Archive for the 'Addictions' Category

The disease model has become a common methodology which has been adopted by the National Institute on Drug abuse (NIDA). This agency is funded by the U.S. government to the tune of billions of dollars, and in my opinion is a complete waste of taxpayer’s money! If you visit the (NIDA) you will find countless CT Scans and cross sections of human brains displaying the chemical effects of drug addiction. Now, I am not disputing the fact that drugs, alcohol, nicotine and other substances are psychoactive in nature and do alter the brain, however, that’s not what caused the addiction in the first place! Furthermore, there is not one shred of clinical evidence to prove it!

Let’s examine the disease theory by beginning with the definition of disease!

Disease – a condition in humans, plants, or animals that results in pathological symptoms and is not the direct result of physical injury.

Now let’s break disease down to three models that are recognized by the medical establishment and society:

1. Physical Disorders

This model is generally comprised of illnesses and afflictions that can be pathological diagnosed and treated such as bacterial and viral infections, cancers, or any malady creating a physically adverse change in the body.

2. Mental Illness

This model is comprised of varying degrees of mental disorders ranging from psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders, and factitious disorders. If you examine these disorders you will find that none of the can be pathological diagnosed. Diagnosis is purely a matter of opinion based on the behavior of the patient.

3. Addictions

Addiction is unlike a physical disorder such as cancer, and is also unlike a mental disorder such as schizophrenia since the first is pathological diagnosed and the second is diagnosed by disordered thinking. The addiction model strays furthest from the original definition of disease because addictions are known purely by the behaviors they describe! One cannot tell if a person is addicted in the absence of habitual behavior, so when a person that has been labeled as an alcoholic hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol in 5 years why are they still an alcoholic! Plain and simple, addiction does not fit the description of a disease, nor should it be listed in this category!

Unfortunately, most psychologists, psychiatrists, interventionists, drug and alcohol abuse counselors, and specialists still believe that addiction is a disease, and an incurable one at that! They believe that there is no cure and there is no such thing as completely overcoming addiction. However, I have a different take on addiction, and I have proven time and time again that addiction is not a disease! And, I believe that treating it as such is not only counterproductive to recovery, but it prevents people from getting help with addiction. Think about it for a moment. If someone is given the grim prognosis that they have an incurable brain disease, what motivation do they have to find the courage to stop their behavior?

In my opinion, treating addiction as a disease has not only exacerbated this health crisis, but it has in turn fostered another disease, which I like to call “wounditis!” I have proven time and time again that addiction is a psychological and emotional issue that is rooted in a low self-esteem, so accepting this disease prognosis only worsens the situation. This problem is further exacerbated by support groups and 12-step groups that teach people they are powerless and helpless over their addiction! Quite the contrary, you have all the power in the world to stop your habitual behavior. So, what exactly is “wounditis?” Well, it’s no secret that most people feel an incredible amount of shame and guilt for their behavior. Without question, partaking in habitual behavior not only causes you pain but, it inflicts pain on the people around you as well. However, do not allow what you have done in the past, to cause you to wallow in your own misfortune and to seek comfort from others who share your plight. The past is the past, it is over, and living in it does not serve anyone well. Live in the present moment, be kind to yourself, and learn to love yourself. How can you love someone else if you don’t love yourself? The answer is you can’t!!! It isn’t a big secret that you’re feeling shame and guilt for what you’ve done. In fact, you’re probably questioning right now as to whether you should be punished for your past actions. Well guess what, its ok! God doesn’t punish people, we punish ourselves. God is a loving and forgiving being. So if you thought that you would continue to punish yourself with shame and guilt before God gets a hold of you, you can stop right now! We do not have defects of character, are not full of shortcomings, and we certainly are not powerless! On the Contrary, we are all the same, we are all connected, and we all have the same power to change!

Consequently, addiction is not the disease that the medical community has deemed it to be. In fact, it is not a disease at all! Addiction is a choice, or what many view as a solution to temporarily remove their underlying emotional pain! Someone that is suffering from addiction merely has a co-dependency to a substance or compulsion in response to removing their emotional pain. This temporary solution quickly becomes a trap because the body and mind adapt requiring more and more of the addictive behavior or substance to remove the pain! However, if you understand why you made this choice in the first place, you can make another by choosing a better solution that will remove the pain, permanently! Yes, there is a better solution! One that you can work through in the privacy of your home, and one that will give you what you truly desire, happiness!

Best wishes,

David Roppo

Addiction Coach

I also believe that addiction is a choice, and it is not caused by an incurable brain disease, a genetic predisposition, learned behavior or a chemical imbalance. However, before I describe “The Square Root of Addiction” I want to walk you through each of the existing theories related to addiction. Currently, there are four main theories relating to the cause of addiction, which include the biological, or disease model, the psychological model, the sociological model and social learning model. I believe that most of these theories do play a role in addictive behavior.

However, they mostly occur as a result of the addiction or in conjunction with it, and not as the root cause! These theories represent the current views regarding addiction, which are coveted by the medical community. Bear in mind that these are only theories, and none of them have been conclusively proven to be the cause of addiction.

The biological theory suggests that habitual users of drugs or alcohol have a biological abnormality that causes them to become addicted. The theory suggests that certain individuals are genetically predisposed to addiction by a faulty gene or perhaps a chemical imbalance in the brain, which renders addiction an incurable disease!

The psychological theory views drug or alcohol addiction as problematic behavior. In other words the individual uses alcohol or drugs to enjoy the effects that these substances have on the mind and body.

The sociological theory suggests that societies which produce higher levels of inner tensions such as guilt, stress, suppressed aggression and conflict have higher rates of addiction. Furthermore, the model suggests that societies that are permissive of and encourage such behavior have higher rates of addiction.

The Social learning theory suggests that drug or alcohol addiction is a learned behavior and continues because the user gets some desired outcome from it. The model also suggests that these behaviors are learned by being exposed to certain stimuli; people, places, things, thoughts and feelings.

The sociological model does touch briefly on the fact that emotional issues are related to addictive behavior. However, this theory seems to bridge the relation directly to the societal breakdown in some groups where higher levels of inner tension and permissive behavior are prevalent. I believe that it is not the emotional issue itself, but rather understanding the cause of the emotional issue that is of the utmost importance. The psychological model suggests that the addict displays problematic behavior by using drugs or alcohol to enjoy the effects the substance has on the mind and the body. Logically speaking, I would venture to say that people using drugs or alcohol do enjoy the effects they have on the mind and body. However, that is not the reason they have chosen to use those substances. People choose self destructive habitual behavior not to enjoy the effects but to mask the pain of underlying emotional scars caused by family dysfunction. The social learning model suggests that addiction is a learned behavior resulting from the stimuli of people, places, things and thoughts. I would not dispute the fact that repeated exposure to this type of behavior could induce a learned behavior. However, this theory can not explain why some individuals exposed to the same stimuli would opt to just say no! I believe that difference hinges upon whether an individual has the need to mask the pain of underlying emotional scars and their personal level of coping skills. While some of the abovementioned models touch on the fact that emotional issues play a role in addiction, none of them have addressed the underlying cause of these emotional issues. Are these emotional issues caused by the stress factors of work, relationships, financial difficulties and every day life, or are they caused by something that runs much deeper? Why is that some can cope with the stresses of everyday life while others can not? Personality dictates the level of coping skills that each of us possess, allowing some to endure a greater degree of stress and others to turn to the need to mask their pain with addictive behavior. The pain of these emotional scars goes much deeper than the every day stress factors and stems from issues of family dysfunction. From a very early age we learn a system of beliefs from our families and sometimes these beliefs serve us well, and some times they are dysfunctional. When you consider that eighty five percent of all families are dysfunctional, you can begin to concur that more often than not these beliefs are self limiting to our well being and happiness. A cocaine addiction and Family Dysfunction a case-control study in southern Brazil is one of the few that I have seen that has explored the effects of family dysfunction. The conclusion of the study was that a point could be argued for the need of family intervention as a whole and for continued research. I beg to differ with this conjecture, which concludes that intervention is the solution to the addictive behavior. Intervention gives the very people responsible for the dysfunctional behavior an opportunity to lambaste the addicted individual with a barrage of shame and guilt while ignoring their own inadequacies.

Plain and simple; the reason that people choose addictive behavior is to mask the emotional pain of the underlying scars caused by family dysfunction.

Best wishes,

The Addiction Freeddom Coach