Maryannaville™

It is normal for people to try to reduce their physical pain and emotional pain. There is no exception. A person experiencing deep emotional wounding or anxiety is extremely vulnerable and will do whatever he can to block it. When the helpful protector in one’s inner village (the inner self) runs out of ways to reduce pain and it can no longer provide protection, the next thing is to try substances or processes from outside the village. At first these often seem to work almost miraculously, so the process is repeated more and more often. But sooner or later the treatment starts to lose its effectiveness.

What is described as “an addiction” exists when someone finds himself trapped in a cycle in which he or she keeps increasing the amount of his (external) pain reducing medication because it is not working as well as it did at first. So, rather than using the term ‘addiction’ it would be more accurate to describe the nature of the cycle that is happening inside his village or thought processes.

In the same way, the person we typically call an addict could be more accurately described as someone who is ‘trapped in an addictive cycle.’ The addictive nature of the cycle is made worse as he or she starts suffering side-effects caused by his/her emotional pain-reducing “medication” yet, is unable to stop taking it.

The last thing needed at any point is for anyone to use a shaming and inaccurate term that labels the individual as for example an ‘addict,’ “substance abuser,” an ‘alcoholic,’ or judges him as a ‘bad’ person who has selfishly adopted a ‘bad habit.’ Worse still, is the shaming assertion that if the individual was a “good” person, he would easily be able to get rid of his “bad habit.”

It would be far more helpful, for instance, to recognize that he is a person who is trapped in the grip of an addictive cycle, and, at the same time, help him to become aware just how much he is suffering serious side-effects from the over-use of his emotional pain reducing medication.

Originally posted 2006-04-28 03:01:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter