Why do people become addicted? Here is what I think.

[paulg]

There are many theories of addiction out there. The most popular is probably the disease theory. I think that this one has helped a lot of people, but it is not the only way of explaining why people become addicts. Personally, this explanation became less satisfying to me over the years. Here is why I think that we become addicted;
Why Do Some People Become Addicted to Alcohol and Drugs? - Associated Content

[Wolfchild]

i appreciate your willingness to inform people about this disease.
Why i became addicted is not as important as how i recover daily.
Are you working thru a 12 Step & 12 Tradition recovery program?

[paulg]

Originally Posted by Wolfchild

i appreciate your willingness to inform people about this disease.
Why i became addicted is not as important as how i recover daily.
Are you working thru a 12 Step & 12 Tradition recovery program?

No, I have managed live over three years happily sober without such a programme; not that I have anything against people who do use them. Whatever works for you. I did once attend AA during my twenties for two years.

[socialismislost]

Originally Posted by paulg

There are many theories of addiction out there. The most popular is probably the disease theory. I think that this one has helped a lot of people, but it is not the only way of explaining why people become addicts. Personally, this explanation became less satisfying to me over the years. Here is why I think that we become addicted;
Why Do Some People Become Addicted to Alcohol and Drugs? - Associated Content

I dont think one becomes addicted. I believe there are genes that a certain percentage of the population are born with that are responsible for addiction, although environment and mental health disorders can and do exaserbate it. There have been rat studies done with cocaine that show that only about 17% of the rats in the study had long term addiction to the drug. The vast majority of the rats walked away after trying it a few times. Just my opinion, though, although if you are interested, googling addiction and genetics will provide many links on the subject. Thank for your post, by the way.

[ElegantlyWasted]

May be the case for some people, but modern science has progressed since the advent of monks and even AA. The Diathesis Stress model seems to make the most sense to me as it incorporates the two way interaction of our biology and social interaction. Just my two sense.

[Electa]

Hi "Eleganty Wasted" Is this an oxymoron, by the way?

What's the diathesis stress model?

You've got me curious!

Electa

[socialismislost]

Originally Posted by ElegantlyWasted

May be the case for some people, but modern science has progressed since the advent of monks and even AA. The Diathesis Stress model seems to make the most sense to me as it incorporates the two way interaction of our biology and social interaction. Just my two sense.

I agree with this that the environment(nurture) certainly plays a role in addiction. Especially if people are used to drinking/using in certain places or with certain people. Drinking as a matter of habit is also an envirnmental cue. A certain percentage of people are just born with several genes that predispose them to addiction. Then the environment can be a factor in the progression of the disease.

But I believe it is fundamentally a biological(genetic) disease. Social interaction, behavioral, spiritual, environmental issues show no correlation in how a certain percentage of animals habituate to drugs. Just like the human population, about%15-17 percent of the rat population developed their addiction to drugs, and the rest of the rats tried a few times and walked away. There are plenty of rat/cocaine studies published that show this effect.

[cptspalding]

Hi paul

If your interested in why some people are more susceptible to addiction than others I would recommend a book called 'Beyond the Influence...' by Katherine Ketcham. It talks (amongst many other things) about how alcoholism is a progressive, phsiolgical, genetically determined disease.

This book and the earlier book 'Under the Influence' are mentioned alot on these pages and I would recommend them to anyone. In fact there's a link somewhere on here to sections of the book. Help me out kind people.

[socialismislost]

Originally Posted by cptspalding

Hi paul

If your interested in why some people are more susceptible to addiction than others I would recommend a book called 'Beyond the Influence...' by Katherine Ketcham. It talks (amongst many other things) about how alcoholism is a progressive, phsiolgical, genetically determined disease.

This book and the earlier book 'Under the Influence' are mentioned alot on these pages and I would recommend them to anyone. In fact there's a link somewhere on here to sections of the book. Help me out kind people.

I will check out this book. I have not heard of it.

[ElegantlyWasted]

Hi Electa....

"Hi "Eleganty Wasted" Is this an oxymoron, by the way?"
It can be... It is actually a song by INXS that I relate to and draw inspiration from.

If you google "diathesis stress" you come up with some great info.

In a nut shell.... Some people have a genetic predisposition for alcoholism. Some people with this predisposition do not become "alcoholics". The environment (social experiences etc.) effects our physiology (synapses firing under stress) and may activate this predisposition in some people. The converse can also be true in that some people who are not genetically predisposed to alcoholism (or addiction) will be conditioned by their experiences to have problems. The current disease model is still controversial; thought it has been accepted by the AMA.

Socialism... Great post. Animal studies do not extrapolate very well to all human behavior. Though stimulus response does play a role; the cognitive processes that enable complex human behavior negates the proposition that biology is destiny.

"Drinking as a matter of habit is also an environmental cue."
I beg to differ. Drinking as a matter of habit is a matter of habit. An environmental cue would be being in the bar (or driving past it) and then feeling an urge to drink. (stimulus response). One actually does have a choice whether or not to enter the bar. The 12 steps works as a defacto retraining for the programmed stimulus response impulse. We are capable of being aware of it. Rats are not. Its not necessarily God working, but rather a change in MO.

[socialismislost]

Originally Posted by ElegantlyWasted

Hi Electa....

"Hi "Eleganty Wasted" Is this an oxymoron, by the way?"
It can be... It is actually a song by INXS that I relate to and draw inspiration from.

If you google "diathesis stress" you come up with some great info.

In a nut shell.... Some people have a genetic predisposition for alcoholism. Some people with this predisposition do not become "alcoholics". The environment (social experiences etc.) effects our physiology (synapses firing under stress) and may activate this predisposition in some people. The converse can also be true in that some people who are not genetically predisposed to alcoholism (or addiction) will be conditioned by their experiences to have problems. The current disease model is still controversial; thought it has been accepted by the AMA.

Socialism... Great post. Animal studies do not extrapolate very well to all human behavior. Though stimulus response does play a role; the cognitive processes that enable complex human behavior negates the proposition that biology is destiny.

"Drinking as a matter of habit is also an environmental cue."
I beg to differ. Drinking as a matter of habit is a matter of habit. An environmental cue would be being in the bar (or driving past it) and then feeling an urge to drink. (stimulus response). One actually does have a choice whether or not to enter the bar. The 12 steps works as a defacto retraining for the programmed stimulus response impulse. We are capable of being aware of it. Rats are not. Its not necessarily God working, but rather a change in MO.

I really like your post. Lots of good points. I think those who are not genetically predisposed who have problems do not suffer the disease of addiction, but use/drink to cover for other problems.

And your right, animal studies only look at addiction. Animals arent spiritual or do cognitive behavior therapy very well. At least not my cat, lol! And biology is not necessarily destiny as environment does play a role.

Habit can be an environmental cue, however. A habit could be putting a cigarette to one's mouth. Its a repettive habit that smokers do and its definitely an environmental cue. There are internal and external cues, but they are all cues. The habit then becomes the stimulus response.

[ElegantlyWasted]

Hi Social... Love having intelligent conversations here. My context for using environmental cue is as follows....

In the lexicon of Psychology "environmental cue" has a very specific meaning. Specifically a stimulus outside the organism that effects said organism. The only way an individual's habit could be an environmental cue would be that that specific habit (take smoking) triggers another's behavior (seeing some one smoking makes me want to smoke).

An internal cue would by definition not be an environmental cue, but rather a conditioned thought pattern (I usually drink at 6 pm every day, I have not drank for the last two days, It is six pm and a craving comes out of no where).

As best I can figure out addiction in general and Alcoholism is specific are very complex social and individual problems, and whatever works for any given individual is great.

Anyone seen A Clockwork Orange???

[paulg]

Some really good well thought our replies here, thanks. I don't know if there will ever be a definitive answer it seems to be more about picking an answer that suits you and living with that; I think the identical twins studies conducted in the past have been interesting though.

I think the problem with a lot of research is that there is most often an agenda behind it. Little of it seems to have much connection with any type of hard science.

What the monk told me that day made complete sense to me, but it might not make much sense to other people. I suppose it doesn't really matter; I would have been prepared to believe almost anything if it would have got me sober.

[socialismislost]

Originally Posted by ElegantlyWasted

Hi Social... Love having intelligent conversations here. My context for using environmental cue is as follows....

In the lexicon of Psychology "environmental cue" has a very specific meaning. Specifically a stimulus outside the organism that effects said organism. The only way an individual's habit could be an environmental cue would be that that specific habit (take smoking) triggers another's behavior (seeing some one smoking makes me want to smoke).

An internal cue would by definition not be an environmental cue, but rather a conditioned thought pattern (I usually drink at 6 pm every day, I have not drank for the last two days, It is six pm and a craving comes out of no where).

As best I can figure out addiction in general and Alcoholism is specific are very complex social and individual problems, and whatever works for any given individual is great.

Anyone seen A Clockwork Orange???

I should have been more specific, considering I have a degree in it. It becomes the habit as the general environmental cue(taking a drag on a cigarette) leads into the habit of taking a drag on a cigarette. That cue becomes your habit. And yes I have a clockwork Orange. As well as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Good movies.

[socialismislost]

Originally Posted by paulg

Some really good well thought our replies here, thanks. I don't know if there will ever be a definitive answer it seems to be more about picking an answer that suits you and living with that; I think the identical twins studies conducted in the past have been interesting though.

I think the problem with a lot of research is that there is most often an agenda behind it. Little of it seems to have much connection with any type of hard science.

What the monk told me that day made complete sense to me, but it might not make much sense to other people. I suppose it doesn't really matter; I would have been prepared to believe almost anything if it would have got me sober.

Identical twin studies are very interesting indeed. Along with several animal studies involving various drugs. Research always has an agenda behind it. We are humans after all. The key is picking out the facts.

[anono]

Originally Posted by ElegantlyWasted

Hi Electa....

"Hi "Eleganty Wasted"

In a nut shell.... Some people have a genetic predisposition for alcoholism. Some people with this predisposition do not become "alcoholics". The environment (social experiences etc.) effects our physiology (synapses firing under stress) and may activate this predisposition in some people. The converse can also be true in that some people who are not genetically predisposed to alcoholism (or addiction) will be conditioned by their experiences to have problems. The current disease model is still controversial; thought it has been accepted by the AMA.


"Drinking as a matter of habit is also an environmental cue."
I beg to differ. Drinking as a matter of habit is a matter of habit. An environmental cue would be being in the bar (or driving past it) and then feeling an urge to drink. (stimulus response). One actually does have a choice whether or not to enter the bar. The 12 steps works as a defacto retraining for the programmed stimulus response impulse. We are capable of being aware of it. Rats are not. Its not necessarily God working, but rather a change in MO.

hi, had to comment on this as i agree with the pre-dispostion of, not only acoholism, but depression, schizophrenia as well as other disorders.

that is part of what makes your environment when your young so important. it can be a 'fun' stress event that can trigger, such as o/s holiday, you need to be able to cope with stresses in a positive way, and respond, rather than react when you do become stressed. listen to your body and what it is trying to tell you...


and yes i have seen clockwork orange...

and am an aussie chick so well versed on INXS.!


all good discussions......

[paulg]

I think another problem with a lot of the research and subsequent theories is that they only seem concerned with one type of culture. I live in Thailand and addiction seems to occur in a different way and with different outcomes. They don't seem to have accepted the disease model at all, but I would say that they have less of a problem with addiction over all and have just as much success treating it; in fact many people come here for treatment from the west with great success - like me

[socialismislost]

Originally Posted by paulg

I think another problem with a lot of the research and subsequent theories is that they only seem concerned with one type of culture. I live in Thailand and addiction seems to occur in a different way and with different outcomes. They don't seem to have accepted the disease model at all, but I would say that they have less of a problem with addiction over all and have just as much success treating it; in fact many people come here for treatment from the west with great success - like me

Yes you are right. Asians have a very low incidence of addiction compared to western cultures. Its because of genetics and how they process drugs/alcohol. Its also true of native Americans. And there are plenty of cultures that deal with alcohol/drug abuse with torture and execution. They skip right past the disease model.

[Boleo]

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...7226-thiq.html (Thiq!)

[socialismislost]

Originally Posted by Boleo

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...7226-thiq.html (Thiq!)

I have read about this too. It goes a step back further to the specific genes that that render THIQ in alcoholics. GABA B in particular, although its not understood how the mechanic works. Good post.

[joedris]

I think Phar Hans was right on the money, but I don't feel he defined what alcoholism is so much as he defined why an alcoholic drinks. And there's a difference. Alcoholism is considered by the AMA as a disease but we don't really understand precisely what happens in the human body to make it a disease. So in that respect you can argue the pros and cons of the disease concept.

We do know that alcoholism affects 10% of those who drink. And the process of becoming an alcoholic differs from one person to the next. Some are alcoholics from their first drink, usually early in life. Others become alcoholics only after years of progressively heavier drinking. 60% of us have a family history of alcoholism, 40% don't. Genetics is also thought to play a part here. But when we do arrive at that point that puts us in the top 10%, we all have one thing in common. We now drink because we cannot not drink. What started out as using alcohol as a coping mechanism has turned into a physical addiction to alcohol.

It doesn't really matter from an alcoholic's perspective whether alcoholism is a disease or not, nor does it matter how one becomes an alcoholic. What matters is that we do something about it. Saying that you can behave like a jerk because you have the disease is a cop out. You're responsible for your behavior, not some disease. And we need to not only stop drinking, but also change the behaviors that Phat Hans so succinctly listed. By not drinking we have physical sobriety, the behavioral change comes from emotional sobriety, or "finding our path" as Phar Hans puts it.

So we can discuss all day the causes of alcoholism and the many theories surrounding it. Hey, I'd be happy just to find an agreed upon definition of alcoholism. Try Googling "definition of alcoholism" and see how many hits you get, and none of them agree! But in the end all this doesn't matter if you're an alcoholic like I am. What matters is that, as Paul Harrigan, the author of the Associated Content article says, we all get clean and sober.

[Boleo]

Originally Posted by joedris

So we can discuss all day the causes of alcoholism and the many theories surrounding it...

Again I say - why waste time hunting down the snake that bit you. Go get treatment!

[Barkis]

In my case, it was a learned behavior, and genetics. I had an uncle who was a drinker. I saw him sleeping off a bender in the back of the bus one day, when I was going to school. He was always very funny. I felt sorry for him, and was laughing at the same time, until ten years later it was me sleeping it off somewhere in public. I could see it as a rough deal, jipped genes, but that's not owning my own choices. My report card might have said 'Can do better'.

[43395]

Alcoholism is a three fold illnessw, it bankrupts you physicaly, mentaly and spiritualy. Physicaly those who are,'real alcoholics' as described inAlcoholics Anonymous do not digest alcohol like,'normal social 'drinkers, the acetone does not break down the carbohydrates made by the alcohol, so it sets up the mental craving to take a drink. It's the first drink that does the damage!The vicious cycle is put in motion. It is necessary then to enlarge out actions by taking the suggested steps out lined in the,'1q2 Step Programme', once you have not only done this, but continue to do this and make spiritual progress NOT spiritual perfection the addiction will diminish, although for a,'real alcoholic' you will physicaly and mentaly negver be cured. Personaly I found that Budhist Principles, e.g. The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Noble Path which go some way to reflect the 12 Steps were of great help, so the monk was right,okay! Michael.