what IS an addict?
When you think of an addict do you visualize a skid row type huddled in a dirty room “shooting” intravenous drugs? Or do you see a busy executive who simply can’t start her day without 3 or 4 cups of coffee? How does one become addicted and how can we prevent addiction? These are questions many of us ask ourselves from time to time. Although the definition of addiction is still debated, the following one is offered by Craig Nakken in his book The Addictive Personality: “Addiction is a pathological love and trust relationship with an object or event.” Pathological means to deviate from a healthy or normal condition. Therefore, an addict is one who develops an “abnormal” relationship with an object or event by looking for long-term emotional fulfillment from them. The “objects” are many and may include: alcohol, narcotics, tranquilizers, caffeine, sugar, etc. “Events” can be gambling, compulsive spending, sex, exercise, work, and others. “How do you spell relief?” Alcoholics find emotion
According to the book of Alcoholics Anonymous, that is the million dollar question: whether people are genetically predisposed to alcoholism/drug addiction or if this is a decision they come up with on their own. What it comes down to is an obsession that centers in the mind, and that is why the program of AA/NA stresses building a strong spiritual foundation so that people have a spiritual defense against that first drink or drug, because it gets to the point where they feel like they can’t live without it. No, they are not thinking about family (children and mama included) or jobs, or shelter, or personal hygiene at this point, because they are OBSESSED with getting this fix and are oblivious to everything else. That’s why the book of Narcotics Anonymous talks about the only way out for the drug addict is “jails, institutions, or death.” The only solution is getting sober or riding it out to the bitter end.
