SaturatedSeize

I had a work training today on Opiate Addiction and treatment, and although a lot of it was focused on opiates, a good amount of addiction information was presented. The training was held by one of the top medical directors on addiction in my State and it was very interesting. As an addict myself, it really got my brain working in ways regarding my struggles. I wanted to share some of the information I thought was pertinent to myself.

***Disclaimer: This isn't meant to be a debate about addiction as a choice or disease, just a reflection of where my personal beliefs are. Good hearted conversation I would definitely enjoy though ***

He brought up a study that was conducted in the 1960's with medical students at a university (which one slips my mind) with presenting opiates in the system of volunteers through IV use. 50 students for two weeks received morphine every 6 hours, and 50 students received a placebo. After two weeks, the groups switched, and they received what the other group had received (they didn't know what they were given). 15% of the students that received the morphine first knew THE FIRST DOSE of switching that they weren't receiving their morphine any longer. It wasn't due to withdrawals as it occurred too soon. It's believed it was their genetic predisposition to addiction that made them aware they weren't receiving their "fix."

Along with that, PET scans have been completed on addicts in recovery that show the part of their brains that respond to pleasure light up like a Christmas tree when they see pictures of their drug of choice, as it's the brain automatic response to pleasure when stimulated by a negative behaviors (ingesting said substance).

I personally believe certain people are genetically predisposed to addiction, and it's easier for them to become a slave to certain substances (alcohol in most of our cases). I appreciate this knowledge not as an excuse for my addiction and choices but to further understand my recovery and what I need to do to make it stick - retrain my brain.

This isn't a new concept, most of the posts on these forums reflect on this point about recovery and the importance of changes and reflection.

Addiction was also referenced as a Terminal Illness, and how if somebody has cancer, or diabetes, or any other chronic illness, they need support (whether it be a doctor, medication, psychologist, etc) to assist them in getting better. If I had cancer, I can't cure cancer by myself. Granted this is an extreme example, and not meant to belittle anybody's personal medical history, but it makes sense to me that "suffering in silence" isn't a plausible solution. It once again reinforces a very important method to recovery.

The 12-Step program was brought up and how it's the only evidence based achievable program that fully follows Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This very well may be opinion based and I don't have sources to follow up on this, but I've seen people question the importance of meetings and the Steps. The "Helper Therapy Principal" is evident in these programs as those longer in the program help those new to the program. I thought it was interesting how what I've read so many times on this board is more mainstream if you talk to the "right" people.

Anyways, random thoughts from the day, but pertinent to my life. I am a nerd and want to understand the layers beneath a problem, and I was born with an illness. One I need help with. I am at a disadvantage but not severe enough to give up hope.

Stay the course.

ScottFromWI

I'm not sure that I'd call it a disadvantage other than that I am just different. Some people have physical disabilities, others have allergies, some have learning disabilities, others have severe/dehabilitating pscyhological issues. In fact I know i'm not disadvantaged in any way because of my alcohol issues - they are just issues I have to deal with.

I tried desperately to find out WHY for years. Why am I an addict? Why can't I drink normally? What it is about my brain that makes me this way?

In the end for me, at least, the only answer that gave me freedom was that it simply doesn't matter. I AM that way. And I can also live a very fulfilling life without alcohol or drugs even though I am that way. In fact a better life now that i've removed alcohol and drugs.

Regarding your note about debates, I can tell you right away that even though you may not intend to start one - you hit a lot of "hot points" that inevitably do lead to arguements/debates about recovery programs, etc. I would remind everyone that our policy prohibits said debates, and posts will be removed if they ensue.

SaturatedSeize

I just don't work that way. You tell me an airplane flies just because it does and that isn't good enough for me. If I cared about flying airplanes, I'd want to know what makes it fly. I find myself not caring about much, but especially when it comes to me, or people in general, I do want to know more. I find it interesting to see what makes people the way they are. It drives me crazy, I wish I could just accept it as you do.

I think it's easier to adhere to others point of view if it is very clear it isn't coming from a malicious or self-serving perspective, which mine is not at all. If you'd prefer this not be posted, please delete it. I tried to delete it myself but couldn't figure out how as the last thing I want to do is insight hostility.

As a side note - I'm not a 12 Step user. This has not been a discrete attempt to promote or negate anything. Just not my personal preference.

lessgravity

Interesting stuff, thanks for posting.

Someone else posted an in-depth, thoughtful thread earlier about the mind of an addict. I find this kind of analysis was helpful for me at some points of my journey to sobriety, and at others, upon reflection, I think my AV was doing the work. I was looking for reasons and explanations - and if I found them, or couldn't find them, they either supported or hurt my decisions to just keep drinking over and over.

I agree there is something within us addicts that makes us different from those who don't abuse alcohol, or other substances. Wherefrom that broken part comes, I don't know.

I know what fixes it though, starving it.

2ndhandrose

"Along with that, PET scans have been completed on addicts in recovery that show the part of their brains that respond to pleasure light up like a Christmas tree when they see pictures of their drug of choice, as it's the brain automatic response to pleasure when stimulated by a negative behaviors"

I quit smoking 11 years and a bit ago and, often, when I see a smoker, I can feel my brain spark up. I don't have a craving per se but I am very aware of what my brain perceives it is missing and/or is excited about.

I have been sober for 3 years and a bit and when I see alcohol advertising, I innately want to avert my eyes.

I find it interesting how our brains operate

dwtbd

You ARE at a disadvantage if you are using substances against your own better judgement.

Not using substances in a hedonistic manner always puts anyone in a better ,more advantaged ‘place’., simply by not introducing any altered state of being.

Addiction and addiction treatment experts are by definition advocates for their fields. That in and of itself doesn’t disqualify their conclusions , but their conclusions are not guaranteed to be insulated from political and monetary concerns, nor plain old human fallibility.

Scans show brains lighting up like Christmas trees in a lot of states and seemingly responding to all manner of stimuli. Research and evidence gathering is all well and good , eliminating conclusion bias is a very sticky wicket.

Regardless one’s bias , all agree permanent abstinence is the cure.

Dee74

I have some alcoholism on my mothers side of the family.

She rarely drinks, never to excess, and I've been sober for 10 years or more so I think there are other factors at play besides genetics and areas of the brain 'lighting up'.

I was at a distinct disadvantage as an active drinker.

I feel anything but disadvantaged now

I'm glad you're staying sober Sat

D

Buckley3

I'm forming a belief in the idea that some questions don't have answers. And it's not really important to have all the answers anyway. Kinda in line with Scott's comment.

What's important to me is to remain aware that if I drink really bad things happen, so don't drink.

Life is better sober. Period.

B

least

I don't need to know why I can't drink, I just need to not drink. The why isn't as important as taking action to fix it.

August252015

Focusing on the whys and wherefores of my drinking kept me sick for a very long time.

Sure, there are reasons - and I essentially boil it down to genetics (yep, for me- not so with others I have met) and choices that took me closer to alcoholism then over the line.

The "whys" and "becauses" that I do have? Those are the underlying issues that my psych, and AA, and so on help me address in my recovery reality. I get bored with science and studies and such because once I grasped that info - and, indeed, learned stuff like what I was actually doing to my body- it became a moot point because the only thing to "do" about all that was never drink again.

Anything that AIDS me in being healthy and as good as I can be in recovery - check. What doesn't - irrelevant.

That's just me.

Nonsensical

How committed are you to believing this is something other than a choice?

I once believed I was incapable of never drinking again. I believed it so strongly I went out and bought additional life and liability insurance for myself to protect my family from the disaster I was going to bring because - well - I was just made that way.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying learning how things work. But believing it's impossible to make changes in your life until you do is just that - a belief. What do you get out of committing yourself to that belief?

Best of Luck on Your Journey!

Wholesome

I used to believe it was just the way I was built too. I had real fatalistic beliefs about it. My AV had me believing that sobriety was something only other people could achieve because they had something inside them that I lacked. I thought I was fundamentally damaged and incapable of change because it was in my DNA. All lies. Beliefs are powerful and those false beliefs kept me stuck for way too long. It was in challenging them and rejecting them that I was finally able to quit for good. Anyone can get addicted and everyone has was it takes to break free.

DontRemember

I did that too,but instead of "made that way" I just no longer cared if I died. How sick is that!?!?

MindfulMan

For me the "why" was an enabler.

I'm a big "why" fan.

I love trying to figure out the "why."

In my life I've also discovered that the "why" often isn't a simple answer, that many models can be integrated even if they conflict and the answer changes over time. I've integrated 12 Step and AVRT principles in my own recovery at different times, and neither are off the table, even though some seem to think that they are mutually exclusive.

I find the Serenity Prayer a very powerful tool in my life. It's the single most powerful thing to me that I got from 12 Step work. Sometimes I just have to say this is one of those things I cannot change.

The "Why" kept me in addiction. Once I decided that I didn't much care, as the observable results over a lifetime were that once I started drinking bad things inevitably happened given enough time, the decision to stop was pretty easy. My observations of life without alcohol are so positive they just keep reinforcing that decision.

I am still fascinated by the "why" in addiction, and keep looking at it. Again, I don't believe it's a simple answer to find that will make a difference in my life. Just intellectual curiosity for its own sake. Most importantly, I'm not looking for a workaround so I can "drink normally." I could care less about that.

DreamCatcher17

The title alone brought me here, so I am going to stick with that.

I am not at a disadvantage, even being a woman (ha!)
To say I am at a disadvantage (to me) is insulting, belittling, and disrespectful. Now if you want to label yourself that, fine. But saying others are, is pretty rude!

I had to clear that up!

I love success! How that is measured is on me. For instance: When my child laughs and is joyful, I have succeeded at parenting for the day!

Because I am a recovering alcoholic actually puts me pretty high up there on the success ladder...
1. Better myself (sure wasn't doing this drunk) Self-growth
2. Being a better mother (I was terrible at this when I was drunk)
3. Better communicator (again, terrible when drunk)

The list is endless.

While I think failure builds character and has many lessons to be taught, failure at recovery is just not an option. - for me, hopefully not you either!
I am not at a disadvantage for anything rather an advantage- to self-awareness, growth, respect, and so on.

OK, I would not sign up for a race with anyone who runs, I am not a runner so that would be stupid. Yea, there are disadvantages just not when it comes to my recovery or WHY I am an alcoholic, I just am and I am THANKFUL to be one! If I wasn't, I would not know self-growth like I do today.

While I focused on the title more than the actual body of the topic, I hope you find whatever answers you are looking for and they do not come from a bottle!

Blessings,
DC

eyes99

Why is there such a strong reaction for the word “disadvantage”? Of course we all have a physical (and perhaps emotional) disadvantage if thinking about alcohol occupies this much of our time, our bodies react so negatively to it, and the wiring of our brains has been altered (that’s fact).

I’m 5’5” and female. I’m at a physical disadvantage for professional basketball. Doesn’t mean that my whole life is spent at a disadvantage.

Geez - the crazy defensive pride here seems to abound.

As for the whys - they matter if there’s ever going to be a “cure”. Science tries to figure out what’s happening, then correct it. The whys also matter to me personally. My brain/body responds to alcohol abnormally. Maybe I was born that way, or maybe I caused it myself by overindulgence. But the point is, the damage is done and I cannot drink ever again.

Finally, the emotional whys matter too if we’re ever going to get healthy. The 12 steps cover those too, but obliquely. I do therapy with a psychologist instead. Every single recovery program I have ever encountered has an emotional component to it too, whether or not they’re declaring outright that that’s what’s happening.

So, my opinion - whys matter. And it’s okay to have a disadvantage at something. Doesn’t mean that you can’t still succeed.

DreamCatcher17

If I viewed my sobriety as a disadvantage, I would fail every single time. It is such a negative space to occupy.

eyes99

I didn’t read the op as saying our sobriety is a disadvantage. I read it as saying that we addicts have a disadvantage when it comes to substances.

Of course sobriety is a great advantage! It helps me in every aspect of my life. I view it as having overcome a major trial, and that always makes the survivor stronger.

DreamCatcher17

After I had a moment to read everything here. I should have done the first. I went on a rant, that really was irrelevant to the body of the post. But my opinion still stands, maybe not fitting to the op post.
That's a first for me a fire off with the keyboard. O well, it is what it is.

MindfulMan

There are many emotional factors in my life that I am working through in therapy. I consider those “whys” as much larger and far reaching than just why I drank and used. There would have been damage there even if I had never touched a psychoactive substance or addictive behavior in my entire lifetime.