Addiction is defined as a
chronic, progressive and relapsing disease of the brain. It is also
characterized by attachment. How does it begin? “If I have no attachment, I
lose my sense of belonging and therefore I lose my sense of identity”. This
will result into a lost self which culminates in low self-esteem with a low
mood. One will always live with a desire and longing for something to raise his
or her low mood.
Chance knocks once. For instance, one day you take the first bottle
of beer. You feel excited and a smile breaks on your face (your mood is raised).
Some people exclaim, aha! This first excitement is what is termed as the
initial high. It is registered in the brain because of the pleasure received
due to the influence of dopamine (a hormone responsible for pleasure). The
individual will always go for another bottle expecting to experience that very
high. Unfortunately, the initial high is never regained even if one “sleeps with”
the substance as some people do. In this case the individual will increase
their intake from one bottle to as many as he can, looking for what he will never
find, and this is what is termed as craving. Be aware that the body tissues are
getting used to the substance and the cell structures are diminished because
cells are working hard on the strange chemical introduced into the body which
results into tissue dependence and tolerance. At this level, the person is
already hooked by the substance and therefore there is no resistance to the
substance. This whole process becomes chronic and progressive to the extent
that even if one takes a week without taking the substance, he will relapse
back to the substance and this is no longer a habit but a disease which needs
treatment.
“Addictives” can either be substances or non-substances but the
process of addiction is the same and some common substances include marijuana,
khat, tobacco, heroin, alcohol, valium, coffee, and non substances include sex,
shopping and work. Of course the list is long. Addicts can be helped through
motivational interviewing, the Twelve
Steps or AA groups and self help groups. Denial is the biggest and
commonest behavior of addicts in the process of counseling and once denial is
broken, it leads to acceptance and recovery can take place.
Finally, There is no one who is
exempt from falling into addiction, whether learned or not, poor or rich,
religious or atheist and there is nobody who intends to be an addict. However,
because people use substances that can react with their bodies differently, they find that they
have become addicts.
Ariho Henry Moses
