* Below definitions as per the Concise Oxford Dictionary.
Addiction - the fact or process of being addicted esp. the
condition of taking a drug habitually and being unable to
give it up without incurring adverse effects.
Addicted - dependent on as a habit; unable to do without.
Addict - devote or apply habitually or compulsively:
Recovery - the act or an instance in recovering: the
process of being recovered.
There are many taboo's regarding the topic of addiction.
Indeed it is also so that there is a lack of understanding,
empathy and tolerance towards those who are said to be
addicted, and it is often the case for families affected
too.
It is a sad fact that the person said to be addicted finds
out too late that there is a problem in the first place,
but too late for whom? - The family, friends, work
colleagues, or, most of all, the addicted themselves.
If you look at the dictionary definitions of the main
topical words, you will see that there are a number in
common:-
Addicted, condition, habit, depend, devote. All these words
are inducing the process of destroying a whole family unit,
as devotion turns from those important to the addicted
person, to the substance controlling them, and the habit
makes them dependent upon it. But it is not just the addict
who suffers.
If you look at all the 'question' words, what, why, where,
when, who and how, they will become important factors in
the process of recovery as there can't be a start process
until there are answers, but at the same time trying to get
the answers involves a certain amount of commitment from
the addicted and the immediate affected persons.
First of all there has to be the admission. This can only
come from the addicted, and it is very often the end of the
road for any family or work life before the recovery
process can begin to put their lives back together again.
Indeed, recovery is an on-going process, for the rest of
their lives, whatever the addiction. It will never go away,
so understanding this is one of the first steps to recovery.
So, when does it become an addiction? Is it when it affects
your own life or that of others? Does the addicted see it
as a controlled commodity, therefore can't see the
addiction at all? There is a very fine line between
accusation and the realisation that there is a problem in
the first place. One of the first steps to recovery is
knowing that there is a problem and this is the crucial
time where any good intentions could be destroyed if not
handled in the correct manner. It is a time to 'suggest'
that there might be a problem, to gently prime the addicted
person into the right frame of mind in order to accept any
help being offered, and for them to be prepared to take the
steps to do something about it.
It is important to keep an open mind and know the options
open in the recovery process. In all of this, empathy
rather than sympathy is important. The addicted will feel
guilt and may be suffering from a personality disorder
either as a result of the addiction or from an hereditary
aspect so it has to be the strength of those willing and
able to help, that gets them through, although it has to be
said that if the addict doesn't want or is unwilling to
accept the help, then the whole process of recovery will be
fruitless. It is also important to mention that it is by no
means a cut and dry situation. All concerned will have to
be prepared for set backs, relapses and hard times to come,
but there has to be willing participation from the addicted
person before the long process can be started.
So, in order to start the recovery process for a friend or
loved on, what are the questions that need to be asked?
Who is affected? What is the problem? i.e. substance abuse,
alcohol, eating disorder etc. Why did it start? eg.
control, image, self esteem. Where is the first port of
call for help? How do you approach the problem?
Once the answers to all of the above are known, then the
first gentle and tentative steps to recovery can start.
----------------------------------------------------
Graham Baylis has been working with Tony Harrison of
InExcess for sometime now and together they are spreading
the word about how anyone with a dependency on alcohol or
drugs can break the habit and recover if they want to. For
more information on this increasingly socially important
topic, see their website at http://www.inexcess.tv
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