Chronic, Progressive, Incurable and FATAL??

(Now remember I stated that this would be written as if it were me experiencing different things.  There are times that it may sound as if it were something I did, but maybe I did and maybe I didn't.  Only I know for sure.)

Per a public policy statement by ASAM American Society of Addictive Medicine, The Voice of Addiction Medicine "Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry.  Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations.  This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors."~~

Yes, addiction is chronic, progressive, incurable, and can be fatal if treatment is not received.  It can be arrested but not cured.  It affects a person mentally, physically and spiritually.  Addiction is not limited to age, gender, ethnic background, sexual preference, or religion.  Addiction is not always about the use of drugs or alcohol.  There many things that you can become addicted to:  shopping, eating, gambling, texting and others.  But for the purpose of this post, we are dealing with drug addiction.

Anyone can become addicted.  Some, they say, have a gene in their physical makeup that causes the compulsive and obsessive behavior that all addicts seem to have.  Most folks will not know until they hit "the one" thing that will trigger their addiction.  It could be drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, and so on.  Once the trigger for the addiction has been hit, a person will go to any lengths to be able to obtain the substance that they are addicted to.

Like me, there are a lot of addicts out there seeking recovery.  We can never be cured of the disease because it is what it is.  Like diabetes, it has to be treated and can be arrested.  But these two things must happen in order to try to regain control of your life again.

I have been asked in the past "What is your drug of choice?" and my answer is "a lot of anything that can be mood or mind altering."  I have learned that a drug is a drug is a drug.  Most of us addicts really don't care what that drug is just as long as it takes us out of ourselves.

Different people will do different things in order to obtain their drug or drugs in general.  Some may steal, manipulate people or situations, beg, prostitute, and so on.  Most of us have lost most or all of our families due to drug use.  We have stolen from them, lied to them, tried to manipulate them into feeling sorry for us, so many things and so many times, that they no longer trust us or want to be around us.  For me, I was a lucky one.  Because I came to my family and said "Hey, I have a problem and I need your help."  My family is one of the biggest supports I have.

The 12 step fellowship that I am involved in is the largest support group I have.  I have ladies in this fellowship that I can call anytime of the day or night.  It's not that they "have" to help me, they "want" to help me.  They, too, are in recovery and need help from time to time.  We all depend on each other for support.  I count on my support network to be honest with me and tell me when they feel I am not doing what I should be or not acting the way I should be.  They are my eyes and ears because they will see it or hear it quicker than I will because I am an addict.  I will lie to myself in order not to see or hear the truth.

Working a program, I am able to be trusted somewhat today.  I am an honest person, loving, caring person.  I don't tell lies, why, I have nothing to hide these days.  I have become a trustworthy person, someone that people can rely on, someone that will follow through and finish what was started.

My addiction had me so deep that I was truly scared.  I really didn't want to use at the end, but did because of the obsession and compulsion of my disease, it made me use.  My addiction would lie to me and tell me that I needed to use just to be able to make it one day to the next.  That the using would help me not to hurt.  That using would make people like me more, I would be better accepted.  My self-esteem, if I had any at the end, was not at all present.  My disease could have me believing that people just put up with me, that they really did not like me nor did they want to be around me.  That I was stupid.  My disease could tell me most anything and I would believe it.  I was so messed up in my mind that it took some time to straighten somethings out.  I am still learning about myself.  My likes and dislikes.

The disease of addiction can and will ruin your entire life and it really will not take a long time to do it.  It will give you so much self esteem and an ego that it is so unbelievable.  It will kill you.  Leave you crippled, mangled, and lost.  If you even think just a little bit that you may be an addict or addicted to something that you just cannot stop, please seek help now.  Do not wait.  For the longer you wait, the grip of this disease will get tighter and tighter until it chokes you to death.

My prayer for everyone reading this is:  If you or someone you know may or does suffer from the disease of addiction, get help or get help for the folks you think may need it.  Do not play around with this disease.  It wants you dead and it does not care how that happens.  We must remember that we are not "bad people", but we have a disease that has us "do" bad things.  The only options that this disease will give you, if you continue to use, is jails, institutions or death.  All active drug addiction will lead to one or all three of these.

All you have to do is ask for help.  There is help out there.  But you must ask for it.  For when "you" ask for the help, it is a sign of surrender.  You must surrender to your disease and healing, hopefully then and only then, can it begin.

With much love...


(Footnote~~source of information from ASAM)~~See ASAM Public Policy Statement on Treatment for Alcohol and Other Drug Addiction, Adopted: May 01, 1980, Revised: January 01, 2010.   Copyright © 2012 American Society of Addiction Medicine.