Treating Addiction as a quest for wholeness

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Why are some behaviours potentially addictive?  This question deserves some explanation.  Remember what most chemically dependent people like to do most, which is “to feel good all the time”. It is their hope and wish that their drug use allows them to feel good or escape, at least momentarily.  Science now tells us something very interesting: we don’t need to use drugs to take drugs.  We are learning through treating addiction, that certain behaviours alter our mood because they release powerful and pleasurable chemical reactions in our brains – natural drugs that are similar to sedatives, painkillers and stimulants.  This by the way, is good.  It’s good for us to enjoy certain behaviours and the pleasurable feelings that may accompany them, but in moderation.  For people prone to addictive behaviour, however, the desire to feel good all the time often leads to repeating behaviours over and over again in order to release these natural and mood-altering chemicals.

Addictive behaviours often start when the addict chooses to stop using chemicals.  However, it’s not uncommon for a behavioural addiction to precede the addict’s drug use.  But no matter when the behaviour started, it needs to be acknowledged and treated.  Behavioural addiction will always rob its victims of the quality of life they desire. Some addictive behaviours can be addressed through complete abstinence.  Others cannot.  Gambling for example, is a behaviour that can be completely eliminated from the addict’s life.  But other addictive behaviours can’t be eliminated entirely.  It would be impossible, for example, to “give up” eating or spending. Since abstinence just isn’t an option in these areas, the addict must learn to set limits.  In some cases, these behavioural addictions can be treated through application of the Twelve Step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA) or Cocaine Anonymous (CA). But often that won’t work.  In many cases, additional treatment is required to address behavioural addiction.  Participation in a specialized Twelve Step group, like Gamblers Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous and Over-eaters Anonymous becomes a vital addition to the recovery process for some. In other cases, the Twelve Step groups alone won’t do the trick.  In those instances, individual or group therapy directed by a trained counsellor becomes a necessary step in recovery from addictive behaviours.

If we take away the alcohol when treating addiction, people will often cross addict, with sex, gambling or prescription pill taking. They will try Marijuana and other drugs. More often than not it will lead them back to the alcohol. You see, they are not treating the problem that they have developed innately. That would take a lot of hard emotional and psychological work. It would take some kind of spiritual growth and deep questioning of the self. To avoid this questioning, addicts use drugs. They don’t only avoid this questioning, they avoid intimate conversations about themselves and the choices they make. They shout, scream and run away. They use more drugs. They hide as long as they can, often until they reach the rock bottom that they inevitably trued to avoid in the first place. Truth will always will out! There is no hiding things or sweeping things under the rug for too long. That is what life on life’s terms, in Gods world is all about. When we try to play God and change our natural, real, innermost feeling and emotions without doing the growth work, we try and alter reality itself. This kind of shortcut, sets you forward one step but back a dozen more. It is with this addictive arrogance, that we believe we can change how we feel about deeper issues ourselves; like our mistakes, our traumas, our loses and our regrets. But that is not what life is about. Life is about growing. It is about facing he truth. When we have done these two things, then life allows us to help other people with these realizations from hard lessons learned. In the end Treating addiction is about losing the need to escape our realities. It is about losing the tightening grasp we have on our attempts to control people, places and things and doing what the addict fears most – Letting Go! This is what treating addiction can often boil down too. 

A quest for wholeness

Up to this point, we have examined through treating addiction, the many destructive ways the dependent person attempts to fill empty spaces in his or her life.  Using mood-altering chemicals or addictive behaviours just won’t work.  What, then, is the answer?  How can dependent people constructively satisfy their drive for wholeness?  A clue to the solution can be found by examining the thoughts of psychiatrist Carl Jung.  Dr Jung described the alcoholic’s craving for alcohol as a spiritual quest for wholeness.  This is an especially interesting insight for a psychiatrist to offer.  Jung’s experience supports the idea that the addict is driven by a sense of emptiness or a void that demands satisfaction.  Particularly interesting in treating addiction, however, is that this world-renowned psychiatrist believed the addict’s quest for wholeness is a spiritual problem that requires a spiritual solution.  Jung suggested to Bill Wilson, co-founder of AA, that the void must be filled not with alcohol or other drugs, but with the satisfaction that comes through a relationship with God and supportive people.  These relationships, according to Jung, will provide the strength needed to overcome addiction.

This is precisely what Twelve Step groups offered at Pathways Plett Rehab attempt to provide their clients: a healthy way to fill the void. A healthy, life long way into really treating addiction. The Twelve Steps themselves lead and direct individuals into a constructive, practical and satisfying relationship with God.  The fellowship of these groups provides intimate relationships with people and a sense of support, both of which allow members to feel hope, love and acceptance.  What results is the opportunity for a healthy and balanced new life.  Maybe you should give one of these Twelve Step groups a try. For more help with treating addiction contact us on info@pathwaysplettrehab.co.za or call 0445330330.