New Paradigms in Addiction Therapy – Chemical Substances Are Not the Main Factor

I'm fairly averse to starting threads. But this is an important issue--and--with the help of my housemate, I'm willing to bother. We would be willing to discuss it with seriously interested folks.

Portugal's changed laws and treatment of addiction issues has changed their statistics and the results in individual's lives and the lives of their family members has yielded dramatic success. We can do better, as Christians, conservatives and Americans.

A true enveloping substance addiction is gritty, and tends to be enabled by a varying degree of self-loathing. Self-loathing is such a tumultuous, seemingly endless circumstance that any decent person would not wish on their worst enemy–yet it is something that many decent people deal with on a regular basis. Modern advancements in cognitive sciences have conclusively shown that this state of mind (self-loathing, low self-esteem, an existential dilemma of similar nature with a deep tone, et cetera) is a neurological state that is considered “cognitive dissonance.” This means, with the many layers of consciousness that it takes to assimilate a “Waking Consciousness/Diachronic Narrative,” there can be pieces that don’t meet; there are pieces missing from the self-image of the individual, and this causes a literal dissonance in a person’s biosocial interactions and feedback. The “missing pieces” come from the person’s own neurological landscape, and are perpetuated/reinforced/diminished by the environment according to what the environment represents, and how the individual person has been predisposed to stress-handling-mental-mechanisms beforehand.

As developed by Dr. Stanislav Grof {one of my housemate's professors} in over 50 years of psychiatric therapy and research, these growing predispositions that dictate how a person reacts to circumstances can be called “CoEx Systems” (Condensed Experience). CoEx Systems are like neurological highways, and their principle operates like the flowing stream to the Grand Canyon–meaning that pressure and repetition over time creates deep-seated mechanisms. Grof’s research is termed “holotropic” therapy, and the idea of CoEx Systems and a noted neuronal growing pattern is neither inherently positive nor negative. However, this accurately represents a crucial piece in understanding the deep-seated mechanisms that are involved with addiction, or any neurosis for that matter.

Mental dependency is closer to the center of the matter because it analyzes the thought-mechanisms of the individual–the CoEx Systems that make the person a slave is the addiction. In fact, the etymology of the word ‘addict’ is ‘someone who is indebted,’ meaning that they are a slave in a sense to a prearranged agreement that they cannot yet fulfill their end of. This is the true definition of addiction and it is a bottomless psychological, existential dilemma–not genetic or a mental illness. Obviously, genetic and mental factors do play a role, but the fact of the matter is that some may be predisposed to a higher chance of addition due to personal and hereditary factors, yet no one is predetermined to be an addict. Institutionalized, prearranged methods of “rehabilitation” only address the substance dependency, instead of the underlying causal mechanisms in the brain.

Biology, which sets the original template for Cognition, which represents the original template for social interaction. When this synthesis is interrupted, it causes this cognitive dissonance and sets the causal foundation of addiction. The effect of the addiction–or, rather, the CoEx Systems that lead to the addiction–can biologically be summarized as an inefficiency to formulate/maintain healthy relationships; a lack of ability to bond with people, because of dysfunctional social mechanisms that stem from the self.

The next step of the equation is understanding where these dysfunctions come from, and almost without exception, they stem from the social inertia that was initiated in the parent-child bond during the first few years of life. This is definitely not meant to be interpreted as “all of someone’s problems stem from childhood,” but, rather, in a very literal way: The brain is wired to formulate a template of self-concept during the first initial years of life, and as these neural patterns begin to strengthen, this strength then compounds due to simple inertia, and the activity thus becomes more and more condensed. Essentially, this is to say that until a person learns the deep implications and true value of authentic self-reflection, the habits that have gained inertia in the first few years of life will continue to compound until an event in the ambient environment catalyzes a change. Self-reflection, after all, is considered to be one of the definitive differences between humans and animals. Only when a person is taught to authentically assess themselves on a consistent basis will they slowly begin to reign in the inertia of their negative habits, in order to reassess. In terms of addiction, this is why the process is so messy and extensive. To use a simple fishing metaphor: the addict has cast their line, and before they can understand what they have caught, they must first reel it in.

Please help me understand this affliction a little better.

I'll try. I'll certainly treat this as a genuine question vs a contrarian slap. LOL.

You say both of your children have significant RAD - which you define as obvious and chronic problems in virtually all relationships - and yet both of your children are each doing amazingly well in both their business and personal relationships...

They appear to be managing their work relationships tolerably well--at least above average for those with significant RAD. They appear to be managing their marriages less well--particularly in the case of my daughter. And my son is gone a LOT of the time traveling for business. Yet, his marriage does appear reasonably solid. There are things that are less than ideal from my perspective--and evidence of RAD. Yet, they are above average for those with significant RAD.

Are your children simply outside of the norm for the population and the disorder that your theory is attempting to explain or are there other causes for this affliction?

I think they are above average for those afflicted with significant RAD in several respects that are difficult to articulate well. In others, they seem to be somewhat average for those afflicted with significant RAD.

They still relate to me more awkwardly than I would like, by far. And, to me, their relationship dynamics with me reflect more the historic RAD carp in the rearing years vs the overwhelmingly healthier ways I've related to them as an adult.

I always tried to respect their individuality and need for space and privacy. However, I know just my way of being in the world those years was a lot dysfunctional and emotionally intense in less than constructive, relaxed, confident ways.

Nevertheless, they knew and would say so now, that they always knew growing up that I'd move heaven and earth in their behalf if I saw the need to do so.

So, it's a mixed bag. In some respects, they are typical relatively high achievers with a lot of the RAD fostered compulsiveness encouraging that to buttress their sense of self worth etc. etc. etc. In other respects, they are still wrestling with intimacy issues, independence issues, connectedness issues, vulnerability issues--the stuff Brene Brown's research is smack in the middle of.

If I've failed to give you the sort of answer you were looking for, please let me know and I'll try again. Cheers.

I gather you gave never read about how alcoholics process alcohol

How the Brain Processes Alcohol

http://individualandfamilypsychotherapy.com/2011/02/how-the-brain-processes-alcohol/

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By Carol Ann Worthing, Phd on | Comments Off ‘Did You Know’ the brain of a non alcoholic processes alcohol differently than in the brain of the alcoholic?

In a non alcoholic brain, Alcohol, after it is ingested, is broken down by the liver into a very toxic substance, Acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde then breaks down into Acetic Acid and is blown off by the lungs as Carbon dioxide and is eliminated by the kidneys as Water. A small percent is also eliminated in perspiration.

In the brain of the alcoholic, the breakdown of Acetaldehyde into Acetic Acid is performed at half the normal rate resulting in a buildup of Acetaldehyde in the liver, heart muscle, and brain. When Acetaldehyde flows through the brain, the large amounts of Acetaldehyde interact with the neurotransmitter, Dopamine, and forms THIQ, Tetrahydroisoquinoline. THIQ is a morphine like substance found only in the brain of an alcoholic. It is THIQ that can trigger the alcoholic’s need for more and more alcohol to counter the painful effects of the progressive buildup of Acetaldehyde.

This explanation from the film, THIQ by Dr. Ohlem, M.D. is simplified, yet it outlines the importance of some of the physiological aspects of the disease of alcoholism.

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Alcoholism: What People Don’t Get

http://rorygilbert.com/alcoholism-what-people-dont-get/

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Alcoholism wreaks more havoc on individuals and families than any other problem that I see in my practice. Insidious and baffling are words that are often used to describe it, and these words could not be more apropos. Sometimes the effects of alcoholism and drug addiction are obvious, as in the case of the wino who has given up on any pretense of self-respect. Other times the effects of alcoholism are far less obvious, as in the case of the pillar of the community whose shame is a private affair known only (but denied) to the alcoholic and his or her family.

Despite the adverse effects that alcoholism has on people’s lives and its prevalence (there are the same number of alcoholics as there are left-handed people) most people, and I’m including mental health professionals, don’t have a clear understanding of what it is. It is usually equated with nothing more than a drinking problem when {Not the shrinks my housemate knows who were trained in his program and not him}, in fact, alcoholism is a complex disease.

This does not mean that the public is not more educated about alcohol abuse than when I received my training. Anti-drunk driving programs, the advent of rehabilitations centers, the notion of “responsible drinking,” the notoriety of celebrities with alcohol and drug problems, to name just a few relatively recent developments, have raised the public’s awareness of the significance of the problems associated with excessive drinking. More and more people today realize that old myths, such as “alcoholics need to drink every day,” “alcoholics have weak moral character,” and “alcoholics can’t hold a job,” are simply not true.

. . . Rather, the confusion about alcoholism results from a lack of understanding of what alcoholics experience when they do not have alcohol in their systems. Non-recovering alcoholics may seem cool, calm, and collected on the outside when they are sober, but they are feeling anything but that on the inside. {this underlined emphasis was bolded in the original}: They may be able to wear a façade that hides what they are feeling from public view or they may be able to find a way to distract themselves from paying attention to their feelings, but non-recovering alcoholics are in a constant state of emotional distress when they are sober.

An appreciation of the concept of alcoholism as a disease is necessary to comprehend fully what an alcoholic experiences when he or she is not drinking. Alcoholics process alcohol differently than social drinkers do. When social drinkers take a drink, the liver produces enzymes that break the alcohol down into a substance that gets into the bloodstream and works its way to the brain. Once the broken down alcohol reaches the central nervous system, it enters brain cells and slows down the activity of those cells, which social drinkers experience as a nice pleasant buzz. After an hour the alcohol leaves the brain cells and is discharged by the body, and to a greater or lesser degree, the brain cells are the same as they were prior to the social drinkers having had the drink.

When alcoholics take a drink, their livers produce a different set of enzymes than social drinkers. These enzymes break the alcohol down into a substance that is stronger and more toxic than its counterpart in the social drinkers. This stronger substance gets into the bloodstream and, just like with social drinkers, it works its way to the brain where it enters the brain cells. Once inside the brain cells the same basic process occurs in alcoholics as it does in social drinkers–that is, the brain cell activity slows down–but the strength and toxicity of the substance causes the alcoholics to have a much more intense experience. Alcoholics find being under the influence to be far more pleasurable than the nice pleasant buzz experienced by social drinkers.

. . .

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Do Alcoholics metabolize alcohol differently?

http://upfromdown.info/apps/blog/entries/show/10184462-do-alcoholics-metabolize-alcohol-differently-

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. . .

2) Secondly, the idea that "Alcholics" metabolize alcohol differently that other people is an urban legend. I challenge anybody to post definitive proof of this. Herbert Fingarette, a distinguished professor at the University of California and the author of "Heavy Drinking: the myth of Alcoholism as a disease" reviews the theories that some peoples bodies respond to alcohol in an abnormal way that "causes" them to become alcoholics. The current scientific evidence does not support these "metabolic hypotheses". See page 55 of his book for more details. It is worth reading .

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{Getting sleepy so will stop here, for now.}

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