When Addiction Happens

Lesson 2
Addiction can be defined as the repetitive engagement in activities (such as using drugs or
alcohol), despite their negative consequences on daily living. The repeated activity may produce
short-term pleasurable feelings/thoughts/sensations, but over time, it will interfere with life in a
way that has negative and sometimes very harmful consequences.

Common symptoms of addiction include:

●​ Increased tolerance
●​ Depression
●​ Aggression or violence
●​ Preference to use above other duties or activities
●​ Decreased performance at work or school
●​ Excessive time spent seeking drugs or alcohol
●​ Withdrawal, such as sweating or shaking, after not using
A characteristic of addiction can be the inability to deal with emotions or stressful situations
without the aid of drugs and alcohol. For some, addictive behavior was at one time a short-term
remedy to a distressing situation, giving temporary relief. Unfortunately, when the original
stressor has not been properly dealt with, substance abuse can become the person’s primary
method of dealing with the stress. As the stress continues, the person feels an increasing need
to find relief through the substance.

Acceptance
In order to fight addiction, it is important to cultivate an attitude of acceptance of the problem at
hand. Often in life, acceptance is difficult: you must accept getting a bad grade, your pet running
away, or something worse. Events happen that are unplanned or unwanted. It takes work to
accept certain devastating or challenging events as reality. Acceptance does not mean approval
of these events. It just means you have accepted the reality of a situation.

Accepting that you have an addiction or at the very least a problem with substances that is
negatively impacting your life is key. After that, you can open up to the fact that the environment
and stressors that may have led to your addiction might be out of your control. What is in your
control, we believe, is learning to deal with these stressors in a healthy and productive manner
instead of relying on substances.

Taking Responsibility
It can be easy to blame others for problems we may be experiencing with substances. We can
blame our friends for introducing us to the drug or alcohol, we can blame our parents for
passing on the genes that make us vulnerable to heavy usage, or we can blame our world for
making our lives too hard to handle without the substance. It probably goes without saying that
blame does not solve the problem. It is a way to vent about the issue or ease the guilt of the
problem, but it does little to help overcome the addiction. Blame is seldom a reasonable solution
for any problem. Taking responsibility is the first step that allows us to work towards a
meaningful solution.

Taking responsibility means acknowledging that you are responsible for the decisions you make
in life. With the decision to use drugs or alcohol, you must also accept the consequences that
come as a result of use, even if these consequences were not foreseen or intended. These
include illness, problems with work or school, strained personal relationships, legal trouble, and
other negative results of drug and alcohol use. Accepting this responsibility can be very difficult,
but with acceptance comes the strength to break away from unhealthy patterns. Knowing that
you had and have the power to choose drugs and alcohol also means that you have the power
to change your decisions and actions.

So with all this talk about responsibility, we’re curious: is addiction a sign of moral failure or
weakness? We’d like to think the problem is much more complex than that. Check out what
SAMHSA has to say on the subject:

Wait, Is It Possible to Drink in Moderation?

There is disagreement on whether people who are addicted to alcohol may eventually learn to
drink in moderation. After all, abstinence from drinking can be a very difficult task and it may be
appealing to still have an occasional drink. Although some evidence supports that this is
possible for some, many experts believe that those who are able to return to drinking in
moderation may have never been addicted to alcohol in the first place. Instead, those who could
begin drinking in moderation may have been alcohol abusers or binge drinkers, but were never
truly addicted. For alcohol abusers, some may be able to learn how to drink more responsibly
and control their alcohol intake. However, for those who have been addicted to alcohol, it is rare
that a return to drinking will not lead to a full relapse.

Why Quit?

Quitting drugs and alcohol is a personal choice. Everyone has different reasons for wanting to
quit.
Common reasons for wanting to quit include:

●​ Feeling a loss of control over life

Introspection
We are going to invite you now to take some time to write or talk about our relationship with
substances. If you don't want to write, you can talk. We are going to have a 5mins silence so
that you can reflect upon the questions raised. Try to use this time to explore, without the need
for judgment or self-critique. If you’re able, as you answer these questions pretend that you’re
an outside observer looking in:

To begin, take some time to think about your journey before YOLDA. What are the most
important things (positive or negative) that have happened to you up until this point? (This may
be easier if you draw a timeline).
Now spend some time writing Or thinking out about the things and people who made you who
you are. You can include parents, siblings, teachers, friends, even pets. Who are the people that
helped shape who you are in this moment?
Is there anybody or event you wrote about in the previous questions that you feel may have
affected your relationship with substances? If it’s true that we can use substances to dull pain
that we’re anxious about facing head-on, are there areas of pain in your life that may be
contributing to this tendency?
Write out a timeline of your relationship with substances. When did it first start? Has it
evolved/grown/increased? Are there rituals involved? Have there been times in your life
(post-childhood) when you haven’t used substances? What were those times like in
comparison?
What is your relationship with substances now? Thinking of the last time you used a substance,
describe what happened. What led you to do it? What did you feel before? Was there anything
important going on in your life at the time? Did you prepare for it in any way? How did you feel
after the event ended? A few hours later? A day later? A week later?
How do you feel now? Take a moment to check in with the texture of your thoughts. Are they
racing, are they slow, are they scattered? How about your body? Do you have any sensations
anywhere in your heart area?
Sometimes a reflective activity like this can stir up difficult feelings. If, after spending a span of
time answering these questions you notice that you’re not feeling that great inside, we want to
urge you not to shut down. There’s no sense in feeling bad, ignoring the feeling, then moving on
to a distraction. Instead, we’re going to invite you now to take some time and relax your mind
and body. One of the reasons we tend to misuse substances is because we’re unconsciously
working hard not to feel difficult things, or because we’re just plain sick of feeling bad. This
exercise takes under ten minutes, and we’re fairly certain it will help. If you’ve never done
something like this, take a chance and give it a try:
We’ll close by gently inviting you to check into how you’re feeling in this moment. Relaxed,
neutral, agitated? Please remember that counseling can be a wonderful complement to the work
you’re doing in this YOLDA Program. Sometimes painful emotions (old inner wounds) can be
kicked up during an examination of one’s relationship with substances. For others, it’s an
invitation to get to know one’s mind with more clarity and maturity. In either case, counseling can
be a very effective addition to anything that has been inspired in you during this course.