Addiction

Addiction under the spotlight

Childhood Attachment

• The emotional state of the mother during her pregnancy significantly influences brain development and brain organisation in her infant (Gabor Mate, Trauma Summit 2020).

• Stressed fetuses are more likely to use drugs to soothe themselves later in life.

• Parents’ emotional states impact the brain physiology of their children.

• Natural evolution holds that human beings are with their children 24/7, yet this is not how we live now.

• Addiction is not a blame game. It’s about understanding ourselves and becoming aware of our unconscious attempts to seek attachment and self-soothe through addictive behaviours.

“Not everyone who experiences trauma becomes addicted. However, everyone who is addicted has trauma.” (Gabor Mate, Trauma Summit 2020)

Addiction and Parts

Why do we lack a sense of value that we have to find through our addictive behaviours?

• It goes back to childhood attachment.

• To varying degrees in different indiviuduals, an addiction memory can take on characteristics of a dissociated part of the personality (Hase and colleagues 2008 in Jim Knipe, EMDR Toolbox, 2019).

• Lack of self-worth.

• Part of you may seek recovery, while another part of you just wants to ‘drink’ or ‘smoke’ and doesn’t care about the consequences for the person as a whole

• All ‘parts’ serve a purpose - get to know the part of you that is prone to addiction.

• Usually, this part of yourself is trying to protect you from pain.

• Can you befriend this part of yourself and try to understand it more.

• What is this part afraid of?

• What is the benefit of this part? (Roger Solomon, EMDR Therapy Structural Dissociation & Masterclass Training)

Addiction and the brain

• Any chronic, addictive behaviour remodels the brain (neuroplasticity).

• Addictive behaviour activates the dopamine system. Dopamine is the ‘feel good’ chemical in your brain associated with pleasure.

• You get a ‘hit’ of dopamine just thinking about using, i.e. before you use.

• We become ‘chemical addicts’, i.e. no matter if it’s shopping, gambling, junk food or drugs, we become addicted to the dopamine hit in the brain.

• Cross-addiction occurs when one substitutes an addictive behaviour for another, e.g. stops drinking alcohol and starts smoking cigarettes, or consuming sugar instead. Addiction is not in the ‘external substance’, it’s in the brain.

• Lack of dopamine can lead to irritability and depression (think about withdrawal affects).

• Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to form and reorganise neural pathways. This means the brain is changeable.

• Addiction can form ‘super highways’ in the brain which facilitates ‘automatic’ responses, e.g. brushing your teeth becomes automatic because, generally speaking, you brush once or twice a day for many years.

• Most addictive states of mind have an aspect that is automatic and therefore not under direct, conscious control. The craving to use, and the memory of the positive feelings after using, can be accessible to the individual, but are generally not very powerfully influenced by cognitive use of “willpower” to alter the addictive behaviour (Hase and colleagues, 2008, in Jim Knipe, EMDR Toolbox, 2019).

• To create new pathways in the brain, you need to be Mindful and Conscious to ACT rather then REACT.

• The three Ps are necessary to create new pathways (new habits): Practice, Patience, Persistence.

Triggers

Triggers for engaging in addiction can be filtered into four different categories:

Behaviours: For example, lying, hiding, not seeking support, not exercising, not having a routine, not practising good sleep hygiene.

Feelings/Emotions: For example, loneliness, boredom, tiredness, excitement, happiness, anxiety, sadness, grief and anger.

Environment (people, places and things): For example, pubs, clubs, friends or family that are using, evenings, being home alone, buffets, weekends, pay day, hometown, conflict with family or partner, images, smells, advertisements and commercials on TV, family gatherings, work stress.

Unhelpful thoughts and/or negative beliefs: For example, ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I’m unworthy’, ‘everyone else is doing it’, ‘it’s only a problem if I get caught’, ‘F*#k it - I don’t care’, ‘I deserve it, it’s been a hard week’, ‘I feel great and want to celebrate’ ‘I don’t do it as much as my friend’, etc.

Co-dependency

Relationships and love can be another type of addiction.

Co-dependency can be defined as using a relationship to fill a bottomless void due to not feeling whole and loved as an individual. It’s not the need to be loved that’s the issue, it’s the inability to love one’s self that causes the dysfunction (Graham R. White).

Signs of co-dependency can include:

• Low self esteem

• People pleasing

• Poor boundaries

• Reactivity

• Care-taking

• Rescuing

• Control issues

• Dysfunctional communication

• Obsessions

• Dependency

• Denial

• Fear of true intimacy

• Fear of abandonment

• Feelings of shame and unworthiness

Harm minimisation

If you are going to choose to use, do it as safely as possible!

This is a useful approach because it helps keep focus on the range of factors that are contributing to the harm associated with use.

Do it safely: Use needle syringe services for clean equipment, know the people you use with, participate in methadone maintenance programs, eat before drinking alcohol, drink and/or use drugs in safe environments, don’t drink and drive, buy less and use less, put condoms in your pocket, take thiamine tablets before, during and after drinking (purchase Betamine from your local chemist).

Educate yourself: Conduct your own research on addiction. Find out everything you can about it. Explore your own thoughts, feelings and behaviours surrounding your personal use and your patterns. Read self-help books.

Be informed: How many standard drinks are you drinking? How much money are you spending or gambling? Where do your drugs come from? What is in the substances you use? Pick up some brochures and handouts from your local information centre or do your own research. How is your addiction affecting your life in terms of physical health, family life, work life, spiritual self, and mental health?

Be aware of the risks associated with your use: Overdosing, depression and anxiety, suicidal ideation, accidents, conflict with family and friends, loss of family and friendships, loss of integrity.

Take responsibility of your actions: Own your choices, make amends, admit your mistakes, seek support. Don’t blame others for your actions.

Withdrawal

People experiencing withdrawal from any addiction may notice the following symptoms:

• Irritability, anger

• Depression and/or anxiety

• Fatigue, tiredness

• Physical illness

• Nausea

• Boredom

• Loneliness

• Suicidal ideation

• Grief and loss

• Hungry, not hungry

• Disturbed sleep patterns

If you are chronically and physically dependent on alcohol, do not ‘stop’ drinking suddenly as you may experience withdrawal seizures which can be fatal. Please seek medical assistance for a medically supervised detox.