Addiction begins innocently: a glass of cognac to sleep, an hour at the computer. Then, imperceptibly, "it" grows into life and the person falls into the trap of addiction, from which he will not come out alone. Anna Krasuska talks with Lubomira Szawdyn about what addiction is and how it can be treated.
Is someone who drinks two beers a day already addicted?
If he actually does it every day, he has a chance to get addicted quickly. To date, the toxic dose of alcohol has not been determined.Addictionis best recognized by the syndromewithdrawal .
Exactly, what is withdrawal syndrome?
Its consequences can be dramatic. After discontinuation, the body reacts with pain, circulatory disorders, problems with the digestive system, insomnia and depression. Hallucinations, delusions and thoughts of suicide may occur. Therefore, patients with a drug withdrawal syndrome are often hospitalized.
ImportantDisease of the will
According to the standards of the World He alth Organization, a person who is dependent on a chemical or consciousness- altering activity is a person who has a compulsion (constant or periodic irresistible desire) to take the substance or perform a given activity, and who has he alth problems associated with it (somatic and psychological) family and social.
Treatment
There is no universal method of treating addiction. There are many therapies, and the success of treatment depends primarily on whether a person wants to repair their life. Even the most innovative method will not help those who do not understand that they are addicted. If he doesn't admit the problem, the treatment will be sham. The therapy is supposed to restore harmony to a person, because a sober life means living in harmony with oneself and with the world, and for this it is necessary to be honest.
Regardless of the amount of substance taken?
This is a stereotype that needs to be de alt with. People thinkalcoholismdepends on years of drinking and how much alcohol you drink. Meanwhile, you can drink a little but regularly and get addicted. An old lady used to have a glass of cognac at night. As the glass grew larger and larger over the years, her daughter became concerned. Mom assured her that she could cut off alcohol at any time. When she didsevere withdrawal syndrome with circulatory problems, severe anxiety and delirium occurred.
However, if it did not bother her before … Maybe you don't need to "fix" people by force?
How did it not bother ?! She drank more and more, and it was fortunate that her daughter noticed it in time. Of course, we can consciously choose to "treat" with alcohol, but in such a situation we should also anticipate the consequences.
Where is the border? When does addiction start?
Everyone asks for the border! The border is when "it" starts to hurt us and we don't see it!
But then there must always be someone to make us aware that we are addicted
Not necessarily. Sometimes signals come from within. We feel the pain we want to do something about and start seeking help.
Or we drink …
Yes… so that life doesn't hurt. This is called the "harm cube." Some people do not recognize the signs of suffering - especially those who were abused during their childhood. And the inner martyrdom very often leads us astray.
Is it true that we can get addicted to anything? Why is that?
Unfortunately, it's true, and the reasons lie in the transformation of life on earth. We become addicted to gambling, the computer, sex, food, shopping, risky sports, compulsive activities, and even obsessive thoughts. The best evidence for this is that such people who are enrolled in an alcoholism treatment program heal faster than when they are offered other treatments. There is no such thing as pure alcoholism or pure smoking. When a person tries to deal with a problem on his own, he usually trades one addiction for another. He stops drinking and becomes, for example, a gambler, drug addict, shopaholic or somebody else. Someone with this predisposition becomes addicted to everything on the market. And the market is brazen and unscrupulous about taking advantage of our weaknesses. People follow fashion, do what the media says, and inevitably fall into rituals. This is such slavery by the way, because rituals are addictive.
Even ordinary, daily gymnastics?
If we stiffen so that we cannot function without it, that we cannot forgive ourselves one day without exercise, then yes - gymnastics can also be addictive, just like having to clean up. You need to look at what is happening over time. If we devote more and more time to a given activity and finally lose track of time, the warning lights should go on. Emotional rigidity is one of the hallmarks of addiction. If we are not spontaneous, we cannot admit our mistakes, we stiffen our structuredays in a ceremonial-ritual way and we stick to it evenly … If our soul is choked and there is no room for self-realization, different "isms" appear. After all, it's easier to live according to patterns.
If so, why treat addiction at all?
Due to the consequences. Taking chemicals leads to death. But the effects of addiction are catastrophic for many reasons. For the patient himself, for he alth and psychological reasons. For families, it is simply a hell of a drama where everything happens: physical and psychological abuse, molestation, lying, theft, flying with an ax … The social consequences are that addicts are often people who produce nothing - except trouble. In addition, they involve their environment in it all, use people, make them lie. Because in order for us to survive, whether we drink or play, someone has to help us with that! That is why addicts always have their allies who eliminate the damage and cover their tracks. In the family, the addict is like a rubber elephant. When the thrust begins, this elephant is kind of inflated. It fills all the spaces of the house and the family moves around the skirting boards. Then the air comes out of him and a slipper is laid. His family bends over him, everyone cleans him, revives him …
How can a family help?
By consistently applying the so-called hard love. Stop helping to drink, not cleaning up, or pretending nothing is wrong. It is important that the whole family undergoes therapy or even education! Then the chance of recovery of such a person doubles.
You can't deal with addiction alone? What about our will?
The compulsion is that it doesn't depend on your will. You cannot get out of this alone. You need to refer to a specialist. Paradoxically, recovery begins with noticing and admitting your helplessness. If I stop fighting and declare helplessness, then suddenly there is space around me - a place for self-reflection. Therefore, the declaration of powerlessness is the first step in treatment groups, AA groups and others operating on a similar basis.
What is addiction therapy? Is one method or many?
There is only one therapy, only she is dressed in different dresses. First there is the cognitive process - looking at yourself, making a balance sheet of losses and gains. Then the behavioral process begins, which is learning a new life without all these props. Addiction rituals are so growing in our day that recovery requires a change of mind, making order with the whole life. You have to learn new reflexes -be born again as my patients say. The first thing, however, is to be honest with yourself, admit your problem and face it.
Can you do without group therapy?
It is necessary to confront the variety of human experiences. The belief that you can cure yourself of addiction somewhere in the privacy of your home is another myth. Therefore, one must also be careful with the various gurus who promise us this. Recovering from addiction can help a lot. It is worth listening to them, for example at an AA meeting. Sometimes, however, sobering people discover that they have a mission and fall into another addiction, which is compulsion to be a guru. Meanwhile, the whole fun is that the people in the therapy - and they can also be sobering alcoholics - have a course of humility behind them. The therapist cannot manage someone else's life and give instructions to it. This is because if an addicted person trusts his guru and the instruction does not come true - then such someone usually dies.
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