Addiction

It can be difficult to understand addictions outside of the scope of chemical addictions. Chemical addictions are easier to understand in some ways. Though chemical addictions don’t always make sense, they can at least be attributed to a specific chemical as opposed to something that might make less sense, like shopping. Is it really possible to get addicted to something that isn’t a chemical substance? Currently, the only process addiction listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V is gambling disorder. However, that doesn’t delegitimize the very real experience that people have in their other process addictions, like sex addiction, love addiction, and even shopping addiction. Addiction is a word that helps put these disordered behaviors into an order we can understand. As a term, addiction can be defined as the “compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance...characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.” Addiction is also defined as a “persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful.” Should shopping addiction be considered harmful or something that could present physiological symptoms? People who develop process addictions, do experience physiological symptoms of withdrawal. They might experience insomnia, an inability to sleep, because their thoughts are racing with obsessions about shopping, for example. When they are near a shopping opportunity at a favorite store they might feel a racing heartbeat, shaking, sweating, or even feelings of nausea- all attempts on the part of the brain to get the body so uncomfortable, it has to act on the shopping urges. This is what makes shopping addiction compulsive, which identifies with the definition of addiction. Shopping addiction can be harmful. Will it cause an overdose or potentially injure someone else? Not physically. The sentiment “shop till you drop” is not exactly the reality for shopping addicts. Someone who compulsively shops beyond eating and sleeping would be the most extreme form of the addiction- spending waking hours in stores and sleeping hours online shopping, without eating or sleeping. Most often, the known harmful threat of shopping addiction takes place in the bank. Creditors mount, credit cards max, loans max out, and there’s looming financial insecurity deepening with every purchase. Despite the financial trouble, someone addicted to shopping continues to shop and spend, unable to help themselves.

What causes an addict or alcoholic in recovery to pause at the sight of temptation? It is something that people who have never lived with drug and alcohol addiction on a chemically dependent level can't understand. Addicts and alcoholics go through a lot of trauma in their addictions, due the addiction itself and trauma they face before. Addiction itself is a traumatic experience. Often, addiction is a manifestation of trauma- a self-inflicted, repetitive pain coupled with intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. Coping with trauma often leads to substance abuse to numb the pain, quiet the thoughts, and bring some relief. After everything that addicts and alcoholics go through, it is baffling to others that they would consider picking up a drink or drug again The way addiction rewires the brain creates a lack of regard for consequence. Yet, in the face of consequence like trauma and temptation, the brain enters a paralysis. In the face of a threat- like encountering a traumatic situation such as sexual assault, or temptation like encountering an opportunity to use drugs and alcohol, there is a freeze. Despite months of treatment and therapy, building confidence and self-esteem, learning tools and techniques, there is a freeze. Some professionals refer to it as “victim paralysis”. During physical trauma, there is an inability to fight back. During temptation of substances, there is an inability to leave or say no. Acta Obstetricia Gynecologica Scandinavica published a study on a phenomenon they call “tonic immobility” which is the temporary paralysis experienced. Interestingly, the study found that the individuals most likely to experience the tonic immobility were also more likely to have experiences of mental illness symptoms afterward. PTSD and depression were likely to happen. Shame, guilt, and a toxic pressure to have acted differently, contributes to the development of symptoms of PTSD and depression which can, in turn, inspire more substance abuse, and further tonic immobility. Coping with the experience of not being able to make a rational decision, fight back, stand up to what isn’t right, or act on better knowledge is devastating. After recovery, especially, it can feel like all of the effort and work was worth nothing. That isn’t true. The research proves that tonic immobility is a real life psychological phenomena that is normal.

In addition to blocking cravings for heroin or other opiates, Vivitrol can affect the brain in other ways. Vice reported that “its active ingredient may also block the brain’s natural opioids, endorphins, and enkephalins.” Vivitrol's main ingredient naloxone causes a long term release into the brain which can stave off cravings for long periods of time. However, the other ways the brain is affected can create depression or a lack of interest in life which is triggering to heroin and opioid addicts. As depressant drugs, opioids slow down the brain and body so much that people in the thick of their opioid addiction do nothing much more than use opioids. The article explained, “Consequently, it has the potential to reduce normal pleasures like those from food, exercise, music, and perhaps most important, the ‘warmth’ of feeling connected to others.” Depression, suicidal thoughts, and a low tolerance for opioids are other side effects.

https://youtu.be/ItqmLrxgyPs?si=uK_MS9RCUDbvUL2s

The interesting challenge about making a generalization as to whether people should or should not take opioid medications for pain management is that no two people are exactly alike. Many doctors are suggesting that opioids do not need to be considered for the treatment of pain until every other method has been tried. Increasingly, studies are finding that more holistic approaches to pain management work in providing pain relief. Opioids can be a last resort medication or prescribed for severe pain. Many other doctors continue to point out the fact that not everyone can or will get addicted to opioid medications. People can have a predisposition to addiction which makes their brains more susceptible to the heavy effects of opioid medications. As the opioid epidemic has revealed, however, people who do not have a predisposition to addiction will still respond in an additive manner to the opioid medications. Part of the reason the opioid epidemic has grown to such proportions is that people were surprised by their developed dependency on the opioid medications. Even more surprising was the fact that the drugs stopped treating pain and when they weren’t taking the drugs, they were craving them. That being said, it is difficult to definitively claim whether or not it is safe to take opioids. When taken by the rules of the prescription for only the length of time prescribed opioids can be effective in managing pain. People are capable of responsibly taking opioid pain meds and not becoming addicted to them. In small doses, opioids can have a profound effect on relieving pain and helping a patient cope with physical trauma, recovery from a surgery, and more. Another question which commonly comes up in regards to taking opioid medications is whether or not it is safe for someone in recovery from substance abuse to take opioid medications. Until the use of opioids is no longer a standard for pain treatment by doctors, it is likely that in the event of a serious accident, physical trauma, injury, or surgery, someone in recovery will be prescribed an opioid. The risk is very, very high for relapse into addiction. Doctors should be made aware of the addiction history and seek out non-addictive alternatives or require careful monitoring of medication management. People in recovery regularly go through surgeries which require them to take the opioid medications without abusing them or relapsing into opioid addiction.

In recovery, there is a saying about HOW people quit abusing drugs and alcohol and learn to stay sober. Honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness are the three components it takes to build a foundation of recovery. First, it is the essential first step to get honest about your addiction. You have to be the one to realize that your inability to quit using drugs and drinking is a problem. You have to be the one to recognize that your life has become unmanageable and you have become powerless over drugs and alcohol. Admitting your powerlessness is taking your power back. If you aren’t honest with yourself about the extent of your drinking and drug use, you aren’t going to be able to get anything out of treatment, because you don’t think that you have a problem. If you don’t honestly believe you have a problem, you don’t honestly need a solution. You need open-mindedness to be open to the idea of having a problem. The people around you tell you that you have a problem. Friends, family members, coworkers, acquaintances, everyone you meet seems to have something to say about how out of control your drinking and drug use has gotten. When you open your mind to the idea that maybe everyone else is right, you can open your mind to ideas like sobriety and recovery. You can start to question your relationship to drugs and alcohol- is it something you need? Is it something you want? Is it something you would be willing to change? The last part of the equation is willingness. To be willing is to be “ready, eager, or prepared to do something.” Willingness doesn’t always come easily. Sometimes you have to wait for the willingness to be willing to even think about being open-minded to the idea of sobriety. Willingness takes courage. It is courageous to be willing to be honest, willing to be open-minded and willing to be willing to change your life mind, body, and spirit. Emotionally, mentally, psychologically, spiritually, this is what it takes to quit your addiction. Scientifically and physically, it takes more. It takes time and changes in habit to fully quit and addiction. The truth is, the minute you don’t pick up drugs and alcohol again- you quit. Every day thereafter that you don’t pick up drugs and alcohol again, you continue to quit. There are many tools and treatment methods which help you stay quiet, like therapy, nutrition, diet, exercise, meditation, social involvement, and being of service. All of these external activities are support for the internal ones taking place- the ongoing honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness.

Our Facebook pages say a lot about us. That is what they are designed to do. A public profile is like an avatar of ourselves, a virtual representation of what we want people to know. Social media accounts are often criticized for glamorizing the lives of the people behind them. It is a rarity on social media to come across someone who is completely and totally honest with themselves and with others about who they are as well as what really goes on in their lives. One creative artist used an instagram account to post lavish pictures of themselves all over the world. Gaining popularity as an Instagram icon, the user received comments about being lucky to live the life they were living. What few followers were able to recognize was that in every picture, the user had a drink in her hand or there was a bottle of alcohol. Later on after she revealed her motives, the artist explained that the social media frame of her content eliminated the focus on the fact that the girl in the photos had a drinking problem. According to new research conducted on over eleven million Facebook profiles, what we post on social media, in terms of status updates and likes, could indicate if we drink and/or if we do drugs.  UC Berkeley researchers analyzed the Facebook profiles as well as 22 million other status updates from 150,000 people. The software used for the analysis was able to target certain keywords, including expletives, and the kind of things someone “likes” on Facebook. With anywhere between eighty to eighty-six percent accuracy, the study was able to identify risks of substance abuse or those who were already struggling with substance abuse. These findings are significant for a few reasons. First, many addicts and alcoholics believe they are “getting away” with their behavior. When they try to cover up their drinking and using, they truly believe other people don’t notice the changes. While many alcoholics and addicts do successfully cover up their problem, many more fall for the delusion that they are in control of the substances in their lives. Analyzing Facebook profiles could be a tool for early intervention if technologies like the software used can advance more.