Welcome to the Church of Addictions

I cannot tell you how many times friends, associates, and even casual acquaintances have asked me what exactly are alcoholism and/or drug addiction. It must be a question that is often pondered because, inevitably,half of those that ask me this question will follow up with this classic, “Do you think I have a problem?”

According to Dorland’s Medical Dictionary, an addiction is a strong physiological and psychological dependence on a drug or other psychoactive substance. If you find yourself craving a drink or wanting to take a pill more often than not, you must be an alcoholic or an addict. That is easy to understand, right? If you find yourself diagnosed as an alcoholic or drug addict, then use your will power and self discipline to get treatment. Problem solved… right?

Well, if it were only this simple, we would probably not be dealing with a problem that has been estimated, by some, to cost our country upwards to half a trillion dollars a year. To give you a little perspective, this is about the same amount of money that the military has spent on Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom and, in fact, on the entire War on Terror since September 11, 2001. If this staggering amount of money isn’t enough to grab your attention, here are some more “sobering” statistics from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence:

• There are more deaths and disabilities each year in the U.S. from substance abuse than from any other cause

• About 18 million Americans have alcohol problems; about 5 to 6 million Americans have drug problems

• More than half of all adults have a family history of alcoholism or problem drinking

• More than nine million children live with a parent dependent on alcohol and/or illicit drugs

• One-quarter of all emergency room admissions, one-third of all suicides, and more than half of all homicides and incidents of domestic violence are alcohol-related

• Heavy drinking contributes to illness in each of the top three causes of death: heart disease, cancer and stroke.

• Almost half of all traffic fatalities are alcohol-related.

• Between 48% and 64% of people who die in fires have blood alcohol levels indicating intoxication.

• Fetal alcohol syndrome is the leading known cause of mental retardation.

When one realizes the magnitude of the problem, suddenly the question, “Do you think I have a problem?” doesn’t seem to be a question coming from way out in left field. The reality of our situation is that if you, or one of your immediate family, is not personally battling an alcohol or drug problem, then the odds are, you and your family’s life will still be adversely affected by the addiction related actions of a third party.

Many in the arena of addictions and recovery, including doctors, counselors and patients, will give this answer to those who have doubts about their own behavior“If you are having enough trouble in your life with alcohol or drugs that you need to ask if you have a problem, then you probably do.” It has been my experience that this is true, but the key word here is problem, not addiction. There is a huge difference between having a problem with drugs and alcohol and having an addiction. People can abuse drugs and alcohol and still not succumb to an addiction. When someone uses a substance or item outside its normal or recommended usage or practice, this could be termed abuse.

Example: It is a problem if a recently divorced young woman stays up late drinking a bottle and a half of wine while crying on the phone to her sister and then shows up late for work. Realizing that she will have to correct the problem, she stays late at her job the next day and makes up the work that she missed as well as apologizing to her sister for keeping her up all night listening to a sobbing drunk. By not returning to the bottle and instead trying to correct her mistakes, she exemplifies the difference between abuse and addiction. It would be a waste of time to check into a recovery clinic the next day.

However, the abuse of drugs and alcohol is just as dangerous and can have the same ill effects and consequences that are related with addiction. A normally light drinker that consumes too much champagne on New Year’s Eve and then attempts to drive home may kill a family of four. An honor student might “check out” permanently after experimenting for the first time with alcohol and Ecstasy. Even if nothing traumatic happens, when this abusive behavior is repeated often enough, it may still lead to an addiction. It is the repeated abuse (and another factor I will explain next) that either gradually or quickly develops- along with a physical and psychological dependence- that, in my opinion, defines addiction.

My definition starts out much like the definition we find in Dorland’s Medical Dictionary, all except for the word “strong”. Anyone who is an alcoholic or an addict, or has been unfortunate enough to have a loved one with this affliction, will tell you that a “strong” dependence on a drug or other psychoactive substance just doesn’t go far enough in describing the influence that drugs and alcohol have on an addict. It is an influence that will ultimately trump blood ties and even religion. Family, friends, work and school will be forsaken and the drug will take precedence above all things. The roots of an addiction will burrow through a person’s physiological and psychological layers and take what is usually a permanent hold on one’s soul. I use the term “soul” not so much in a religious sense, nor in an effort to muddle the definition into metaphysical grayness, but because it is necessary for me use this term in order to explain what is missing from the medical description and what, ultimately, defines an addiction:

Faith

Faith is the mental acceptance of the truth or reality of something. Faith is arguably the strongest facet of the human condition and, since man has become self-aware, faith has been a monumental force of both salvation and destruction. Alcoholics and addicts are the faithful chemical acolytes and their drug of choice is their holy order. Just as it is almost impossible to explain the faith required for the handling of snakes by Primitive Baptists in Appalachia, or the actions of a suicide bomber in the Middle East, so is the faith an addicted person has in their drug of choice. It goes beyond logic that a person who has lost his money, wife, children and freedom could somehow rationalize using drugs on his first day out of prison. After what was a one-year mandatory sobriety this return to drugs and a proven catastrophic lifestyle can only be described in terms of a maligned faith. A faith so strong that an alcoholic will continue to drink; regardless of the blood in his vomit and scarring of the liver, regardless of the depression and lost of self esteem; the alcoholic has faith that the bottle of vodka is still the answer for all his problems.

Faith is amassed not through the gathering of hard evidence, but through repetition in the search for answers of the unknown. Just as one can strengthen one’s positive spirituality through regular attendance of church or practice of prayer, one can develop a faith in the power of drugs and alcohol through continued substance abuse.

Think of a popular religion in our society and the rewards that are promised to the faithful. Unfortunately, drugs and alcohol have also become an inseparable part of our culture and are associated with, at least on the mortal side, the same manner of promises and rewards. It is not hard to see how one could build a strong faith in a substance that is supported by such a strong commercial and cultural message, and, in addition, has the powers of both emotional and physical dependence.

This belief in one’s drug of choice beyond evidence and logical argument is the missing ingredient in most definitions of addiction. It explains the irrational behavior of those addicted whom return to their destructive habits regardless of their support networks or dismal past experiences.

So, what is my definition for addiction? Well, I changed my mind; I’ll let you decide what defines addiction. It is a very healthy exercise to ponder this subject.

Instead, I’ll give you a warning. When you are contemplating a drink to help you unwind after a bad day,instead make a plan that will alleviate the cause of the stress that makes this drink necessary. If you think that taking a narcotic will work much better than simple aspirin for a headache or to help you get through the day, do yourself a favor and stick to a Goody’s Powder. Repeated use and continued reliance upon drugs or alcohol often one will cause one to build faith, unfounded yet still very powerful, in the power of these substances. Given the right circumstances, or an unfortunate series
of events, this type of behavior can turn into abusive behavior and eventually addiction.

The Church of Addictions is always open. It is a faith of equal opportunity and its followers rarely renounce their faith.