MONTHLY SERIES–UNDERSTANDING ADDICTION, RECOVERY, & WELLNESS: DEFINING ADDICTION
k.o. ecolife welcomes back Mental Health Wellness Advisor and guest blogger, Kenneth J. Orlich to continue the monthly series on understanding addiction, recovery, and wellness. This post defines addiction and chemical dependence.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that 632,000 deaths occur annually due to drug (including alcohol and tobacco) addiction. Yet, many medical schools spend just one 75-minute pharmacological lecture on this subject. Ideally, these monthly posts will help all understand the depth and breadth of the addiction problem.
DEFINITION
To begin, this definition of chemical dependence is the one that I have been using since 1983 when I first started my career as a clinician in this field. It was developed by Drs Robert and Mary McAuliff, a husband and wife team, taken from their book “The Essentials of Chemical Dependency”. This chemical dependency book has made several revisions. The ideas in the book are very similar to my own which were developed over many years working in this field. They define chemical dependency as essentially: “a love relationship to a mood-altering chemical substance, a psychoactive drug, in expectation of a rewarding experience.” In over 35 years of work, it is the best definition that I use in my practice.
I will explain what is meant by the key word “pathological” in this definition. Eventually, the addict goes back to a behavior or chemical even though it causes undisputed problems for the addict and the people around them.
EXAMPLES
Some common examples are a physician tells a patient that if he or she continues to use alcohol it will kill them. However, the patient continues to use alcohol perhaps making a change from beer to wine. Or, perhaps even to a drug rationalizing that it is now ok.
Another example would be an alcoholic giving up alcohol during a religious holiday as a sign of sacrifice. Ultimately to prove to self and others that the use of alcohol is under control and not problematic. When the holiday is over, they start using alcohol again even at higher levels of consumption if they are an addict. Consequently, the commitment to the relationship is deep in addiction. This is similar to a relationship with an abusive partner which in many cases can be also called “pathological.” In these cases, it is doing the same thing over and over no matter what harm to self or others.
Furthermore, I am using chemical dependency and addiction interchangeably. Certain kinds of behaviors like gambling and sex and other behaviors can be addictive for some people. These behaviors are conducive to produce natural morphine-like substances in the brain resulting in addiction for some. It seems that at the core of addiction we find a chemical reaction involved. Therefore, it is body chemistry. I will explain this in detail in future posts.
NEXT
The next post will explore psychological and physical addiction as well as answer questions from you. Ultimately, my goal is to inform the public about addiction so that sound decisions can be made to protect the public and enhance the addict’s recovery. The posts will publish on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month, Wellness Wednesday.
QUESTIONS
So, do you have a specific question related to addiction and recovery? Please send your comments and questions to eaglekenj@gmail.com and I will cover it in a future blog post. Also, stay tuned for details regarding my online program, “Addiction, Recovery, Wellness.”
Kenneth J. Orlich, LMSW, LMFT, CAADC, ACSW is a clinical social worker, family and marriage therapist, and addiction specialist. He has over 35 years of experience working as a clinician with the addicted.
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