that makes the addict the centre of attention. Addiction is greedy like that and will totally dominate and control the individual and their behaviour until it is treated with a programme. Long term sufferers and family members will identify with this battle.
Addiction is cunning and baffling. It shows itself as normal personality traits when really it is rampant addiction running that individual. it is lost on most because very few people are armed with the facts, are educated about what an addict is and therefore have no idea they are dealing with one.
That is not to say that addicts are exempt from personal responsibility and choice. Its too easy to blame addiction on poor behaviour, greed, gluttony, dishonesty. The trouble being of course that these are side effects of addiction and means the addict is perfectly comfortable in these behavioural patterns. Treatment helps an addict to recognise these and put a programme in place to not live in them. That is the difference between recovery and active addiction.
What put me off 12 step fellowships 15 years ago (apart from my huge denial and iron tight commitment to my disease) - was the self pity fest and blaming problems on others type of addict. "Daddy didn't love me." or "My childhood was worse than yours" - you know the drill. Guaranteed to piss me right off and get me heading for the exit. These, as I've come to learn after 14 years are people who are effectively living in untreated addiction but not using. They live in the defects and love to use it as an excuse. But we should not use these as a brush to tar all addicts. These are in the minority and there are many fine examples who recover and never use it as an excuse, but will also be very real in trying to deal with a life threatening disease that is centred in the head.
That's what my blog has been showing all these years. I am not an expert. I am not a qualified doctor. I am not leading figure in the field of addiction but what I am is well versed in living with addiction for 40 years. Both as one myself, the son of one, the brother of one and the cousin of one and having spoken too, listened, witnessed and observed 1000's of addicts over the past 14 years. I know my shit and spot addiction from a mile off. Not by the substance but by the energy and attitude of the addict.
The trouble with addiction is that most people are not addicts. We are in the minority. And the general public finds it hard to feel sorry for an addict in the same way you would someone who has cancer or any other life threatening disease. After all many people suffer hardship and problems and get through it, then when they see an addict or people suffering mental health issues whining on, they get hostile and intolerant. "Why should those fucking addicts get all the help?"
I understand this. I really do, but it's not the solution.
75% of people in prison are addicts. What's the best and longest term solution? Keep locking them up or invest in treatment programmes so they don't re-offend and keep getting locked up which costs more money? I know so many former offenders who lived on benefits, kept going back into prison for crimes to get drugs or alcohol, yet cleaned up and are now working ,active normal members of the community paying tax and contributing. Does treatment sound such a radical idea now?
Addiction is not a choice but we have a choice within it. We have a choice to continue treatment. I choose to attend AA regularly. For me it treats my disease on a daily basis and helps me live with my mental powerful addict head.
I'm not perfect and can honestly say I have picked up other powerful secondary addictions along the way that I justify and negotiate with myself but on the whole I'm a normal member of society just trying to live a normal life with an abnormal head.
I despair of the raft or mis-informed and dangerous articles about addiction as a choice. It minimises it and misses the point entirely.
if more people understood and could spot addiction earlier then something could be done to prevent it or at least manage it better.
It's scary the lack of understanding in the medical profession. How many GP's, counsellors, therapists, A&E departments don't recognise addiction as a disease, so therefore have no solution to the ongoing hell. It will just go on and on and on, draining resources, time, money and energy further. Because addiction will suck everything around it dry.
How many wives, husbands, parents could help their family member earlier if they knew what they were up against? I have seen the ignorance in my own family which nearly destroyed lives.
How many treatment centres must close? How many prisons remain full? How many addicts must be treated in the NHS with no long term plan to help them recover?
At the same time that society is drinking more, as the drinks industry finding yet more sophisticated ways to market alcoholism, as the government cutting back on treatment we debate endlessly if it's a disease or choice whilst people are dying!!!
It's a fucking disease people. Wale up. Do you think my father chose to drink himself to death at 69 years old? Do you think he chose to leave his 3 kids, wife, family, job, home, dog and Ford Granada to become a street drunk and live alone for 26 years apart from humanity?
It's a fucking disease.
People are dying
Kids are crying
'Experts' are lying
It's a fucking disease.
Amen
Nicholas Edward Evans
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