*hugs Gee*
I completely understand what you mean. At the moment I'm just trying to keep it under my control and as long as it is then it's okay, in a way, to keep going this way, for now. And that sucks about studying addiction... Still, it's not a secret from me so if I can help in any way just give me a poke =)
The only time you will find real light is when you're searching in the dark..
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
I'm Not Strong Enough To Cry; Save Me From Myself.
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Canberra, ACT, Australia.
I am currently:
My name is Haley. I was an addict. I've been clean for 2 months. Lately i've been having cravings. My friend has just recently, on the 2nd of March, OD'd. I remember, how it felt, when I used to be like that. I need help. =/
It's a personality trait, it's built into you from a young age. You are born and addict and you die an addict. You may be clean from substance abuse but you will probably never stop being addicted to things. Even trivial things. It sucks but it appears it is true, 'once an addict, always an addict'.
In Psychology we learnt that addiction is a escapism; a way of escaping problems in your life, I agree with this but then there are some psychologists that say that an addiction is a 'choice'. I thought about it for a long time and I think I agree with this, you choose to take another pill or have another drink, you choose to revert back to the addiction in times of need. This implies we have control over our addictions and in the height of mine I would disagree with what I'm saying, but now, almost 'clean', I see it's true. I could have stopped if I wanted to but I didn't. I choose to continue taking the pills. I told myself I couldn't live without them so I didn't.
Addictions may be a coping mechanism but you have to choose to start them, you could easily use exercise or something healthy to help you cope with stresses etc but we choose unhealthy substances and continued to use them because we believed they were the only thing that worked.
I hope I haven't offended anyone, I'm just voicing my opinion. Feel free to disagree.
I disagree. Some people have addictive personalities, others can do things in moderation.
Addiction is way too complex to be labelled a choice, It affects us chemically, emotionally. These things lead to choices. Addicts simply have greater stimuli and pressure telling them to do things, so choice is not a word i would use. Mearly because it suggests nonchalence, and laziness which i guess are the sterotypes of an addict, especially to a straight laced psychologist.
Neverthless i say this with a massive glass of wine in hand, and some zydol tablets underneath my matress, waiting for me.
Sure I choose to take the things, but personally i feel I have little more control over my addiction than I do my sexuality, or my height. They are part of me. That isnt choice.
hope i wasnt too blunt. lol
Last edited by livelaughlove : 17-03-2010 at 11:58 PM.
Addiction is not a choice. There is clear scientific research that people are genetically predisposed from birth to be alcoholics or addicts. Now, taking that first drink or drug is a choice. It is the act of using substances that activates the part of the brain that in a person with that gene and makes the person an addict. It lies dormant until then.
Yes, it is true that this is a chronic, progressive illness. There is no cure, but there is a spiritual solution through 12 step. We have the choice not to take the first drink or drug once we have recovered and gotten sober. Once we take that first drink or drug, choice is removed from us. People who are TRUE addicts/alcoholics cannot use in moderation. We have tried to do so desparately, and are unable. It is not a matter of will power. It is not a moral issue. There are people who abuse drugs and alcohol, or who are heavy drinkers. They may be able to control their drinking when they need to. They are not addicts or alcoholics.
I became an alcoholic when I could not get help for my mental illness and was self-medicating to a great extent, but I know that I would've become an alcoholic at some point regardless, and that I have the disease of alcoholism, separate and apart from the disease of bipolar disorder. People with bipolar disorder are 14.5 times more likely to be addicts than the general population. Bipolar disorder and substance abuse/addiction have upwards of a 60% co-morbidity rate.
So, coping mechanism: To an extent. That's an element of it. But the coping mechanism part of it wouldn't have overtaken my life if I was not hardwired to become an alcoholic.
I'm glad you're disagreeing cause it's helping me understand it more but I guess it's subjective. You base your understanding and beliefs about everything on personal experience (excluding scientific research, obvisouly). I also think that when people simplify their beliefs towards addiction, i.e. when I say that it is a choice, it makes them feel better about it because it makes them feel more in control, this is called an internal attirbution style. By saying it is a choice I feel that I am the one in control of it, meaning I am more likely to want to get recover and successfully stop being addicted.
I do, however, understand that once I am clean of my chosen stubstance it is more than likely that I will just then fill that hole with something else, maybe something less damaging but something nonetheless. I firmly believe the statement, 'Once an addict, always an addict'.
Thank you guys for helping me see more than my point of view on this.
Yeah, its good you seek to understand your addiction. It is complex, and personally labelling addiction a choice makes me feel worse(It makes me feel weak, lazy and selfish. In retrospect, i could be making excuses for myself. but hey, I'll never know.) , but you are right. Addiction is way more deep than a cookie cutter reason: we all reached the same place by diffrent paths, and different things pushed us onto those paths.
Im really glad you feel in control of your addiction. How has it been going?
Addiction is a life time thing, and that is why it isnt a choice.
I also agree with addiction being in the genes. My paternal grandmother and my father and his brothers are all alcoholics. My mother and grandmother are alcoholics and compulsive gamblers.
I went to my first group session yesterday for drug and alcohol addictions/dependencies. It was interesting to say the least. It was wonderful to be in a place where people knew exactly what it's like to be in this position, people that understood, people that were right there in it. We were talking and people were saying things and I just kept on nodding away and it felt really nice to not be so 'alone' with it. I'm hoping over the next few weeks I'll be able to gain the support to cut down.
The only time you will find real light is when you're searching in the dark..